Any of you 5280's drive a Cabrio through the winter? Was wondering how difficult it is to get magchloride off the convertible top. Is there anything you do to the top which makes this easier?

 

Mine is a daily drive so I drove it everyday last winter (when it would clear the ice ruts in our neighborhood that is).
What worked for me was to do prevention first then wash at every opportunity. For prevention I used 303 Fabric Guard. This product keeps your top beading water for about 6 months. Others have used RaggTopp with success as well. Either product can be found at www.DetailersParadise.com (down on Broadway). To use these products you need to clean your top with a product like 303 Fabric Cleaner and allow to dry completely. Then after masking windows and rubber bits with tape, sheets and/or newspapers, apply the 303 Fabric Guard being sure to full saturate the canvas. It is best to do this in full sun on a warm and windless day. The hotter the canvas gets the better the stuff will cure and the longer it will last.
Now since you may have a new MINI, you may not need to do this process this year, but you should plan on it for next summer. In the meantime be sure to wash you MINI frequently during the winter. Don't use soap on the top, just rinse with water and don't dry it with any thing but a microfiber towel since you don't want to leave any lint. I actually don't towel off the top at all since abrasion or rubbing will wear the waterproofing faster.
Hope that helps.

Chuck

 

Thanks Chuck for the great information. Does the magchloride come off simply by rinsing with a low pressure gardenhose, or do you have high pressure wash either with your own hose or a coin wash? I would think that a coin wash will wear the waterproofiing off faster, but am not sure what kind of effort it takes to get the magchloride off.

It's funny, I found Detailers Paradise online yesterday from reading threads on NAM. Never would have realized it was local. Now that I know, I'm sure I'll be a regular customer. After talking to a few NAMer's I was going to try Renovo, just because you brush it on instead of painting it. Like you said though, it's a ways away yet since it will be new.

 

I noticed last time I ordered from DP that they no longer have the 303 Aerospace Protectant listed as for sale on their website. I have been meaning to ask Heather if they have quit selling it or if it is just an accidental omission

 

Last time I actually followed the advise of another NAMer and poured the 303 into a small jar and painted it on. Worked really well, but I've heard the Renovo works well too. I just use a garden hose to rinse the top.
I'm not sure bamatt. Last time I was in DP (Friday before last) I saw plenty of 303 products. Maybe Heather omitted them or perhaps they removed the 303 from on-line sales.

 

DP still has plenty of 303 products listed just not the stuff you put on your top

 

It's call 303 Fabric Guard now. 303 changed the name, but 303 Aerospace Protectant has always been for vinyl.

 

I agree with Chuck wholeheartedly.

First, understand that any kind of protection, whether a fabric guard or other top protectant for your top (or wax on your paint), should be thought of as your sacrificial layer. In other words, mag chloride is so powerful that it will eat through anything in its path. The key is to give it something other than your top or paint to chew through first!

Along those lines, if you don't wash it off as frequently and as thoroughly as possible, it will eventually eat through your sacrificial protective layer and starts on your precious top (or paint).

So, as Chuck advised, I also advise getting a protectant on the top prior to winter and then wash it anytime you think they used mag chloride on the roads.

As you can imagine, it creates a bit of a catch-22... you don't want to wash unnecessarily and/or with too harsh a soap or you will add to the waring down of your protectant, yet you want to wash off any trace of mag chloride ASAP. So, you just do your best to balance it.

Unfortunately, mag chloride is really nasty stuff on our poor cars. Come by and see us and we can help you pick a product. (and answer any other questions you might have!)

-Heather

 

Brushing on is really the easiest way to apply your protectant, IMO. There are a few others who prefer to spray, but not me!

Any non-aerosol protectant, including both 303 Fabric Guard and Renovo Soft Top Proofer, can be poured into a container/bowl and brushed on. Most customers find that a cheap little foam brush works the best. (I agree!) Both products are excellent and equally durable when applied in this way.

-Heather

 

We've been waiting for a shipment from 303. Their minimum order amount increased drastically several months ago so now we have to wait until we're nearly out of everything before we can financially justify ordering more again. It's a real pain!

So, we were so low (and now out) of many 303 items that we pulled them from the site while we ordered more. Our new stock of all 303 products should be here later this week- at which time our shelves will be re-stocked and our website will have 303 available again. Sorry about that!

-Heather

 

Heather, thanks so much for summing things up. I would have been mostly on the right track, but it sure is nice to get advice from an expert. I still have a bunch of questions, but since I'm going to drop by I'll hit you up in person. Thanks again.