What soft top have I got on my 2003 MK2.5 SVT??
Is it mohair or vinyl, I need to get it sealed so it repels the water as it seems to be soaking the water up and is staining on the inside.
I’d imagine that you have a mohair given the age of the car. If it’s ‘plasticy’ then its vinyl, if it’s ‘furry cloth’ then it’s mohair.
I’ll double check when I get home. … it seems more plastic. … so I’m guessing it’s vinyl… need to get some sealer I guess to stop it from soaking the rain up
Furry = Mohair
plastic = vinyl
Mohair: needs a good brushing (horse-hair clothes brush?) every so often
Vinyl: Pour on vinyl treatment on a fortnightly basis in the summer, get a hard top for the winter.
Problem with vinyl is that it gets brittle in the cold and if you like to flap the roof back and forth in the winter (and when you’ve got heaters pointing at your face and feet, why not!) then you can end up wearing the vinyl through and having it split on you.
Fabric roofs dont seem to have this, and just wear because of rubbing on the metal parts of the roof frame.
That is what I have found, so don’t quote me on it, there are others on here with far more knowledge
Ok thanks for the info.
The roof on the outside looks very good like new. It just seems when it rains the water is soaking through and not being repelled.
Where it’s soaking through its staining the roof on the inside. I am guessing getting a ultra proof product will stop this from happening and will repel the water rather than it soaking through??
I have just popped home and checked and the roof doesn’t seem either hairy or plastic. I would class it as cloth… So I am not proper confused on what water proofer to buy lol
Pictures may help us decide…
Hi,
As the roof is reported a ‘cloth like’ this would suggest that it is a mohair roof.
As the roof is reported as soaking up the rain water, this would also suggest that it is a mohair roof. With a Vinyl roof (a sort of plastic like material) the material is not porous and so would not soak up water.
I suspect that the mohair roof has not been re-proofed for some time. You will need to let the hood dry out before you re-proof it. It might also be a good plan to get some cleaning product and clean the roof before you re-proof it. RENOVO products are the one I use.
Nigel
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Im just uploading some pics to photo bucket on my mega slow phone connection… links to follow as soon as they are up.
If it is vinyl it wouldn’t or rather couldn’t soak through, however water on the inside could be condensation.
Here’s a close up of front of the roof… ignore the little white bits that’s the little hale shower were just had as I took the pic.
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This is how it looks on the inside… looks worse in the pic than in person. The front is all wet from the rain earlier… It was dry first thing. Doesn’t seem to leak anywhere though as carpets etc are always dry.
Just seems to soak and stain.
Mohair/cloth
The material is 2 sheets of cloth with a rubber membrane between, as previously said it is probably condensation inside
That does look like Mohair. I can recommend the Renovo products but others also use other products, eg Fabsil and Gtech.
So I guess I need the mohair nevovo proofer for this roof then.
Are there any products you would recommend to help clean the inside of the roof?
Concentrate on getting the outside protected with Renovo products. Once thats done try just a damp cloth on the inside.
Mazda had a problem with white stains on the inside of hoods due to moisture.
They recommended isoprophy alcohol and dry with a clean lint free cloth. If the stain didn’t go at alcohol stage, rinse area with clean water and repeat before drying.
Thanks guys.
I’ve ordered some renovo cleaner and proofer so if we can get some dry weather next week I’ll try getting this sorted.