Autoglym Hood Cleaner and Protector

[ShaunM]

Used the cleaner on Friday and noticed that it really did remove lots of grime from the hood, but unfortunately not the green spots of mould. Left damp overnight with cling film (as per instructions on the bottle) and cleaned again saturday.

Left to dry all day (in the baking sunshine) and then treated with the Protector on Saturday afternoon (used 2/3rds of the bottle). Kept under a car port overnight and was completely dry all day monday. Poured a cup of water over the hood monday night and it all ran off like water off a duck's back.

Woke this morning to the sound of rain - hooray I thought, jumped out of bed and looked down at the car only to see no beading of water whatsoever, the hood is completely soaked with puddles of water sitting on top. Is this normal? I don't know how long it has been raining, but I was expecting at least some beading of the water.

I've driven the car back to my parents patted dry the entire hood and left to dry under their car port.

[Foo]

Doesn't sound that bad.... My hood gets soaked when it rains but none of it makes its way through to the interior and it dries up in its own time. I think this is how it's supposed to be. The weave on the hood material seems too big to completely shun water.

I don't use cleaner on my hood yet. A sunny day and a vacuum cleaner with one of those brush attachments works really well for me, gets absolutely everything off including all those random hairs that gather.

Only product I'm using on it is the Fast Glass stuff for the rear windscreen.

[ShaunM]

I called up Autoglym and they where genuinely concerned and puzzled. After talking to their customer service manager, I was called 2 hours later by one of their technical people who asked me about every part of how I applied it and said that the Cabriolet Kit was the product that they had no customer queries about. They have sent me another kit free-of-charge which arrived this morning so I'm going to apply another coat of the protector.

The only advice from them on putting the stuff on which I had not done was to dampen the roof first before applying and also to use a sponge to lightly rub into the fabric.

[Foo]

I dig Autoglym's products. The only ones that are a bit suspect are the polishing cloths (which flake into pieces and last all of 10 minutes) and the wheel cleaner (which doesn't have a spray nozzle so it kinda drips down the wheel).

Outside of those, their stuff is pretty good. Can't find anything they do that'll remove stone chips though D:

[Stef]

I used the Autoglym cleaner and protector on Blipi's old roof about 3-4 years ago.

I found it left white almost chrystal like flecks behind.

Their response was quite overwhelming really. They sent out a guy to take a look and then treated and re-blacked the hood for me. Also left me with some freebies.

Sadly I can't say I have used the product again (and have a new hood now) but may well give it a go.

If you had puddles of water then I can only assume it was very heavy rain and collected as the hood sagged. Did it leak though?

[ShaunM]

I haven't had time to proof the roof again, and no need too either - it's fine and the water breads perfectly.

I was talking to my sister about it and she said "that was the night of the huge thunderstorm, it rained from 3 to 10am". So no wonder it was soaked. To be fair, I usually wake up when it rains so didn't realise, but must have treated myself to too many beers after treating the roof so slept through it!

Water is beading perfectly and it's looking great. The only thing I have noticed is that there are a couple of white marks which have appeared after folding the hood down - I guess these are the polymers rubbing together, so nothing you can really do about it.

My faith in Autoglym is restored!

Also MASSIVE TIP: To remove Hood Protector from the rear window, I used Gunk Bug and Tar Remover. It is now crystal clear

All I now need is something like Rain-X for Vinyl to keep it clean and stop dirt from sticking to it. Don't fancy using polish - any suggestions?

[clemo]

I haven't had time to proof the roof again, and no need too either - it's fine and the water breads perfectly.


My faith in Autoglym is restored!

Also MASSIVE TIP: To remove Hood Protector from the rear window, I used Gunk Bug and Tar Remover. It is now crystal clear

All I now need is something like Rain-X for Vinyl to keep it clean and stop dirt from sticking to it. Don't fancy using polish - any suggestions?

Glad to hear it worked out for you shaun...
never heard of an anti rain thing for the screen ... tell me more?

[Enright]

Rain-X works perfectly well on motorcycle visors - maybe it will on rear screens too...?

