Crown

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Al Pettee said:

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eddie said:
Thanks fror all the tips. Will wash regularly! (yes throt, the car and not me!)

Eddie,

I would definitely wash yourself regularly too.

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dweiser said:
Any special advice on what to do to a ragtop, if anything?

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dweiser said:
Thanks very much for the rag top cleaning tips!
I may have asked this before but has anyone used Adam's Butter Wax on their P car? If yes, do you recommend it?

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Orient Express said:
then washing twice a year is plenty enough. The rest of the time a wet rag will get up all of the dust and dirt that accumulates.

Rejex is especially great on wheels. Brake dust does not stick to wheels that are coated with Rejex. Great for windshields as well. Bugs bounce off before they splat.

A wet rag is all that is needed for clean up. Rejex, click here.

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Thanks Orient Express - it looks perfect for me. Have you used this for a while and feel that it works well? My concern is if i just use a wet rag to wipe, that it will be scraping the dirt/dust onto the paint as I clean.

Thanks again

Quote:
Orient Express said:

Quote:
Thanks Orient Express - it looks perfect for me. Have you used this for a while and feel that it works well? My concern is if i just use a wet rag to wipe, that it will be scraping the dirt/dust onto the paint as I clean.

Thanks again

The trick is to keep the rag(s) wet, and turn and rinse or use new rags frequently. I typically will go through 6-10 rags when wiping down the car. As the rag accumulates the dirt, set it aside and get a clean wet one.

Quote:
Al Pettee said:

Quote:
dweiser said:
Any special advice on what to do to a ragtop, if anything?

Just hose it down with the water hose, there's no need for soap. Do this especially and even in between car cleanings if there are bird droppings or other stain-making spots. If you towel-wipe it dry, the ragtop acts like velcro that attracts lint. Just drop a towel on top to soak up the water or let it dry on its own-I've even used my Black and Decker leaf blower (as suggested by a rennteamer) to facilitate drying.

BTW, I have used the Armour All wax gel after cleaning, it's an extra 5 minutes of "elbow grease," and it looks great.

Quote:
STRADALE said:

Quote:
Al Pettee said:

Quote:
dweiser said:
Any special advice on what to do to a ragtop, if anything?

Just hose it down with the water hose, there's no need for soap. Do this especially and even in between car cleanings if there are bird droppings or other stain-making spots. If you towel-wipe it dry, the ragtop acts like velcro that attracts lint. Just drop a towel on top to soak up the water or let it dry on its own-I've even used my Black and Decker leaf blower (as suggested by a rennteamer) to facilitate drying.

BTW, I have used the Armour All wax gel after cleaning, it's an extra 5 minutes of "elbow grease," and it looks great.

Al,
Regarding the towel leaving lint. Agree 100%. If you use a cotton towel they leave lint behind on the top. Griots has a "micro-fiber drying towel" that is perfect for the paint and the top.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_1000&L2=L2_1003&SKU=11023

It doesn't leave lint, ever. Once it's clean you can use a convertible top protectant. This one from "RAGGTOP" works great. It has U.V. protection so it helps prevent the sun from damaging the top's color.
http://www.convertibletops.com/cleanandprotect.html

That micro -fiber towel is very different from the other micro-fiber towels Griots has. It absorbs water like a sponge so you don't get the streaking like you do with a cotton bath towel and there's less risk it will pick up a dirt particle. Best thing since sliced bread.

Quote:
Al Pettee said:

Quote:
STRADALE said:

Quote:
Al Pettee said:

Quote:
dweiser said:
Any special advice on what to do to a ragtop, if anything?

Just hose it down with the water hose, there's no need for soap. Do this especially and even in between car cleanings if there are bird droppings or other stain-making spots. If you towel-wipe it dry, the ragtop acts like velcro that attracts lint. Just drop a towel on top to soak up the water or let it dry on its own-I've even used my Black and Decker leaf blower (as suggested by a rennteamer) to facilitate drying.

BTW, I have used the Armour All wax gel after cleaning, it's an extra 5 minutes of "elbow grease," and it looks great.

Al,
Regarding the towel leaving lint. Agree 100%. If you use a cotton towel they leave lint behind on the top. Griots has a "micro-fiber drying towel" that is perfect for the paint and the top.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_1000&L2=L2_1003&SKU=11023

It doesn't leave lint, ever. Once it's clean you can use a convertible top protectant. This one from "RAGGTOP" works great. It has U.V. protection so it helps prevent the sun from damaging the top's color.
http://www.convertibletops.com/cleanandprotect.html

That micro -fiber towel is very different from the other micro-fiber towels Griots has. It absorbs water like a sponge so you don't get the streaking like you do with a cotton bath towel and there's less risk it will pick up a dirt particle. Best thing since sliced bread.

