[R129 SL] cleaning soft top

[Mark DeLuca]

Paul -

My SL500 is never used in bad weather so the top hasn't needed much
attention. When it was new I treated it with a product called Rag Top
Protectant which really made my black top blacker in addition to beading
water.

The plastic windows need attention every year or so to keep them clear. I
use McGuire's scratch X which is the mildest abrasive that they sell and it
has been really fantastic. I buffed out my rear window with it (be careful
not to get it onto the fabric at the edges) and it did a great job removing
very small scratches. I followed that with an aresol plastic window cleaner
(forget the name, blue can) which seemed to put a smooth coating on the
plastic. Once the ScratchX gets the schmutz off, then the plastic window
cleaner does fine for the rest of the season.

BTW cleaning the inside of the plastic windows is a chore. Through trial and
error I now open the top just enough to release the back of the top and then
I pull up the rear bow so that I can clean the windows from the outside of
the car, half at a time (because they will be folded in half). I found that
the inside of the rear window was collecting the most scratches, primarily
from rubbing against the roll bar as it went down. I now keep a bath towel
in the trunk so that when I can, I put it over the roll bar when dropping
the top to minimize scratching.

- Mark D.


On 6/17/06, Paul Samarin <pauls at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> So far, my top is still perfectly clean and black, having never been
> used by the prior owner.  The windows are also very clean and clear,
> but a bit wrinkled in a couple of places.
>
> What are the best methods and products for cleaning the canvass and the
> window "glass"?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Paul
> 90 500 SL
>
> The MB Coupes Website!
> R129 SL Mailing List
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/r129list/attachments/20060617/9bb0b031/attachment.htm