O.K. the full story.....

About 6 months after I bought the car, so approx Oct. 2000, I treated the the soft top with Auto Glym Fabric Roof Treatment. It actually looked very good. This was before any of us were aware that the soft top is in fact vinyl! Last Summer having found out that it was vinyl, I treated it with Auto Glym Bumper Care, the recommended stuff! I gave it two coats and ever since it's looked decidedly dull and patchy. I've wondered obviously if it's the first treatment with the Fabric Treatment causing the problem. Anyway, today, I've used the remaining half bottle of Vinyl Treatment and half of a new bottle to give two very liberal coats which I've rubbed well in with a small sponge. It's looking better and blacker but it is still patchy... though less so.

I'm probably not being fair in view of the forgoing but does anyone else find the Bumper Care unimpressive??

What shall I do, keep applying the Bumper Care, or is there some other product better suited to tackling this problem? Has anyone else had similar problems?

 

Ive avoided doing the bumper care treatment due to these patchy stories.
I bought some a while back but am reluctant to put it on. I just wash mine with water and it still looks ok.

Ive still got the hardtop on, but im going to be taking off the lid sometime in the next couple of weeks. I just hope my window isnt creased to hell.

 

I had some patchiness, but it was much better the second time I used the bumper care. I used a small brush for parts, which seemed to work better. I don't know long term, as the soft tops been under the hardtop for a few months now.

-Brian.

 

the s/top on my soon to disappear MX5 has had nothing but soap and water on it since the day I bought the car - still looks good.

 

It might be time to start over. Had a similar problem with my top.

Used a mild soap (not detergent). I used Ivory hand soap and a soft brush. Cleaned the top, let it dry and then treated it with 303 spray vinyl protectant. It now looks like new. Have had no problems with patching or fading. (9,200 mi.)

HTH,

Duffer

 

I use the Bumper Care and it looks excellent.
As long as you apply with a heavily loaded small sponge, there should be no problems at all.

 

As some of you have seen on previous similar posts I am quite a fan of the Porsche stuff.
I use the Porsche shampoo, then use the conditioner for the soft top, comes out very nice dark 'new' look. The conditioner is not the easiest as it is a spray and I think the Boxster roof is not vinyl like ours, but the results are good and that is what I am after IMO.

Anthony

 

I also used the Bumper Care stuff and got a very patchy result, even after a second coat. Having just done it (last summer) we had a fairly major thunderstorm and in the morning the roof was even and looked excellent. Of course there was now the excess (that I think caused the patchiness) all over the windows, but a quick clean and the roof looks amazing and beads water like the bonnet.

Personally I would definitely use it again, and probably take a lot of water hosed onto it after to remove the excess - worth a try perhaps CT????

 

I cannot stress enough the usefulness of watching Autoglymn's video. It shows you how to use and apply their products properly. I learnt a lot. If you use their products, make the effort to locate the vid.

 

Thanks everyone for the tips. I think I'll try the hose treatment and see if it evens out. Knowing now that it's vinyl, I'd take a lot of convincing that it needs any treatment at all, other than soap and water!