I figured I'll do the same thing but the warranty is only 50,000 right? Well at 45,500+ I'm almost out of warranty, so I'll let them replace it, no loss to me... I would live with the wear as long as it doesn't get worse, but I just brought it up "hoping" for it to be replaced, I didn't b@t#h about it at all and was very suprised that they made the decision to replace (not upset about it though...).

 

Thom, since you are close to the magic 50k mark then you are doing the right thing. Some 05's had issues so better safe then sorry. Hope they put the new top on correctly.

 

Did you have a chance to try the brush on product? How was the application and any results?

 

No <sigh> last Friday turned out to be very cloudy & not so warm. This Saturday I am doing my big, biannual clay/polish/wax detail. It's supposed to be 81 & totally sunny so I feel like I will be able to do it then. I will def post my initial thoughts on Saturday

 

Well I finally applied the Renovo, brush-on product. I can't tell you how well it beads as I wasn't going to wet down my car after I spent 8 hours detailing it just to see how well my top would bead I will let you know about the beading after it rains or at my next wash.

The Renovo went on fairly easily. It took me approx 30 minutes to apply it. The only time there was any runoff was when applying it to the vertical, sides of the top. But the runoff was only like a drop so I quickly wiped it off. I felt like I got much better coverage than I do when using a spray-on product plus I was able to really pay special attention & apply extra product to the seams, edges, & stress points. All in all I liked it & provided it beads well I will use it for future applications. I used the entire bottle for one treatment & I used those little sponge paint brushes to apply it but they kept tearing so time I will probably try to find a different sponge

 

thanks for the information. I look forward to the follow up. If it beads well I will try it also. I like the fact one has more control over the application.

 

Hi all - I'm looking for some info on taking care of my new 07MCC. I've never had a convertible, and don't know much about cars. I don't quite know the proper care for it and would like to keep it as beautiful as possible for a long time!

For example, how often should i clean/protect it? I just picked up a week ago and am already itching to give it a good clean since pollen here is leaving a nice yellow film on everything.

Also, raggtopp vs. 303 -- are both equals or is one better than the other.

All help/opinions appreciated :-)

 

Well I think the Renovo beads well. We had a massive rain (like 2" in a few hours) but it was during the night & when I got up in the morning the MINI paint had water beads like crazy but the top was already dry. We haven't had a rain during waking hours since I used it but when I washed the MINI last weekend the water just beaded & danced across the top when I was hosing it down. So far I think the Renovo is a keeper

They are pretty much the same. When cleaning your top never, ever use your carsoap on it. Only use a cleaner made especially for fabric tops. Whenever you do use top cleaner you must retreat the top with protectant as the cleaner removes the protectant. I only clean & treat my top a few times a year. When I wash the MINI every weekend I just rinse my top off thoroughly with the hose

 

So to revive this conversation - it was time for me to re-treat with 303 - so I decided to live the rebel life (since we all know I AM a rebel) and BRUSH IT ON. It was such a pain to mask off the car last time I sprayed it... and I figured it wouldnt hurt anything, they say nothing about brushing on the label (they say to spray, but they do not say "Do Not Brush On") - I tested an area on the back first, worked great, so I did the whole top. Used a soft bristle 2" synthetic paintbrush and applied liberally and used the brush to work it in. It starts off looking a bit "foamy" and white - but as it dries all that goes away and the top now looks BRAND NEW. Or better than new. I think by taking my time I got just as even coverage this way as with spraying (maybe better) and was able to put extra effort into the seams, etc. as bamatt said.

Haven't gotten it wet yet - I'll post an update later this week when we get some rain (hopefully) - but it really looks good right now. No visible streaking or anything like that. I have high confidence that this will be good.

By the way, even after washing the top and letting it dry, I was able to get TONS of black dust out of the fabric using a sticky lint roller - went through half a dozen sheets or so. And I mean BLACK. That's probably another reason the top looks so good now...

 

Here is a teeney Renovo update... We were going to be in a parade yesterday so I had to wash the MINI Friday night, after dark, in unseasonably chilly weather. Water beads (& I mean round, perfectly shaped beads) formed all over the top. The weather stayed too cool for many of the beads to dry or evaporate so when I got up early the next morning my top was still covered with several perfectly shaped little beads, just sitting there. I would say the Renovo beads well I have never gotten that kind of bead from the 303 or RaggTopp

 

See that the Renuvo sealant is brush on. How does the cleaner go on? How does well does it work?

 

I dunno. I haven't tried it yet. In the past I have bought the 303 & RaggtTopp cleaner/protectant kits & I only used 1/2 can of the cleaner while using the whole can of protectant during one treatment so... Basically for the cleaning step this last time I was using up my leftover cleaners