Hello, everyone. This is my first post in this forum. I am going to pickup my AP2 S2K this coming early March and I am so excited about it.

I have a couple of questions about the soft top. I have read in a post that sooner or later down the road, it will have a tear near the cross bar area. Is there any preventive measure that can be done? Also, during the routine car wash, how do you clean the soft top?

Thanks,

Rudy

 

Look at replacing the elastic straps from Modrify, will prevent certain wear, use Shinitsu grease on all of your rubber seals and use normal car was solution on top, let dry and use 303 aerospace with microfiber pad and it will look amazing. 303 is magic on this top and most vinyl and rubber.

 

Tons of threads on top care here. Just search and have fun. Pay attention to the ones about ensuring the removal of any sharp edges or burrs on the top support tubes on critical locations. Good recommendation on Modifry.

An inexpensive alternative to Shinitsu grease is 3M dielectric silicone grease you can find at any auto parts store. It is chemically identical to Shinitsu and you can use if for lots of other stuff too.

Some like 303, some complain it has a residue when wet. I have not tried it but have stuck with my first date of Ragg Topp. Make sure you get the stuff for your top. If it is Honda, the top is vinyl made to look like cloth. If you have a Robbins top, it really is fabric. Get the right Ragg Top.

You can use a quality car wash with either a soft bristle brush for really dirty tops or a sponge/auto cleaner pad for normal cleaning.

 

Cosmo is right, use of various products for protecting the top is subject to personal preference and you can find people that are fans of every one. I carry the Wolfsteins Ragg Topp line because I met the guy that owns the company through our Atlanta S2000 club when I lived there (he owned an S at the time). I like the fact that it's a locally-owned US-based company, and of course the products are absolutely top notch. I remember the first time I used Ragg Topp on my top after it had spent a couple years in the sun - my neighbor actually came over to ask if I had just replaced the top, that's how good it looked afterwards. I also use the vinyl protectant on the interior vinyl because it does not have a greasy feel like some products do.

Wolfsteins makes a protectant for both vinyl (OEM) and cloth tops, and if yours is cloth you should only use the fabric spray. However, you can use either product on the vinyl top - the vinyl protectant leaves the top looking very dark black and the fabric spray leaves the top with a slight shine and beads water extremely well. Both claim to have more UV-inhibitors than any other product on the market and they are the only manufacturer to be endorsed by Haartz, the leading maker of convertible tops.