Soft Top Cleaning

[Dizzbe]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

Here is a trick for you Dazzle.... when the top is wet (saturated) use a good / strong shop van and vacuum the creases. That, hopefully, will draw the dirt from the fabric.

That does sound like it could help.

And Dazzle???? I like it!

Joe - don't worry. Mine stayed clean with just water prior to wildfires last year. So just don't move to Utah !

[Rosebud]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

Might vacuum befor putting the spray on it might seal the soot in.

[Dizzbe]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

Might vacuum befor putting the spray on it might seal the soot in.

yeah I thought of that too. I already had one coat on, but may try it anyway before putting anymore coats on. It does look tons better than it did dry though, it was so bad that there were times I wouldn't drive it if I had to leave the top up. Hated the way it looked. So this is better than that.

[Geodiver]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

I know this is an older thread but it is great...I have a steel blue 05 bird with a blue soft top. I just bought it three months ago and when I took off the hard top(which had never been taken off) I was really happy to see the blue soft top but there are a few black mildew streaks...will try this solution this week before going to a New England gathering at the Big E in Springfield, MA...I like ckc57bird's idea of Tide with bleach...why not use a color safe bleach? It's still bleach right? Anyway, can't wait to try it...thanks for the advice.

[EmpTNest]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

Related question,

The above has worked well to remove my mildew.

But I find that the commonly creased areas are soon re-soiled with dust that gets worn into the crease whenever the soft top is down.

Apparently my soft top storage bunk is dusty.

Does anyone have a tip for how to best clean the storage bunk?

Are the cloth liners removable / washable?

[Ediron]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

I don't think the storage bunk as you call it comes out to easy.I undid some of the snaps and had a heck of a time redoing them. I would just vacuum it out.

[JAB02LHS]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

I like ckc57bird's idea of Tide with bleach...why not use a color safe bleach? It's still bleach right? Anyway, can't wait to try it...thanks for the advice.

Tide with Bleach Alternative. This detergent uses active enzymes to break down and remove stains while whitening whites. And because it is not chlorine based like liquid bleach, it is also safe to use on colors.

Being "not chlorine", I doubt it would kill the mold!

[Bradford]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

Tide with Bleach Alternative. This detergent uses active enzymes to break down and remove stains while whitening whites. And because it is not chlorine based like liquid bleach, it is also safe to use on colors.

Being not chlorine, I doubt it would kill the mold!

It won't, before using the bleach and Raggtop mix, I tried Clorox 2, also a color safe bleach, it was a complete waste of time and effort. If you don't kill the mildew, it comes right back.

[Geodiver]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

Makes sense...thanks for the info...I guess I'll use the chlorine then and hope for the best...I'll let you know how it turns out.

[BJHEN]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

There is a lot of good info in this thread. I have a sand colored top on my T-Bird and it had a few dark spots on it when I purchased the car in May of this year. The dealer I purchased from also sold the car new and took it back in trade. He told me the original owner had had an ongoing fight with Ford about the spots on the soft top and that Ford never solved the problem.

I cleaned the top using the bleach mix and my results were similar to everyone else’s reported on this thread. After using the bleach I cleaned it again using Raggtopp cleaner and then treated it with Raggtopp protectant. Not long after using the bleach mixture I noticed a few small white spots under the rear window just above the junction of the top and body, see attached photo. I was afraid the spots were caused by a residue from the bleach and that they might cause damage to the soft top. I contacted the Haartz Co. and Doug Haartz replied to my email suggesting I neutralize the spots with hydrogen peroxide. This seemed to work as the white spots disappeared after treating with the peroxide.

In the course of several emails back and forth Mr. Haartz gave me a description of the material our tops are made from. I found this interesting and with his permission I am posting his comments:

Hi Cliff,
The top material fabric is a solution dyed fiber, so that the entire fiber cross section is dyed throughout so it is not possible to actually "bleach" a spot on the fabric. It is most likely that the spots you see are actually on the surface of the fabric. Is there something that is directly under the lip of the trunk, maybe a gasket or some other item that the bleach could have come in contact with?

Please let me know if the hydrogen peroxide worked.

Thanks,
Doug Haartz

Hi Cliff,
Thanks for the update. No problem with posting the info on the Thunderbirdnest website. The information on the "Porthole Authority" is accurate and is a good summary of the colors and cleaning info.

Regards,
Doug Haartz

One final note; I’m not sure that all the dark spots are caused by mildew. Our top gets lots of up and down cycles. Car is a daily driver and Bonnie drives to work with top up and home with it down – everyday! After cleaning with the bleach mixture most of the dark spots were gone or only just visible. After a few weeks of daily lowering and raising the top, the spots started to reappear. Interesting thing is that there are identical marks on each side of the top. This suggest to me that the top is rubbing on metal as it is lowered and raised and that the metal is causing the dark spots. I bet these same marks are also on the black tops but are just not visible. I’ve no doubt some tops get spots that are caused by mildew, but I also think Ford has a bad design and this is causing some of the dark spots or rubs.

Cliff

[Bradford]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

Cliff, I drive my car any day the weather allows top can go down. I've noticed that without putting on the boot cover, I see dark spots starting to show up. I think it's road grime / dust collecting there, especially in the creases on each side. Whenever I clean the top and keep viligent of installing the boot, the spots don't show up.

[BJHEN]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

You may be right Bradford. The creases could be collecting grim and causing the dark spots. That would account for identical spots on each side of the top as I'm sure the top folds the same on each side and each time. Of course, I'm just guessing about the top rubbing causing the spots, but identical spots on each side was suggesting it was not mildew. BTW, we never put the boot on.

Cliff

[Icebluebird]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

I just cleaned and sealed my "Sand" top with 303 and it looks great.

I too have noticed the marks on the top and believe that they come from folding the top and wear when the top is folded down.

You can see the marks and folds when you put the top up.

Too bad we can't take the soft top off of the car and store it in the open position like we could with the 55, 56, and 57 cars!

[mamabird]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

I thought I was too. There are people on this site who have taken obsessive/compulsive to a whole new level.

Does that mean the cloth I carry around to open and close my door and truck with to avoid fingerprints is wrong?? LOL!

[islandtime]

Re: Soft Top Cleaning

OK - I'm bumping this up because it's that time of year. I was going to clean Goldi's top today, but don't have enough Raggtopp cleaner left - and NO ONE seems to sell it anymore let alone know what I'm talking about! I got two rude remarks from Pep Boys and Boater's World that I must not know what I'm looking for because they'd never heard of it (I had previously purchased it at Boater's World). The guy at Boaters' World even had the audacity to tell me that a little elbow grease and some dish detergent "would clean your VINYL top!!!!" When I told him T-Birds don't have vinyl tops, he told me to "look again, lady"!!!
I'm sticking with Bradford's formula, which requires the Raggtopp, so if anyone knows who might carry it (besides on-line), please let me know!