Yes, Strad, as usual-very informative response.

Since I picked up some microfiber towel items, I haven't done/needed to do any ragtop cleaning (I took my dealer's advice and simply have hosed it off, I think it's pretreated in the factory and seems to stay clean with water.).

If it looks dirty, and I need to clean and towel dry, I'll give one of those rags (or my Black and Decker leaf blower ) a try.

Quote:
STRADALE said:

Quote:
Orient Express said:

Quote:
Thanks Orient Express - it looks perfect for me. Have you used this for a while and feel that it works well? My concern is if i just use a wet rag to wipe, that it will be scraping the dirt/dust onto the paint as I clean.

Thanks again

The trick is to keep the rag(s) wet, and turn and rinse or use new rags frequently. I typically will go through 6-10 rags when wiping down the car. As the rag accumulates the dirt, set it aside and get a clean wet one.

Orient Express - The other day on the other thread you said you never take your car out in the rain. Did you mention this ???? I know the type of dust (not dirt) you're dealing with because I don't take my Ferrari out in the rain either. But the dirt you're seeing on those rags is being dragged across the clear coat. rejex (which I would never use again) or not. The dust that settles on a fair weather car is much smaller but I still would never use the dirty rag method. MMD and I talked about this same thing on the "wash 997" thread a while back.

For guys that use their cars more frequently like I use my Porsche wiping dirty rags against your is NOT the way to do it. It's work (and dirty work at that) just to avoid doing it right. And you maybe can get away with washing a fair weather car twice a year if you never take out in the rain but for an everyday car, no way. Not if you like your car as clean as I do. Especially living in the North East US. Just one drive in a good rain and you definately need a wash. Just to clean the wheels after a rain (with the rag method) you would need 10 rags. I'll be dirty as hell and you're going to scratch the rims. I guarantee it.


eddie - If your car gets as dirty as mine from using it everyday there's no substitute or short cuts for doing it right. If your car gets as dirty as mine there's no way I would clean it with dirty rags. To answer your question - Yes, you will most likey scratch the clear coat or even scratch into the paint. It's pretty obvious by the dirt you see on the rag what's happening when you use rags to wipe a dirty car. You may only catch a small dirt particle and create fine scratches into the clear coat but chances are you will grab a larger dirt particle and drag it across the paint and do some nice damage. It's not worth it. Treat your baby with respect and take the time to do it right. Trust me on this guys - Don't wipe your dirty car with wet rags.

Quote:
Al Pettee said:

Quote:
STRADALE said:

Quote:
Al Pettee said:

Quote:
dweiser said:
Any special advice on what to do to a ragtop, if anything?

Just hose it down with the water hose, there's no need for soap. Do this especially and even in between car cleanings if there are bird droppings or other stain-making spots. If you towel-wipe it dry, the ragtop acts like velcro that attracts lint. Just drop a towel on top to soak up the water or let it dry on its own-I've even used my Black and Decker leaf blower (as suggested by a rennteamer) to facilitate drying.

BTW, I have used the Armour All wax gel after cleaning, it's an extra 5 minutes of "elbow grease," and it looks great.

Al,
Regarding the towel leaving lint. Agree 100%. If you use a cotton towel they leave lint behind on the top. Griots has a "micro-fiber drying towel" that is perfect for the paint and the top.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_1000&L2=L2_1003&SKU=11023

It doesn't leave lint, ever. Once it's clean you can use a convertible top protectant. This one from "RAGGTOP" works great. It has U.V. protection so it helps prevent the sun from damaging the top's color.
http://www.convertibletops.com/cleanandprotect.html

That micro -fiber towel is very different from the other micro-fiber towels Griots has. It absorbs water like a sponge so you don't get the streaking like you do with a cotton bath towel and there's less risk it will pick up a dirt particle. Best thing since sliced bread.

Yes, Strad, as usual-very informative response.

Since I picked up some microfiber towel items, I haven't done/needed to do any ragtop cleaning (I took my dealer's advice and simply have hosed it off, I think it's pretreated in the factory and seems to stay clean with water.).

If it looks dirty, and I need to clean and towel dry, I'll give one of those rags (or my Black and Decker leaf blower ) a try.

