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Cleaning and sealing the Boxster soft top?

911hillclimber

911hillclimber

PCGB Member
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2009 Boxster 2.9 Gen 2, black standard soft top.

I think this could do with a good deep clean (no green mould on it) and a water proof coating applied.

A few years ago I did my daughter's MX5 soft top but was not impressed.

Saw a boxster recently and after a real rain storm the water was beading-up like water off a ducks back.

Any recommendations for the right product to seal the top please?
 
After cleaning........FABSIL from any camping shop, best stuff you can get and cheaper than car soft top sealers.
 
Renovo do 3 products - cleaner, colourant and proofer. I used all 3 on my 968 cab when I bought it 5 years ago. OK, time consuming, and the colourant is thinner than water so goes everywhere, so you need to mask off thoroughly and check as you go, as it's easy to remove from paintwork when wet but a PITA when dry. Also follow the instructions and do not fold the roof for at least 24 hours after applying the colourant or you'll get faded fold marks (ask me how I know!!). However, since doing it I gave the roof a spray of Fabsil last August as I found a 1/2 can in the garage, and it still looks and beads as well as it did just after doing it, so I'm happy with the results. Could possibly do with a new coat of colourant now, but after 5 years that's not bad! IIRC the 3 products cost £40, and I still have enough to do the roof again.
 
I've used the Autoglym product with good results. I clean and proof it once a year. A cleaner plus sponge and a bottle of proofer
 
+1 for Fabsil and being a cmaping product not as expensive as some of the car products sold[;)]
 
Depends on what you need to do. Fabsil works well if you just want to re-proof the roof, but if you need to clean and re-colour then you need either Renovo or Autoglym, both of which have excellent reports.
 
911hillclimber said:
I think this could do with a good deep clean (no green mould on it) and a water proof coating applied.

Any recommendations for the right product to seal the top please?
Click to expand...



 
See earlier posts. Renovo or Autoglym cleaner, using a small scrubbing brush then lots of rinse water and allow to dry thoroughly. Look at the roof colour and decide if you need to re-colour it, if so get the correct colour Renovo stuff, mask off all paintwork and glass as it's thinner than water and gets everywhere, comes off easily when wet but a PITA to remove once dry. Allow to dry thoroughly (do NOT fold roof for at least 24 hours after re-colouring!!). Then Autoglym, Renovo or Fabsil to waterproof the roof.
 
Great info, thanks.
The car sleeps outside all year round, so thinking ahead.
Colour is good so will got to the Camping shop first.

Thank you all,
Graham.
 
I know you haven't any green mould, but just in case anyone has that's reading this thread, I've found if you've got any green mould/algae on the hood you need treat this before applying restorers and proofers as these (I use Renovo and AutoGlym products) do not contain biocides.

The best stuff I've found for removing mould on fabric roofs are mould/algae treatments which contain benzalkonium chloride (AKA alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride / BAC / ADBAC), ideally together with disodium octaborate (which provides longer-term protection), as these are generally non-bleaching. However, always read the fine print on the labels to determine the active ingredients and usage instructions before use as the manufacturers sometimes change their products' formulation.

I've used Polycell 3-in-1 Mould Killer (from B&Q) and HG Algae and Mould remover (from RobertDyas) on fabric car hoods and boat awnings in the recent past and these seem to work well. I suggest you steer clear of any anti-mould treatments that contains bleaching agents such as sodium hypochlorite (ask me how I know).

Hope that helps.

NB. The above information is provided in good faith is based on personal experience. You are advised to test any cleaner on a small area before treating the whole roof.
 
Thanks!
Bought a spray tin of Fabsil today from the big caravan shop. Going to clean like mad, dry in the tropical heat and spray in a cool garage to dry on Thursday.

Will report back.
 
Personally I would have used a tin and a brush, I am sure it would give far better results and last longer as it would saturate the material better, and if your spraying Fabsil in a garage you may need BA, not sure how healthy the stuff is when wet and used in a confined space!
 
Thursday rained and rained, today better.
will use respirator I use for painting cars in an open garage.

will be spraying more than one coat so I expect it to soak to some degree.
 
Well, now it is pouring down tonight after 1 hour of rain the top looks like I've done nothing to it!

Cleaned the top, dried it in the glorious sun for 4 hours, masked the glass and immediate body off and sprayed the repellent on. Dried for another 12 hours and tonight, no 'like water off a duck's back' effect at all.
 
Well, now it is pouring down tonight after 1 hour of rain the top looks like I've done nothing to it!

Cleaned the top, dried it in the glorious sun for 4 hours, masked the glass and immediate body off and sprayed the repellent on. Dried for another 12 hours and tonight, no 'like water off a duck's back' effect at all.
 
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