Newbie: Canvas convertible and car wash soap?

[Dubgw]

Hi.....is it ok to foam gun the car wash soap ( ph balance/ no wax) onto the top during
weekly washes?.... any harm from too much soap?....shall I just rinse w plain hose water
and no foam directed at softtop?
it has 303 protectant on it.
Thanks,
Dub

[FUNX650]

Hi.....is it ok to foam gun the car wash soap
(ph balance/ no wax) onto the top during
weekly washes?....any harm from too much
soap?....shall I just rinse w plain hose water
and no foam directed at softtop?

it has 303 protectant on it.

I wouldn’t use car-wash shampoos (whether
they foam, or not) on my vehicles’ fabric tops.
Instead, I use products that are specifically
made for fabric tops.

Note:
I hope you are using 303 High Tech Fabric
Guard...not the 303 Aerospace Protectant.



Bob

[Eldorado2k]

I personally don’t use car wash soap on my fabric top. The 1 time I did it turned into a bit of a mess.. Well not an extreme mess, but what I noticed was that when I went to rinse my car along with the top a couple of weeks later the top suddenly began sudsing because the car wash soap hadn’t completely rinsed away. I dunno about you, but I definitely don’t want that to be in my fabric the whole time.


You say you’ve got it protected with 303? I hope you mean the fabric guard and not the protectant? If it’s a Cadillac you don’t even want to use the Fabric Guard on it, long story short the fabric tops on Cadillacs aren’t made the same as actual convertible fabric tops and should not be treated with any sort of waterproofing products at all.

But anyways, since it’s protected, a good way to maintain it is to brush it with a soft nylon brush. Or you can also vacuum it with a soft nylon brush attachment. I usually do both. Brush then vacuum.



That’s usually enough to maintain it looking good from week to week... Occasionally it will need an actual cleaning with the hose & “soap”
For those times I use a dedicated convertible fabric top cleaner. I personally like the Meguiars.



Use a proper soft nylon brush to lightly scrub it.





Unlike car wash soap, this rinses clean and easy.



Leaving the fabric top looking like new again.



Not bad for a 21yr. old top. Proper products are worth it. Good luck!