Convertable top color

[lotusflasherman]

I have blue hoods on two of my S2's (Palicio and Mauritus Blue) and they look good so it depends on the colour if the car tbh

about colour of car but blue on Palacio I need to see. My first thought is 'Yuk', but I was surprised how good blue on Norfolk Mustard looked and I wasn't expecting that.

Be careful what waterproofing treatment you use... I've seen some blue hoods that look almost black after treatment. I've used Autoglym Soft Top Protector and mine has stayed blue...

[Kathryn]

There's a picture on here somewhere of a Palacio with a blue roof. I thought only black would suit and I was pleasantly surprised to see it.

[Dave Eds]

Pretty sure Sy's is the green on green combo.

[Rambo]

I'll see if I can find Sy's green top

[paulrwebster]

Leave it on the drive, with this weather any black top will be green by spring.

[Rambo]

And then you'll need Bayer moss killer before the Renovo hood treatment

[clemo]

mine elan was silver with grey hood . looked nice
now its just me ..

[Enright]

And then you'll need Bayer moss killer before the Renovo hood treatment

Not sure how serious you are with that post Mark, but I have a badly afflicted soft top (keep your responses clean please chaps! ) and I'd like to know the best thing to kill the green before treating it, because with no inside storage I'll probably have a couple more that will need doing by Spring.

[dapinky]

Neil,

I can only speak for mine, and offer no insight into what you will need....

.... however, i bought a Renovo kit (cleaner, colour & waterproofer) for mine as it had gone a bit green.

I hosed off the top, then used the renovo cleaner and a scrubbing brush - it came of black and grotty!

I did it again (it doesn't use much cleaner), leaving it to soak in for 5 minutes (as per instructions).

Washed it off and left it to dry before painting on the colour.....

..... and that's as far as I got!

It was the day before going to Brands Hatch, and it rained a bit so I couldn't colour it.... but it looked fine and when it dried off I decided it didn't need colouring at that point.

I will review it again in the Spring, and when the weather is good, I'll do all 3 steps.

I would suggest that a good thing to use for cleaning the crap off would be a mild dissinfectant type stuff - I have used Milton sterilising tablets for cleaning the mold from interior surfaces for years (baby bottle cleaning stuff)..... maybe worth a go first???

[Kathryn]

I would suggest that a good thing to use for cleaning the crap off would be a mild dissinfectant type stuff - I have used Milton sterilising tablets for cleaning the mold from interior surfaces for years (baby bottle cleaning stuff)..... maybe worth a go first???

Going off-topic but I didn't start it!
I was wondering what I could clean the inside of my roof with. A layer of mould appeared about a week after attempting to jump start in the pouring rain. I didn't think to dry the interior properly, I was just fed up, tired and hungry having to then wait nearly two hours for the breakdown man. I've brushed it off but I expect it will return. I was going to use some soft top cleaner but I don't know if that's suitable for the inside, and I certainly don't fancy the smell of Milton in the car! (The outside btw has been treated and is covered by a torn and rather stretched shower cap when parked up in the drive -but it still does the job of preventing leaks!)

[Rambo]

And then you'll need Bayer moss killer before the Renovo hood treatment

Not sure how serious you are with that post Mark, but I have a badly afflicted soft top (keep your responses clean please chaps! ) and I'd like to know the best thing to kill the green before treating it, because with no inside storage I'll probably have a couple more that will need doing by Spring.

I was just being facetious/cynical Neil.

I would follow the sound advice given by Pinky. I have done that in the past with excellent results. When you do the final part ie the black dye treatment, ensure you do it on a dry day or in a garage. It needs quite a time to dry properly. If you do it and then half an hour later it rains you will end up with streaky sides (Hmmmm a badly afflicted soft top and streaky sides. Time to see a doctor )

[Rambo]

Kathryn - ensure the inside is completely dry otherwise you will have continuing problems. It will probably be made even worse with the cover. Sounds odd, but the moisture has nowhere to go and with the changes in temperature will condense and cause a bloom or mould on the inside of the hood.

You should be able to brush or vacuum off the inside of the hood fairly easily and then I would suggest using a dilute solution of Dettol antiseptic or similar applied by a cloth. This should help the mould from reappearing

I would also get the top down and go for a blast on a dry, windy day. Works wonders

[GeoffSmith]

As my hood is usually pulled back, it was quite sun bleached so I coloured the inside as well.

[Artaban]

I had problems with mold on the interior roof but that was when the carpet underlay held the water before I replaced it with closed cell foam. However I also found these worked wonders at keeping the mold away and I now put them in the car as a precaution over winter. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00F ... ge_o07_s00
Andy

[Rambo]

I periodically move an electric dehumidifier round all my vehicles in the winter months. It's amazing how dry it helps keep the cars and vans, particularly the soft tops

[Kathryn]

Kathryn - ensure the inside is completely dry otherwise you will have continuing problems. It will probably be made even worse with the cover. Sounds odd, but the moisture has nowhere to go and with the changes in temperature will condense and cause a bloom or mould on the inside of the hood.

You should be able to brush or vacuum off the inside of the hood fairly easily and then I would suggest using a dilute solution of Dettol antiseptic or similar applied by a cloth. This should help the mould from reappearing

I would also get the top down and go for a blast on a dry, windy day. Works wonders

Well I would, the rain has finally stopped and there is sunshine in the distance, but the weathers been so bad I've not had a chance to remove the battery to charge it and it's too dead for a jump start!

There's plenty of air getting under the cover at the moment with the high winds and stretched elastic, and without it the rain would have leaked in, so it's a no-win situation! I do have a small dehumidifier although I don't know how much that helps!

Just need the rain to stop for a few days!

[Rambo]

Getting off topic again, I would suggest you get that battery out and charge it asap if its not too late A modern battery will die completely if it is left discharged for too long. And whilst its out, take it to your local motor factor and get it checked out before it goes back in

If its been fully discharged for a couple of weeks it may be too late though

PS Maybe you should have asked Santa for a CTEK battery conditioner. I use one all the time and it trickles charge to the battery and keeps it in tip top condition

[GeoffSmith]

[Kathryn]

Re the battery, I had a feeling it was on the way out about a month ago, but after a long weekend of plenty of driving it seemed ok. Left the car running last week as the breakdown chap advised and was ok when I went out few days later. No doubt drained it more with the boot light when emptying the boot of water (that's another story - must sort it) on Friday, but wouldn't normally discharge that quickly. Breakdown chap said it was charging fine, but it seems to be discharging pretty fine too! I have ordered a new one anyway. Can't be worrying she wouldn't start every time I park up!

[Enright]

I would suggest that a good thing to use for cleaning the crap off would be a mild dissinfectant type stuff - I have used Milton sterilising tablets for cleaning the mold from interior surfaces for years (baby bottle cleaning stuff)..... maybe worth a go first???

Good plan Dave & Mark. I've got some of the Renovo stuff from a past group buy but I like the idea of Milton or Dettol - I'll get some and give it a go as I can also use it to keep the seats mould-free.

Kathryn, check out "Optimate"s on eBay. They can resurrect deeply discharged batteries and prolong their lives, so are a worthwhile investment.

As my hood is usually pulled back, it was quite sun bleached so I coloured the inside as well.

Geoff, I'm sure that was very carefully worded to ensure that the only filth was in our minds, so it was either very well written, or I've just embarrassed myself!