First Stang

My new vert sat out in the rain yesterday and the cloth roof was totally soaked - looked like a wet pair of jeans. I am afraid it will leak through to the interior and rust out the roof mechanism. Anyone else have this problem?Anyway, I went to my servicing dealer and he said the water should totally roll off but that my selling dealer would have to handle the problem because they should have detected the problem when they PDI'd it. He said the dealer would probably have to get the Ford rep involved. Unfortunately, the dealer I bought from is 100 miles away from where I live. Any suggestions on how to deal with the dealers and Ford on this issue?

ponyent

I hope you haven't washed the top with any sort of detergent, that is a no-no and will mess up the top. If you care for it properly, it should not be a problem. My top repels water totally and there has not been a problem at all.

If you need some info on how to care for a fabric top try: RaggTopp Convertible Top Care: RaggTopp Convertible Car Top Detailing Products for fabric & vinyl tops. convertible top clean...

This is the ONLY product approved by the top manufacturer for use on these tops. (that means NO running the car through the car wash!)

I doubt there is a top that would not repel water if properly cared for, but anything is possible! Good luck dealing with the dealer on that!

Good luck and let us know how you make out!

First Stang

Iwashed it with Meguairs Gold Class car wah. Would that be a problem?

steevr

ponyent,

Do you rinse the cloth top at all with the hose?? My vert is never driven in the rain, so the few times I've washed the car, I don't even wet the top. I'm wondering if it should get rinsed with just the hose to get rid of any embeded dust, etc.

Thanks,
Steve

boss429man

Ragg Topp Is The Best For Verts Used It On My O1 Vert The Top Still Looks New Even After I Took It To A Car Wash A Few Times. I Have IT On My 05 Still Looks New. I Re Aply Every 6 Mo.

Little Black Pony

You don't need to worry about the top leaking through as there is a vinyl membrane impregnated into the back of fabric to block water. So, it will look soaked but it really isn't. The cloth tops are probably the same as HAARTZ canvas. It's basically a solution dyed acrylic fabric with vinyl backing. For those with boats you would see it labeled as Sunbrella fabric.

The RaggTopp care products are very nice. I'd also recommend 303 Products as well, they might be easier to find locally.

steevr

303 is what I used to use on my tan sunbrella boat cover. I sprayed it every spring to keep the water beading.

Donna

Not the same problem you are having but here is a new TSB on convertable tops.

http://www.2005stang.com/gallery/alb...contopwear.pdf

ponyent

Steevr:

I do rinse the top occasionally. I also use a lint roller on it as it does tend to pick up a lot of lint. The Ragg Topp product includes a cleaning solution to use and my understanding is it does not contain any detergent or soap which they say is not good for the top.

I believe I read somewhere (Ragg Topp?) where they say to keep dust from building up on the cloth top because by putting the top up and down with dirt or dust on it, it can damage the fabric which makes sense.

First Stang: I would not use any car wash product on the top. I am not sure if one wash with maguiars is really going to matter much though.

mastersmech1

Lint roller works great. I too washed my top with soap. It appeared to dillute the water repellant properties. Ordered Raggtopp product tonight.

G.T

i own a coupe so i really wouldn't know.. but how about curing the top with something like 3M Scotchgard?

Bob99b5

I typically wash the whole car, including the cloth top, with car wash soap, then hose it all down completely. The top generally beaded fine, but if it gets really saturated the water will soak in. I got the car the end of June, and about a month later I applied three light coats of Ragg Top for cloth tops - basically used the whole can. It beads like water on a duck but I can still get it to soak in if I apply a lot of pressure. It's quite a time consuming process to cover the car and do the application. Even with the covering on, the whole car still needs to be detailed when you're done because the product invariably gets on the windows adn paint. Here are the pics of the application.

steevr

Hi Bob,

Wow, quite a masking job you did there. Is the stuff that messy?? How do you like the product so far??

Tuns out that even after I washed my car cover, I was still getting a ton of lint from it on the top. I even tried a bedsheet that's been washed a million times and I was still getting lint from that too. I finally cut a piece of plastic like you show, bug enought to cover the top. I put that on first and then the cover. What a PITA, but I wouldn't give up the look of the black cloth top for anything.

Steve

Bob99b5

The product isn't that bad but it'll leave a greasy film on the glass and paint. I have (free ) access to big rolls of plastic and 2 inch masking tape that my brother uses at his body shop when they need to cover large sections of cars under repair, so I figured this was the quickest and easiest way to keep things neat.

What cover did you buy and what would you recommend with the cloth roof??

steevr

I bought the California Car Cover plushweave. It's thick and is flannel on the inside for scratch protection. I love it except for the lint it leaves on the cloth top. The thick cover is a must for my kids' high traffic through my garage.

I think I've heard that the TMS cover leaves little or no lint. I'm not sure if it's cloth or more of a plastic type cover.

First Stang

So the original servicing dealer said it was a defect. Said the water should just bead up. But he said I would have to contact the selling dealer becasue they should have picked it up in the PDI.

I phoned the selling dealer (100 miles from me) and they said this is normal - roof will get soaked but will not leak because of vinyl liner.

Went to a third dealer and talked to their technical specialist. He also said the cloth getting soaked is normal.

So I purchased some Ragg Topp and will do the treatment. I'd rather see the water bead off then soak the cloth. I would think it would improve the longetivity.

StangNut

The original servicing dealer is full of ****. Even if there really was something wrong with your top, that dealer would still have to fix it under warranty. It has nothing what-so-ever to do with whether or not it was missed in the PDI. (and by the way, no where on the PDI checklist does it say to check to see if the top beads water)

If I were you, I'd try to avoid that dealership at all costs. If at all possible, have your warranty work done at a Lincoln-Mercury dealership.

Oh, also, there's nothing at all wrong with your top. That's what it's supposed to do. If you want it to bead up, apply one of the protectants everyone has mentioned.

Boltzman

You beat me to it Jason! I was gonna say the same about the Lincoln Merc dealer since someone on this site recommended it

I know this doesn't help but if you ever get sick of cloth and have the money,go with vinyl top..Not one problem with lint ,soaking or anything..I use 303 for it and it still looks brand new..Just my .02