Vinyl Top Extreme Makeover - How to remove mold, mildew, dirt and stains out of a vinyl convertible top

[Mike Phillips]

Vinyl Top Extreme Makeover - How to remove mold, mildew, dirt and stains out of a vinyl convertible top





By brother-in-law PJ purchased this restored, classic 1969 Oldsmobile 442 and while it shows signs of a very good restoration it needed some attention to bring it back up to its full potential. The paint was completely filled with swirls, scratches and some type of heavy overspray. We fixed the paint issues here at an Autogeek Extreme Makeover.

Before PJ purchased the car it was stored outside in a driveway with some type of tarp over it and the result was mold and mildew grew all over the vinyl top. The amount of dirt and grime built-up in the weave of the vinyl top PLUS the mold and mildew meant in order to restore a vibrant white color so the new top matched the vibrant paint, we needed to do an extreme makeover to the vinyl top.

Process

1. Spray vinyl top down with Iron X.
2. Spray vinyl top down with foam gun - wash top to remove Iron X and all loose dirt.
3. Spray vinyl top down with Marine 31 Mildew Remover.
4. Machine scrub vinyl top using a Cyclo brush on a Porter Cable 7424XP polisher plugged into a GFI power outlet.
5. Spray vinyl top down with foam gun and re-wash top using Microfiber Chenille Wash Mitts.
6. Rinse vinyl top with water to flush off all loosened mildew, dirt, grime and cleaners.
7. Dry top and apply Marine 31 Mildew Guard

From experience, I find cars that have NOT been properly cared for or properly stored to often time be horribly contaminated with all forms of air-borne pollution. For projects like this I like to spray the top down first with Iron X. You never know if there's some form of iron or metallic pollution on a surface until you treat it with a product like Iron X. If you're LUCKY you won't see anything. If you're UNLUCKY you'll see the surface bleed read showing the surface was in fact contaminated and the red bleeding effect is the result of the Iron X dissolving the metallic particles so they can be removed off the top.

Again - I didn't know if the top was contaminated or not until we sprayed it down with Iron X. Looks like it was contaminated to me.









Sorry no pictures of the other steps as we had some camera issues this day but here are the end results after all the steps I listed plus the last step....


Last step: Apply Marine 31 Mold Guard to seal the vinyl top and prevent future mold and mildew growth.









Products used are all available on Autogeek.com


Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher

CarPro Iron X Iron Remover 500 ml

Marine 31 Mildew Remover

Marine 31 Mildew Guard

2 Pack Cyclo Polisher Aqua Soft Carpet Brush

McKee's 37 Half Gallon Foamaster Foam Gun

McKee's 37 Xtreme Foam Formula Auto Shampoo

Gold Plush Micro-Chenille Wash Mitt

The Guzzler Triple Kit - For drying the car and the top

[Craig Parker]

Excellent work as usual Mike, the top looks brand new, that is an extreme makeover! Thanks for sharing.

[scuff]

Good looking top - now.

Mike, is an adapter required to use a Cyclo brush with the PC 7424 (non-XP)?

[Mike Phillips]

Mike, is an adapter required to use a Cyclo brush with the PC 7424 (non-XP)?

No. The Cyclo brushes fit on both the PC and the Griot's Garage 6" DA and even the Meguiar's MT300


I'll post some pictures showing the tires on the 1972 Corvette we buffed out being machine scrubbed using the PC tonight.

[axel06]

fantastic looks amazzing Mike !!!!!

[scuff]

No. The Cyclo brushes fit on both the PC and the Griot's Garage 6" DA and even the Meguiar's MT300


I'll post some pictures showing the tires on the 1972 Corvette we buffed out being machine scrubbed using the PC tonight.

Cool! Makes me even happier I kept the 7424.

Has AG considered breaking up the Cyclo two packs and making up some mixed brush combos?

[BillE]

Iron X on a 'rag top"? Would have NEVER thought of it.

Thanx!

Bill

[Mike Phillips]

Cool! Makes me even happier I kept the 7424.

Has AG considered breaking up the Cyclo two packs and making up some mixed brush combos?

You can buy the Cyclo brushes individually so if you just want one brush you can buy just one brush. If you want two different styles of brushes then you can order two different individual brushes.


For anyone that wants to purchase individual brushes (not 2-packs of identical brushes which is how people buy them for the dual head Cyclo polisher), then click the link below..

My experience is the green and the gray brushes work the best on the PC.


Porter Cable 7424 Carpet & Upholstery Brushes

[scuff]

I didn't see them listed that way. Thanks again.

[scuff]

I found another use for the Grey Ultra Soft Upholstery Brush. I've tried several different hand brushes and assorted scrubbers, but nothing was able to completely clean the textured floors of my fiberglass showers like that brush on a PC 7424 set to 1. It's amazingly fast, and leaves the floor absolutely clean. Anyone that's struggled to clean a pebbly tub floor should put that brush in their cart.