Hi Folks, Tourer here. Brand new owner, actually I haven't picked up my 07 Conv. S yet from Cincinatti BMW. But its there waiting for me when I get back from my Rocky Mountain trip. I have been reading some of your post and have learned a lot about the Mini. It makes me wonder why I have waited so long to finally break over and get the best. I haven't owned a convertable since the 60's and it was another British invention, the Hillman.
I enjoyed it very much. My question is how do you keep the cloth top looking good. Is there a particular brand of cleanser or conditioner that I should use on it to maintain its durability. It will be kept in the garage when not in use, however I do a lot of travelling and you don't find covered parking at a lot of the motels. I tour on my motorcycles now and carry covers for them. I guess that would be an alternative for the mini. My lurking hasn't seen this subject discussed yet. Any information would be appreciated. By the way, any of you mini owners out there from Kentucky or Florida? I spend about 4 months in Florida each year.

 

Welcome to NAM. You might wish to reports this in the Cabriolet forum, and get more responses.

 

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

Thread moved to Cabrio Talk.

 

Available at www.detailersparadise.com

It's brushed on, better than spray-on protectants as you can control it more easily.

Offers great protection.

 

Hey Tourer - Congrats!
To upkeep your rag top I would recommend a couple of things.
First you should keep it clean, but don't use car shampoo to do so. Simply rinse the top off with water when washing your MINI. Car shampoos will cause your canvas to actually attract dirt.
Second don't dry it, let it air dry if you can. Sometimes I use a microfiber towel if I'm in a hurry, but a regular cotton towel will lint badly. Once dry use a lint roller to remove anything that didn't come off during the rinse.
Finally, during the rinse pay attention to how well the water beads. You will notice the beading will diminish over time and when it reaches your comfort level treat your top with a product like 303 Fabric Guard, Raggtopp or Renovo to restore it's water beading. The canvas does not provide water protection to the car (there's a rubber liner for that), but with it treated it will be easier to keep clean. Dirt and canvas don't mix.
Enjoy your new ride, keep the top down (or I'll call 1-800-donotclose and report you) and check out the detailing forum for more good info on top care as well as general OCD detailing.

 

Welcome, Tourer! Congrats on the new MINI! I also do alot of touring on my motorcycle and I live in Florida about 12 months per year. Give me a shout when you come down and we can go riding sometime.

As far as roof maintenance, I can't help ya. I just got my Cabrio a few weeks ago and haven't had to deal with that yet.

 

Dang Maybee beat me to it.

Welcome and congrats on your new cabrio. She will love you long time...

 

Renovo and Raggtopp both have good reviews. In the end I went with Raggtopp because it was recommended by the top material manufacturer. Shouldn't have to worry about that for a year. BMW/Mini recommends sealing once a year and it should be good for your first year from the factory. I personally vacuum my top. Anybody else do that?

 

I haven't tried the vacuum, but I have been known to use one of those tape lint rollers

 

I do the vaccum thing without a doubt. An air hose will blow dirt into the fabric, the vaccum sucks it out! Even though my MINI lives in a garage the top has stopped beeding already, so I will treat it shortly. Don't forget to get a product that works on cloth. Your top is NOT vinyl. Some folks have had good results brushing on 303. Don't get the 'spray on' stuff on your trim, windows, or paint, it is a bear to get off according to the folks that did get it on their trim, windows,and paint! Lots of info in the detailing forum, they will teach you how to become OC! :impatient

 

Good point re: Renovo for cloth. That pic was the closest I could find. Perhaps DP is out of the Renovo for cloth right now.

 

Congrats on the new cabrio! You now have permission to go about the country topless.

I have been using the MINI brand cleaner and protectant with good results. I decided to do that at least until I was out of warranty because I'm trying to get MINI to replace my top due to wear marks. By using their products I figured that would eliminate them claiming my maintenance routine caused the problem. The top is much more black and the wear marks are not as noticeable for several months after I treat it. And the water beads nicely.

Since my MINI sits out in the sun all day while at work, I have been considering getting one of these half covers to keep the top out of the sun:

(scroll down until you see it)
http://64.225.94.154/ShopSite/page54.html

 

I really appreciate all the information. It looks like I posted on the wrong topic area. But this was my first post. So I will try to do better next time.
I wasn't aware of the 1 yr. warranty on the top. Thanks for the information. I guess I will have to ask my salesman a few more questions before I pick it up. Thanks again guys, I will return soon. Off on a weeks ride through the beautiful state of Utah.!! Tourer! PS: I will be in touch Michael when I get back down to Florida

 

I recently asked my dealership about warranty on the top and they said it was two years. And that was the first time I had heard it wasn't three years/50,000. Now someone is saying it's one year?

 

Tourer, call the number 1-888-DO NOT CLOSE, it is a real phone number.

 

Hey Tourer - Welcome to NAM!
The best thing I've gotten has been a brush attachment to my shopvac - I vaccuum the top everytime I wash the car.
I bought some RaggTopp cleaner/protectant but haven't used it yet.

 

I swear by 303 Protectant. I just treated the top of my 06 with it. I poured the 303 on a folded white cotton cloth, and saturated the top...probably used 8 ozs. Be sure to let the top dry thoroughly before lowering it.
Only had my Mini a a couple of weeks, but have been using 303 on my Miata fabric top for years. It's held up well.
Good luck,
gaminis

 

I agree 200%. I absolutely LOVE 303

 

I chose to use RaggTopp simply because it's recommended by the manufacturer of most convertible tops. I taped off the borders with 3M Blue masking tape and draped the sides with newspaper- (only took a few minutes, the MINI is not very big!) and sprayed away! Nice results. I'll let you know how it holds up.

I had washed with the RaggTop cleaner first.

And yes cadfael_tex, I do vacuum with a Shop Vac and soft brush attachment regularly- it is windy and dusty here and the top always seems to get dirty...

 

The top is covered by the normal 4 yr/50k warranty. What your dealer may have been talking about is that a *replacement* top, like any dealer-installed accessory, is warranted for the remainder of the original factory warranty or two years, *whichever is longer*. So, if you have your top replaced right before your warranty expires, the new top is still covered for the next two years.

But if you have it replaced early in the warranty period (like at one year), the top won't be covered any longer than the rest of the car.

 

the pictures here are fir the vinyl proofer which is a maroon bottle..BUT our top is canvas..SO which is the correct one to use???

Vinyl proofer (maroon bottle)
OR
Soft top ultra proofer (blue bottle)


Thanks
Wade

 

DP didn't have the pic for the Fabric proofer when I popped on there the other day. But you don't want the vinyl roof stuff... you want the one for the FABRIC top.