I bought the RaggTopp Vinyl Protectant from an American merchant for my Miata soft top a year ago and it was brought to me by a good friend to Israel.
It has served me very well and I was very satisfied with the product.
However, a month ago, I have noticed that it has coagulated! The bottle is only 20% full and I cannot use it anymore! There is a white sticky matter in the bottle that keeps blocking the spraying device - it seems that the content has broken into two substances- water and a coagulated sticky white matter that will not dissolve no matter how much I shake the bottle!
I keep the bottle in a shaded area at home.
Have you known of such problem with RaggTopp products?
Have not used the product myself, but I do purchase many products from a superb company that do sell Raggtopp, the guy that owns the company is very helpful try Tim at http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/contact-us/info_2.html
You wouldn't believe to the following e- mail conversation I had this evening with the representative of the manufacturer of RaggTopp, WOLFSTEINS PRO-SERIES, Ms. Lisa…
Lisa- "Thank you, for taking the time to write us about using RAGGTOPP Vinyl Protectant. It sounds like your RAGGTOPP Vinyl Protectant is out-of-date due to the shelf life. The shelf life of the product is about 14-months. I would try shaking up the product inside the bottle to try and remix the formula. Due to the thick consistency of the product and the UV Blockers it has more solids than any product on the market and must be mixed by shaking very well."
Avi- "Hi Lisa, Where does it say on the bottle that it has a shelf life of 14 months? I have two more bottles! Should I get rid of them?"
Lisa- "Did you try shaking them to mix the product?"
Avi-
"YES I DID!! It stays coagulated in large chunks! Why did you not write on the bottle that it has a shelf life???
Lisa- "We are not required to put expiration dates on chemicals"…(?!)
Now, would you believe it? 14 months shelf life and it is a secret?! How long were my bottles standing on the shelf? When were they produced? Nothing is mentioned on the bottle because they "are not required to put expiration dates"…?!
RaggTopp is one of the most expansive Protectants on the market and we are buying a mystery?! Do the merchants stocking on RaggTopp know they are selling short or over expired products? Is the over expired product harmful to our Vinyl tops?
I don’t recall ever seeing an expiry date on a bottle of polish. These products may well have relatively short shelf lives. Generally, I don’t keep them lying around unused for over a year, and only buy what I need.
Generally, for consumer items, expiry dates are only included for safety related reasons; foods or drugs. Camera film might have an expiry date, but there is no legal compunction to do this (except what might be agreed between the manufacturer’s own trade associations). I suspect, knowing the size of these companies, that even the 14 months shelf life they give is nominal, and depends on storage conditions. If customers started demanding expiry dates be put on a bottle of polish, most will only give them a 6 month life, at most. They can’t be held responsible for how a customer may store the material.
You can ask for a MSDS from the supplier, and that might give you an idea of the most unstable constituents. I suspect much of it will say “propietary salts”.
possibly the problem is that generaly, a bottle or tin of polish, chrome cleaner etc, gets used about once or twice a year, ive had a normal sized £6 plastic bottle of Autoglym,auto polish for over two years now, and after four full car polishes, there is still about a third of a container left =used it last week, and still as good as first time used.
mind you, ive left underseal, etc and its solidified over very short time in the past must be the make up of solutions used by manufacterers
I can only assume Raggtopp have now lost a customer, I personally use Renovo and have had no problems with previous vinyl tops so will use it with my 5, I accept that everything has some sort of life span perhaps you have just been unlucky with this particular bottle.
Yesterday I got this letter from Mr. Rick Goldstein, owner of WOLFSTEINS PRO-SERIES-
"Greetings, and thank you, for letting us know about your experience with RAGGTOPP Vinyl Protectant. I have been out-of-town at a recent tradeshow and just saw your email about your RAGGTOPP Vinyl Protectant having clumps inside the bottle. Normally, I handle all the email responses and would have offered you a better explanation.
RAGGTOPP Vinyl Protectant has the date the product was manufactured on the bottle per U.S. requirements. Normally, liquid products will have a shelf-live of 12 months depending on the chemistry. RAGGTOPP Vinyl Protectant is the only product in the world that contains UV Blockers, NO silicone and contains over 14% actual product per bottle. The industry standard is 1% product, contains silicone, NO UV Blockers and the rest is water. This is why RAGGTOPP Vinyl Protectant is so thick and should be shaken before use. Extreme heat will cause the product to breakdown after 18-months.
It’s hard to say if the Distributor or retailer removed our dates from your bottle prior to sale. I personally apologize for Lisa not explaining this to you better and would like to refund your money 100%. Please let me know it this is acceptable to you.
Rick Goldstein WOLFSTEINS PRO-SERIES"
What shall I say? I was overwhelmed by Rick’s honesty and willing to compensate me. I already was refunded for the full cost of the 3 bottles that I have purchased a year ago, and Rick has offered to send me complimentary replacements!!
Now, this is an honest person and merchant, someone you can definitely trust.
However, a word of advice- Due to the short shelf life, buy only the quantity that you need, do not over stock it!