Green mound on convertible roof cloth

[saxo_man]

Can anyone suggest a decent product to tidy up this roof on my Mercedes CLK. I’ve tried scrubbing it with car shampoo and a brush and tried powerhosing it too but the green isn’t really shifting.

 

[300trophy]

Citrus pre-wash, stiff brush to agitate (would recommend the Vikan nail brush), rinse and repeat as many times as necessary.

 

[saxo_man]

Citrus pre-wash, stiff brush to agitate (would recommend the Vikan nail brush), rinse and repeat as many times as necessary.

Cheers! Diluted by how much?

 

[300trophy]

Will depend on the brand you use. I use Autobead Heavy Dirt (normal cleaning I use at 1:20 / 1:25) but on a convertible roof I would use a stronger mix, would try at 1:10 and go from there.

 

[richie_mck]

The green is algae so I’d start with something that’ll kill it. Throw some patio magic over it and it’ll be like new

 

[dh1079]

Milton that is used to sterilise bottles back in the day

 

[Burt2000]

Brush attachments on a drill will save you time and effort. Great for scrubbing in general

Amazon product ASIN B08RZCM2N3

 

[saxo_man]

Thanks lads. Just realised i wrote green mound, I meant mould, not a Freudian slip.

 

[Nicky Glanza]

I used white vinegar on one once, did a good job just the smell wasn’t great while doing it patio magic may work but just check bleach content

 

[saxo_man]

I’ve ordered gtechniq citrus cleaner and those drill attachment brushes, and some fallout remover for the wheels. Now to find some time to do it

 

[variant]

Great success with this on my mum's rarely driven Citroen DS3 cloth roof

 

[407_hdi]

Once you get the mould cleaned up Renovo does a great job of re dying the hood. I did my Z4 with it last year and it went from patchy grey to jet black in a mornings work

 

[saxo_man]

Once you get the mould cleaned up Renovo does a great job of re dying the hood. I did my Z4 with it last year and it went from patchy grey to jet black in a mornings work

I'll see what it looks like cleaned up. It was perfect last summer, nice and black, but seems to have very rapidly gone down hill.

 

[big_pete]

Get some hood protector on it too and it will really help with it in future.

Gtechniqs smart fabric works well on them, just make sure the roof is bone dry before applying any and it will keep it looking good.

Should also stress don’t use a pressure washer, just rinse with an open hose when doing your cleaning. It may take more than one attempt to clean it

 

[Chris100]

I'll see what it looks like cleaned up. It was perfect last summer, nice and black, but seems to have very rapidly gone down hill.

Really hard to keep on top of the convertible roofs if the car is left outside, mine has protection on it but bird crap and other contaminants really make it hard to keep it looking good.

I am seriously considering just a cover for the roof, mine was protected with Gyeon which was very good, but only lasts a year at best.

A specific cleaning product and protection is required, very hard to do outside as the spray goes everywhere and overspray must be removed immediately.

I watched a couple of video’s and the top tip was to apply the protection with a brush, no overspray and it seemed to work for mine.

 

[Gareth]

My wife's, friends, mum's Mini was parked up for about 18 months beside foliage and looked like this,

Took a few goes to clean it up but Anachem's CitraClean did the job.

Ended up getting right down to using a toothbrush for the final pieces,

I ended up putting the GTechniq Smart Fabric on it when done.

 

[saxo_man]

Really hard to keep on top of the convertible roofs if the car is left outside, mine has protection on it but bird crap and other contaminants really make it hard to keep it looking good.

I am seriously considering just a cover for the roof, mine was protected with Gyeon which was very good, but only lasts a year at best.

A specific cleaning product and protection is required, very hard to do outside as the spray goes everywhere and overspray must be removed immediately.

I watched a couple of video’s and the top tip was to apply the protection with a brush, no overspray and it seemed to work for mine.

I plan on sticking the car in the garage to do the coating, and mask off the body work and windows with a dust sheet, no wind to blow the spray about.

I also have the wee MX5 sitting out too but the roof doesnt seem to go green, but my dad said he has treated it with something, would be a couple of years ago now, so this must have made a difference, or maybe the material is better in more modern cars?

My wife's, friends, mum's Mini was parked up for about 18 months beside foliage and looked like this,

View attachment 389305

Took a few goes to clean it up but Anachem's CitraClean did the job.

View attachment 389306
View attachment 389307

Ended up getting right down to using a toothbrush for the final pieces,

View attachment 389308
View attachment 389309

I ended up putting the GTechniq Smart Fabric on it when done.

I'd be happy if I get a result like that

There seem to be two types of the smart fabric, one with AB and one without. Some sites recommend AB for roofs, and others say to avoid it! To me it would make sense to have AB (antibacterial/biogical?) in it to prevent biological growth on it?

 

[Chris100]

GTeching specifically state not to use their AB fabric cleaner on convertible roofs.

 

[saxo_man]

GTeching specifically state not to use their AB fabric cleaner on convertible roofs.

I read that last night but seen other sites saying the opposite, I'll just make sure I get the non AB stuff.

 

[Ghisallo]

My wife's, friends, mum's Mini was parked up for about 18 months beside foliage and looked like this,

View attachment 389305

Took a few goes to clean it up but Anachem's CitraClean did the job.

View attachment 389306
View attachment 389307

Ended up getting right down to using a toothbrush for the final pieces,

View attachment 389308
View attachment 389309

I ended up putting the GTechniq Smart Fabric on it when done.

That’s a bloody good result there!

I’m sure your wife's friend’s mum was very pleased.

 

[big_pete]

The Ab stuff can leave a white chalk like residue on certain materials.

As a general rule of thumb I always recommend treating a roof every year.

 

[Chris100]

The Ab stuff can leave a white chalk like residue on certain materials.

As a general rule of thumb I always recommend treating a roof every year.

That’s exactly what happened to mine, doesn’t actually say on the Gtechinq bottle that the AB stuff is unsuitable for convertible roofs. But it does on their website.

I contacted them to complain, to be fair they apologised and sent me a bottle of non AB protection and a bottle of APC to clean the roof.

 

[300trophy]

The Gtechniq website states that I1 Smart Fabric AB V3 (bit of a mouthful that) can be used on all fabrics including convertible roofs.

 

[saxo_man]

The Gtechniq website states that I1 Smart Fabric AB V3 (bit of a mouthful that) can be used on all fabrics including convertible roofs.

This is what I read too, so I didn’t order anything last night just the cleaner.

 

[300trophy]

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