Just took delivery of a new 2005, Suzuka Blue/back cloth top. Should I put some sort of protectant on the top? The car will be garaged.
Thanks

 

Absolutely, positively, no ifs ands or buts about it. Also your top is not cloth it is vinyl.

My preference for treatment is:
1)Raggtopp
3)Vinylex and 303 (a tie)

I prefer Raggtopp to the others primarily because it has much, much, much less wash off during a rain or your next car wash.


... or you can ignore this post and do like wannabe and keep the top down and under the boot all the time!

 

I see a bunch of posts stating that our tops are vinyl, but Honda says there cloth.

Why do most people think the top is vinyl?

Is the top vinyl or cloth?

 

pretty funny petraidm!!
the secret is out...
5 years, and what top?
but i can tell you that under that boot is a well vinylexed VINYL top.

it is called "top cloth" as a term, not as a mateial description. we have been over and over with this one- and you can search and will find this conclusion, or i will try once again to find it and post it back here.

and a new one to add to the collection:

http://www.properautocare.com/imcon.html

 

Who at Honda told you it was cloth? If it was a sale person at the dealer .... ignore them.

I had the same question when I got my S. I ended up calling Honda of America and after a week they came back with a repsonse that it is vinyl. I have been treating it as such since then.

 

I looked at it and assumed it was cloth. I find it interesting that the manual says nothing about the top except how to operate it and put the boot on.

My car won't be daily driver so I generally will keep the boot on but I would hate to have to keep the top up on trip because there was no room for the boot in the trunk.

Does it do the top mechanism any harm to be driven without the boot? Assuming this is OK would it be smart to treat the top to help control the UV's while it was retracted?

 

It may look like cloth but if you feel it you can tell right away it's vinyl. I've detailed a few cars with cloth tops and the feel is very different.

 

In reality, many many many people do not use the boot. It's just too much of a hassle to put on and take off. Also the storage issue, it takes up precious room in the trunk. It is perfectly fine to not use the boot and just have the top retracted down. It also makes putting the top up and down a simple and quick action. As suggested before, I use the raggtop cleaner and the protectant as well. Just remember to wait for the top to dry before putting it down or else you'll get these worn down marks on the top, shiney patches. Don't worry yourself too much though Enjoy the car!!!

 

Thanks for the input. It's cold here so no top down for awhile but I want to be ready. I guess it hasn't exactly been top down weather in LA either.

 

Actually, last week was really hot and everyday after I got out of class the top would go down. As for right now, it's a bit overcast, but as long as it's not raining it's always top down weather