Can anyone recommend a product or two for cleaning and re-blackening a soft top. Mine is a bit dirty and faded and I would like to give it a bit of a brush up. I know Auto Glym do a kit for soft tops - has anyone tried it? Isn't their vinyl and rubber stuff for bumpers just as good 'cos it's a quarter of the price? (11/99)

I use the Auto Glym vinyl stuff to great effect. The roof come up a treat after treatment but dont use too much as it will end up all over the windows when it rains otherwise. Seems to repel the water as well which I guess is a good thing. (11/99)

I use and recommend Mer's vinyl cleaner and "protector" (I can't remember the exact name of the stuff, but it's by MER). I only apply it every 4 months as it does last that long - it will bring your top back to the original black, with a nice sheen. In fact, I don't usually "wash" the top while Mer is on it: I just hose off the dust and dirt. Mer causes rain and other water to bead, so it just rolls off. The top looks like new, and repells dirt to a good extent. Mer works well on the black plastic around the windscreen wipers too... The only downside: it causes water to bead, but those beads can cause a little lake to form in the middle of your roof, which makes getting into the car after a rainstorm *fun*. You have to be quick otherwise you'll end up with a lapfull of rainwater... Of course, on my car this collected water seems to set off the microwave alarm sometimes, for some reason. The only other downside is that the top squeaks a bit whenever it is laid down under the hardtop - you know that squeaky plastic-to-plastic sound... While you're at it - polish your plastic window inside and out with normal car polish/wax. Best way to keep that part of the car "clean". (11/99)

I've used Halford's own convertible top restorer, and it worked well. Only £15 for the kit. (11/99)

I used the Halfords soft top kit - did a good job in freshening up the roof. Didn't fix the tears, though :-( (11/99)

And someone once suggested black boot polish. Anybody know the long term effects of this? Would it not stop the material from "breathing" in the same way Armorall does? (11/99)

Dunno but it wouldn't smell that great. (11/99)

Autoglym actually recommend the 'Bumper Care' (green label)product for vinyl soft tops. You should apply it with a small piece of sponge to get an even coverage. Their soft top stuff is specially for cloth type hoods like the MGF. I used to use Autoglym's vinyl care (yellow label) but it leaves a white residue which is very difficult to remove. I now use 'Bumper Care' regularly and find it is much , much better. (11/99)

I've used the AutoGlym kit -- there is a detergent and then a sealant. Worked fine on my new Mark 2 the day I got it, but I don't think it would re-blacken a faded top. (11/99)

Vinyl roof .. so needs vinyl bumper stuff anyway (I talked to Autoglym). Clean with upholstery cleaner and toothbrush .. Autogylm good stuff for this.. treatment afterwards varies.. Autoglym lasts maybe 3 weeks and can give white streaks; second car I use US stuff that is super natural .. well stinks like natural sun tan lotion ..called Zymol; this needs a good Californian day to apply as the sun's heat makes it apply/spread/dry .. of course only found one day in Scotland this year that I could do it since getting the stuff from Hot'n'Boovered (ceased trading .. try Miata.marketing in US) at Billings '98. So overall Autoglym is practical for this country but leaves smears on your glass rear window :-(. (11/99)

Do your leather shoes continue to breathe? Anyway vinyl doesn't breathe unless you call the loss of the volatile plasticisers over time breathing. Black Shoe polish is the probably as effective a hood treatment as any of the othe boutique products at a fraction of the price, and for where I live (Australia), it is the most effective UV barrier available. (11/99)

The hood has been cleaned with Armoral Vinyl and Rubber care (low gloss) which has cleaned it very well and almost brought it back to original looking black. It has only had one treatment so far and the bottle recommends 3, so it should be almost "as new" when finished. (11/99)

I've started using two products I got from a Car Refinishing Supplies place; "Rubber Kenz", which does a good job of really cleaning the hood and interior trim, prior to a show finish. Then I use "Top Shine", an interior silicone-free vinyl polish. It has a gel like consistancy, you use a little then buff up. The finish is great. This stuff doesn't run, and is cheap, at under a fiver for a liter (comes in big plain tins). (9/00)

I had to have my (dark blue) hood repaired at a coachworks specialist last year and he recommended using swarfega and a toothbrush. The amount of dirt still coming off during the third teatment was astounding. Four years of ingrained muck. I finished with Auto Glym Vinyl and Rubber Care spray. It came up a treat and has looked like new since last September. Word of warning though. Don't let the swarfega get on the windscreen or any other glass surface - it somehow reacts with the laminate inside (?) the glass and makes faint blemishes. (6/02)

When I got my new hood it was covered in dust/sand stains. I gave it a good shampooing when I first washhed the hood after fitting it, and while it was wet it looked fine, but when it dried the stains were visible again. In the end I attacked it autoglym trim cleaner. It came up fine but I thought at the time it had covered the stains up instead of removing them. Today I noticed that 2 weeks after the last application of cleaner the stains are showing through again. Has anyone else had this problem? (3/00)

I assume the stains have a brown tinge to them?? It's probably the wax maxda use to protect the car when in trasnit. Try cleaning it with Meths (which won't harm the vinyl) (3/00)