How to cover and protect a convertible top before machine buffing

[Mike Phillips]

How to cover and protect a convertible top before machine buffing

Anytime you're buffing out a convertible you have two options,

• Leave the top up and cover and protect it
• Put the top down and cover and protect the interior

Either will work and I've done both, see below for how to cover an interior with the top down.


How to cover and protect a convertible top before machine buffing
Leaving the top us is easier than trying to cover and protect the interior but sometimes for reasons out of your control it might not be possible to put the top up if it's already down.

If it is up, then you want to protect the the material, usually either canvas or vinyl from getting any compound, polish or wax residue into either the weave or the grain of the material. If don't cover and protect the convertible top material and get any type of residue on it, removing it 100% completely is almost impossible so it will become an eyesore as well as your signature in a negative manner.

Here's how I cover and protect convertible tops. You'll need,

• Painter's Drop Cloth or clean bedsheet
• Painter's Tape, both wide and thin rolls.
• Scissors
• Felt pen

In this example, I'm using a car we used for one of our Detailing Classes, a 1962 Cadillac Convertible.





































Swirl-Free Finish on the paint and ZERO splatter in the grain or weave of the top







Covering the interior with the top down

In the below pictures you can see where I've used a soft flannel bedsheet to cover the interior of 1960 Corvette



Finished



Here I've covered the windshield and interior using a soft flannel bedsheet


Finished...
1965 numbers matching Corvette, original owner.





Wheels, Tires, Sidepipes, Windshield and Interior
Again, here's a 1963 Corvette Stingray I buffed out for the 2004 Plastic Fantastic Corvette Show in San Diego in which instead of putting the top up and then taping off the top I used a soft flannel bed sheet to cover both the windshield, seats and interior.



Afterwards on display in full sun, this car also took first place in it's class at the Plastic Fantastic Show the following weekend.




There you go...

[Mike Phillips]

One more tip...

Instead of trying to tape the plastic drop cloth to the convertible top or a surrounding body panel, first run a strip of wide tape around the bottom of the top like this,




Now use painter's tape to attach your protective drop cloth to this tape line already in place.



This does two things,

1. Provides an extra measure of protection to the convertible top material from the buffing process.

2. Provides a place to attach the tape you'll use to hold on the drop cloth.

By applying a strip of tape to the material itself it just makes it easier and faster to get the flimsy drop cloth plastic attached to the top without having to be exact because the first strip of tape will be, or at least should be exact.


Make sense?

[ryanbabz71]

Good info thanks! We just picked up our 1st convertible last week (2012 camaro ss)


Ryan

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[Mike Phillips]

Good info thanks! We just picked up our 1st convertible last week (2012 camaro ss)


Ryan

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What color is the top?

I know people that don't cover convertible tops but as for me I'll take the time and spend the $5.00 bucks to cover and protect before I risk getting any residue or removed paint in the weave of the material.


Congrats on the new vert!

[ryanbabz71]

Black, so far I used raggtopp cleaner and protectant on it. Came out great


Ryan

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[Mike Phillips]

Black, so far I used raggtopp cleaner and protectant on it. Came out great


Ryan

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Looks good...





RaggTopp makes great products. My recommendation for whatever its worth would be to regularly clean and re-apply the protectant based upon the use of the car. Also, never use any coarse brushes on the top, stick with something soft and gentle.


Also, most compounds and polishes are white, not all but most, so you never want to run the edge of a buffing pad into your car's convertible top and cream it out with residue. Nor do you want to sling splatter dots all over the place.

[Mike Phillips]

Another example of how to protect a convertible top from compound, polish and wax splatter.

Note in this picture we only taped a few inches around the base of the top and this works just be careful you never lift a you polisher, with a spinning pad into the air while it's turned on.


A little painter's tape can save a lot of time and frustration
Anytime you work on a convertible, either put the top down or take and cover it to prevent getting compound and polish splatter into the weave of the material, ESPECIALLY if you're working on a red single stage paint job and the convertible top is white in color.



You can find the full write-up for this project here,


1936 Ford Roadster - Show Car Makeover