100-4 soft top

[rossco]

Going to try to resurrect the top and forego the cost of replacing it. The window needs cleaned and refreshed, the top needs cleaned and treated. What's out there that's mild and non-caustic? R

 

[AH100M]

I'd start with Simple Green on the vinyl portion of the top and Meguiar's plastic polish on the window. The plastic polish may not be aggressive enough but it works on minor hazing. After that I'll leave it to the rest of the community to chime in.

 

[glemon]

If the Meguiar's plastic polish doesn't do the trick you can try auto body rubbing compound, I don't know if I would try to cheap Turtle Wax stuff, but once again the Meguiar's product work well, I have used it on windows before and you can do like you would with rough paint, going from more aggressive to finer polishing and finishing with the Meguiar's plastic polish, they also make a plastic "cleaner" which is actually a more aggressive polish than the polish, the polish is really mild.

 

[57_BN4]

I have only had bad experience trying car polish on plastic, it leaves a slightly hazy finish.

Pledge or similar furniture polish works very well on plastic. It has some sort of wax that stays on the surface and fills any tiny scratches which makes them disappear. Also useful for making scratched CDs/DVDs play again for the same reason.

If after regular cleaning you still have marks on the vinyl then lacquer paint thinners on a rag wiped on and off quickly usually removes them although it may brighten the area on light colours because it will remove any dirt there too. I have swabbed over a whole (orange) vinyl top with thinners and was surprised at how much brighter it came up despite washing several times already with water and various cleaners.

Andy.

 

[pan]

I have found a product called Star-brite to be very effective on the window of my soft-top. Step 1 is called Plastic Scratch Remover. Then you move onto Step 2, Plastic Polish/Restorer. It takes a while so be patient. It is manufactured in Fort Lauderdale, Florida so you should be able to find it over there. I have used Armourall on the vinyl for years.

 

[rossco]

The top fabric is still in an amazingly good condition in spite of its age. It's the stitching I'm concerned about. Whatever I use on the top itself needs to be mild to the threads. I use a lacquer thinner in many instances but I'm afraid there may be too much acidity in the thinner that will harm the threads. A mild dish soap and a soft brush may do the trick. I think I'll try the Maguiars plastic cleaner for the window. It's a brand that's been around for many years. Thanks for the help, y'all. R