The mohair roof on my recently acquired 2003 was very dirty.
I’ve used a full bottle of Autoglym ‘soft top cleaner’ and, separately, diluted Milton fluid on it.
There are still some ingrained marks on the mohair, which look to be anchored to the fabric.
Regrettably I’ve no idea what the marks have been caused by, otherwise I might have a clue about what to try next.
I realise it’s a long shot but I wondered, please, if anyone has experienced anything similar and whether they found any way of removing such marks.
Thank you.
Apologies for jumping in here but would someone please clarify for me :
Is the mohair roof the standard fabric roof (to differentiate it from vinyl) or is it a special?
I used to get stains on my Renault Megan fabric roof and anyone who valets cars will probably not agree but I simply used to jet wash with no detergent.
Got it wet first, left it for 10 mins to soften then blast away. Eventually sold the car after 7 years to a relative who sold it after 15 years and never had any problems.
Stand by for a list of reasons why what I did was wrong
Ive gently jet washed a soft top, not my MX5 but still a soft top. It was green and horrid. The jet wash worked wonders. Got it spick and span. No harm was done either. Like you I did wet the whole car down first, I do this with any car I wash, ten minutes pre soaking makes any dirt lift off much easier.
The owner used weed killer on the roof a few days before we jet washed it too. This turned the algae yellow by the time we jet washed it. Wasn’t my plan it was his, the only reason I jet washed it was because he didn’t own a jet washer. I wouldn’t generally recommend weed killer on a soft top but there was no denying its effectiveness. And it was still lovely years later.
Many thanks for the replies.
I realise I’ll probably be shouted at for this but since posting the enquiry I’ve tried acetone, white spirit, tar and bug remover, proprietary fabric cleaner and the solvent used for two pack epoxy mastic paint on the soft top. None of these solvents has lifted the stains.
Next I’ll try some Race and Rally heavy duty cleaner which I’ve just ordered.
And then, failing any success, the power washer!
Thanks again.
Best to use something like Renovo cleaner or the Autoglym cabriolet hood cleaner with a nail brush.
Do it out of the sun, soak it for a while then go over with the brush. Then rinse off with a hose.
Always follow the grain of the fabric or you will
make it look all scuffed up.
Not a big fan of pressure washers on convertible hoods, they are too aggressive. If you do use one stay at least a foot away, or you could split the fabric.
Looks to me there’s actually micro-damage to the surface of the material.
It’s a kind of “canvass” by the way.
No Mo’s were rounded up on hill sides and shorn in the process.
Hi, from the products you have tried it sounds like a sticky residue, if that is right try the old trick for chewing gum, rub it with an ice cube for a few minutes to harden it then carefully pick it off. I have used this very successfully a few times on car seats with various ‘sweeties’ attached and even some mastic on a boot carpet.
That looks as though it has actually damaged or even melted the surface of the acrylic outer woven layer. Can you actually remove any of the contaminant? If not then the surface has been irreparably damaged and no amount of cleaning or treatment will bring it back. If you can gets bits out then you need to find something that will soften it so that a nail brush or tooth brush can get into the weave. But be careful that you don’t damage the outer layer in the process. Best of luck!
Without knowing what has already been used to remove this or how long it’s been on there it’s difficult to tell just from a photo what it actually is. I can’t remember exactly what the outer material is actually resistant to but it would have needed to be a strong aggressive solvent or a source of significant heat to do that sort of damage This may have also affected the butyl rubber interlayer as well which could result in a leak. Maybe we will get an update sometime soon?