[ShaunM]

Enright - it specifically says on the bottle to NOT USE ON VINYL SCREENS. It also says that on their website too. I guess it's either the solvent could wreck some sorts of plastic or maybe it might streal.

Clemo - have you not heard of Raix-X. BUY SOME IT IS AWESOME. I used it for 2 years on my old 106 an NEVER used the windscreen wipers - even in driving snow. The water beads perfectly and the wind blows it off the screen (above 35 mph).

On the Elan, because of the super-sloping screen, the wind doesn't seem to blow the rain off even at 50mph, but it still stops smearing. The picture on the bottles and their website are not an exageration at all.

[Foo]

Yeah it's good stuff but you're right Shaun... with the Elan you need to be on the motorway for the full effect because of the glass angle.

Still good stuff and worth applying to the front, sides and mirrors.

[ShaunM]

I used it on on my HOUSE windows last year. I have only needed to hose and wiped dry the windows twice in the last 12 months! Saved me £5 a month on a window cleaner....

[Enright]

Enright - it specifically says on the bottle to NOT USE ON VINYL SCREENS. It also says that on their website too. I guess it's either the solvent could wreck some sorts of plastic or maybe it might streal.

Oops, maybe that's why I can't see out the back - oh hang on, that's the windblocker!
I must admit I hadn't read the instructions and did give it a go, so perhaps I was lucky that it didn't do any damage.
But I'll tell you what it DOES damage - leather.
The previous owner of my Elan left a bottle on the passenger seat overnight and it fell over and spilt on the seat - it left an outline of the bottle in the seat cover - doh!

[ShaunM]

That's encouraging news. I'm going to try a tiny spot in a corner then. Now that I've cleared the gunk off the rear screen, I'm paranoid of scratching it - especially when washing off the air-bourne dust/sand (which doesn't hose off easily).

[nitroman]

That's encouraging news. I'm going to try a tiny spot in a corner then. Now that I've cleared the gunk off the rear screen, I'm paranoid of scratching it - especially when washing off the air-bourne dust/sand (which doesn't hose off easily).

I cannot recommend enough that you use Plexus to clean the plastic rear window. It's expensive but worth every penny and more. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... SiteSearch

[GeoffSmith]

I cannot recommend enough that you use Plexus to clean the plastic rear window. It's expensive but worth every penny and more. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... SiteSearch

Given Matt's history of top tips, I eventually managed to find some Plexus in the UK. Although my rear screen was not particularly bad, it was slightly matt. I tried the Plexus and was a bit concerned that it appeared quite watery - this means it's dead easy to work in however and the finished result is a bit of a revelation.

[max and andy]

hi folks.just a little question .shortley after buying my s2 i noticed the last owner on taking his private plate off and replacing new one.he used some kind of black mastic or silicone cealant to stick the front bumper on .ive been to scared to remove the plate with out useing some kind of solvent to release the gunk.has anybody got any surggestions .thanks all maxine and andy.

[RayD]

Assuming the registration plate has been stuck to the front bumper with ordinary silicone mastic...and you want to remove it...

I’d use a flat, thin, wide, metal scraper (wallpaper type) keeping it firmly in touch with the back of the plate rather than the front of the bumper and carefully cut through or separate the silicone from the plate.

With the plate off I’d peel the silicone from the car... it should have had no effect on the paintwork.

Ray

[dermotbell]

Used the cleaner on Friday and noticed that it really did remove lots of grime from the hood, but unfortunately not the green spots of mould.

How did you get rid of the mould (I have some (on the car that is))?

Ta

Dermot

[Dave Eds]

use Renovo!

[max and andy]

I'm having a go at cleaning the soft top.I'm using Turtle Wax Soft top cleaner and conditioner.A two part cleaner-conditioner.I bought it from Halfords before i had read about Renovo in the forems.I thought id give it a go anyway.Ive done the cleaning bit as per instructions.I thought it would of got more grime in the soap suds.Ive given it a good rinse .And am just waiting for it to dry a bit before putting the conditioner on.I will post the results when i get some. Andy