I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Hood Proofing
Hi - my first post and thanks in advance of any guidance - Great site BTW but you all know that…
My hood is only a year old - not dirty or stained - I just want to seal/ waterproof it - what do you use ???
I have been advised not to use FABSIL as it contains a solvent and to use a water based sealant - is the Auto Glym kit a favorite ? It comes with cleaner and sealant - I think I just need to use the sealant.
Thanks in advance for any replies and recommendations on what you use
It a canvas (mohair) hood - and new to the car in 2019 - and still looks new. I only bought it last week and as its in such excellent condition and low mileage _ i want to keep it that way
I have recently done this in a Mohair Roof and found the best way to apply is to get a lint free cloth and make it damp and apply the waterproofing agent . Be it Fabsil or Renovo, with he cloth all over.
Applying with a brush can leave lines in the finish that are difficult to get out. The cloth method provdes a more even application
Just a word of caution on MR’s personal observations regarding Fabsil Gold.
The instructions indicate that the surface must be completely dry. ie no residual H20.
I have always used a brush and have never seen any ‘lines’ in the finish. Again the Fabsil instructions indicate that there should be a continuous ‘wet’ edge during the whole application so you have to be reasonably swift. Immediately after application you have to go over the whole area with a dry microfibre cloth.
As I indicated in CAPITALS it is important to read and follow the instructions exactly when using Fabsil Gold.
As for other products I can not comment constructively as I have never used any of them.
If you need a product to ‘waterproof’ your hood, you’ve got more problems than a ‘waterproofing’ product will solve.
Not sure where the trend for putting all sorts on Mohair roofs have come from. Try ringing around hood fitters/looking at their websites, and you might see that they are not recommended. A properly fitted Mohair roof don’t leak. And I wonder what you do to the fibers slapping on all sorts of products to get temporary ‘beading’.
They don’t leak, unless there’s something wrong with them, but the ones you mentioned probably don’t see love. Washing it regularly and gently with a small amount ULTRA mild ‘detergent’, like Woolite (research ideal wash products to use for the Mohair and tonnes come up with that. Some suggest baby shampoo but it’s got a higher salt content than Woolite…so I read anyway) and you’ll find you keep the green at bay.
I keep mine under a Mazda half/hood cover and it looks like the day it was made. So granted it’s not exposed even thought it lives outside. But I went by research and phoning actual hood fitting places when I got my car and the fibres look like the day it was born.
The waterproofing comes from a rubber underlay, not the top layer.
I think I may initially go for the “2 pack “ from auto glym. It’s two bottles 1 a mild washing agent to clean and 2 a kinda protectant hand pump spray. On the various product reviews it seems to fare well. There are many not restore a dirty and mildewed hood fabric but as I say - mine is relatively new so that and with a half cover should be looking after it as well as I can.
The OE hood material does not have an additional “waterproofing or water repellant” coating added during manufacturer. It relies on the water repellency of the acrylic weave material to bead off water. If kept clean this should last most of the life of the hood, however embedded dirt and other contaminants reduce this effect and additional finishes are often added to try to mimic the original beading properties of soft top roofs which have not been regularly cleaned during their lives. You really need to remove ALL of the ingrained dirt to enable the roof material to do its job properly.
There isn’t any original beading properties. Mine and a number of ‘5 owners’ tops have never beaded. Not sure where original beading comes from?
Again, not sure where beading off water comes into it on an ‘untreated’ OEM top? Unless the acrylic weave means the rubber underlayer? They work via a tri system, of the ‘canvas’ top, the waterproof underlayer and of course the inner lining. Drain systems of course too.
As stated, if someone needs a ‘waterproofer’ they’ve more problems than a bottle of 303/Fabsil or whatever.
Also, to the poster who mentioned the AutoGlym pairing. That can be a nightmare with the spray bonding to glass/paintwork etc of not masked properly. For ‘beading’ which seems to be a vogue thing, but isn’t how Mohair roofs work. Try asking those who make or fit them.
The top material is not canvas, it’s a quite sophisticated acrylic twill weave designed to protect the epdm interlayer and to encourage water to roll off the top when up. On a new hood the water should roll off or be shed from the roof with assistance from gravity. Dirt and other residual material will tend to trap the water and allow it stay on the hood, that’s why it’s important to keep it clean. Applying a waterproofing agent to a dirty roof merely binds the dirt into the fabric making matters worse.
Absolutely zero water, not a single drop, has ‘rolled off’ with the assistance of gravity, from either my 3 miles-on it car when bought, nor, to the best of my knowledge, 3 other owners with new NDs that I know.
It mearly soaks and the rubber layer does it stuff. And it behaves exactly the same way, X amount of years on. Yes it sheds from the roof- via the rubber under layer.
So according to your theory, all 4 of our tops, with, touch wood, are leak free, must have had something wrong with them lol
Hey other posters who had their car from new, and never put ‘waterproofing’ treatments on your hood; When new, did your hood bead like a nutter and see the water all rolling off, or, like every other new ND I’ve k ow, including my own, did your just get wet and dry?