Quote:
kevinm said:

Quote:
Al Pettee said:

Quote:
STRADALE said:

Quote:
Al Pettee said:

Quote:
dweiser said:
Any special advice on what to do to a ragtop, if anything?

Just hose it down with the water hose, there's no need for soap. Do this especially and even in between car cleanings if there are bird droppings or other stain-making spots. If you towel-wipe it dry, the ragtop acts like velcro that attracts lint. Just drop a towel on top to soak up the water or let it dry on its own-I've even used my Black and Decker leaf blower (as suggested by a rennteamer) to facilitate drying.

BTW, I have used the Armour All wax gel after cleaning, it's an extra 5 minutes of "elbow grease," and it looks great.

Al,
Regarding the towel leaving lint. Agree 100%. If you use a cotton towel they leave lint behind on the top. Griots has a "micro-fiber drying towel" that is perfect for the paint and the top.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_1000&L2=L2_1003&SKU=11023

It doesn't leave lint, ever. Once it's clean you can use a convertible top protectant. This one from "RAGGTOP" works great. It has U.V. protection so it helps prevent the sun from damaging the top's color.
http://www.convertibletops.com/cleanandprotect.html

That micro -fiber towel is very different from the other micro-fiber towels Griots has. It absorbs water like a sponge so you don't get the streaking like you do with a cotton bath towel and there's less risk it will pick up a dirt particle. Best thing since sliced bread.

Yes, Strad, as usual-very informative response.

Since I picked up some microfiber towel items, I haven't done/needed to do any ragtop cleaning (I took my dealer's advice and simply have hosed it off, I think it's pretreated in the factory and seems to stay clean with water.).

If it looks dirty, and I need to clean and towel dry, I'll give one of those rags (or my Black and Decker leaf blower ) a try.

Hey guys you should try the leaf blower method it works great! When the car has a good coat of wax and the rag top is treated well with a waterproof sealant, the water just beads off the top and the clear coat. All the water recess areas are completely dry and it take very little time. I also wipe down the car after blowing it dry with Groits microfiber drying towel. One more thing, The blower is great for the wheels and helps prevent that break gunk on the wheels.

Quote:
eddie said:

Quote:
STRADALE said:

Quote:
Orient Express said:

Quote:
Thanks Orient Express - it looks perfect for me. Have you used this for a while and feel that it works well? My concern is if i just use a wet rag to wipe, that it will be scraping the dirt/dust onto the paint as I clean.

Thanks again

The trick is to keep the rag(s) wet, and turn and rinse or use new rags frequently. I typically will go through 6-10 rags when wiping down the car. As the rag accumulates the dirt, set it aside and get a clean wet one.

Orient Express - The other day on the other thread you said you never take your car out in the rain. Did you mention this ???? I know the type of dust (not dirt) you're dealing with because I don't take my Ferrari out in the rain either. But the dirt you're seeing on those rags is being dragged across the clear coat. rejex (which I would never use again) or not. The dust that settles on a fair weather car is much smaller but I still would never use the dirty rag method. MMD and I talked about this same thing on the "wash 997" thread a while back.

For guys that use their cars more frequently like I use my Porsche wiping dirty rags against your is NOT the way to do it. It's work (and dirty work at that) just to avoid doing it right. And you maybe can get away with washing a fair weather car twice a year if you never take out in the rain but for an everyday car, no way. Not if you like your car as clean as I do. Especially living in the North East US. Just one drive in a good rain and you definately need a wash. Just to clean the wheels after a rain (with the rag method) you would need 10 rags. I'll be dirty as hell and you're going to scratch the rims. I guarantee it.


eddie - If your car gets as dirty as mine from using it everyday there's no substitute or short cuts for doing it right. If your car gets as dirty as mine there's no way I would clean it with dirty rags. To answer your question - Yes, you will most likey scratch the clear coat or even scratch into the paint. It's pretty obvious by the dirt you see on the rag what's happening when you use rags to wipe a dirty car. You may only catch a small dirt particle and create fine scratches into the clear coat but chances are you will grab a larger dirt particle and drag it across the paint and do some nice damage. It's not worth it. Treat your baby with respect and take the time to do it right. Trust me on this guys - Don't wipe your dirty car with wet rags.

Thanks Stradale for clearing things up for me. I guess for me being safe, and recognising that I am no expert detailer, it makes sense to just wash the car and avoid the risk of scraping small particles of dirt accross my car.

Thanks again.