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Cars

The lowdown on top down

A convertible top needs careful cleaning, storing and exercising, or else, it will get out of shape.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published February 4, 2005

You're tooling down the highway in your convertible, top down in the mild winter weather. The warm sun shines down on you, the cool wind blows through your hair, the stereo's blasting. It's the perfect picture of a carefree lifestyle.

At least that's how it looks to all those hardtop drivers you pass. If you have much experience with convertibles, you know they present some hassles.

The tops get dirty pretty easily, or even get mildewed. The plastic rear windows crack or get permanently cloudy. Stitching comes apart and the material gets cracked.

If you're not careful, the term "rag top" becomes an accurate description instead of a cute nickname.

There's now an easy way to avoid it, experts say. If you want the top-down experience, you're going to have to put a little extra effort into the care and feeding of your top.

One local expert has a warning that's a shock for even convertible veterans: Taking your car through a carwash will almost certainly void the warranty on the convertible top.

"Most people don't know that," said David Shawver, the manager of Sunbrite Auto Works in Drew Park. "Almost every manufacturer of tops will void the warranty if it's taken through a carwash. It's because most carwashes these days are brushless, and they use very stringent chemicals. And the manufacturers will test for that before they honor the warranty."

The weakest part of the top is stitching, Shawver said, and harsh chemicals can damage the stitching.

Some manufacturers specifically state that commercial carwashes void the warranty, Shawver said. Others prohibit harsh soaps or chemicals. Drivers may not realize that means no carwashes until it's too late.

So carwashes that use brushes are okay, right?

Nope. Dave McElroy, the operations manager of CMK, a Clearwater company that distributes convertible tops, says that the brushes used by carwashes do their own damage. The company that manufactures the material for all convertible tops specifically recommends using brushless carwashes to protect the material itself, he added.

Brushes harm the fabric; chemicals harm the stitching.

The only option, then is to wash the car yourself, every time using a mild soap. Shawver suggests dish soap. But McElroy cautions that the cleaning guidelines from the material manufacturer specifically advise against using "detergents."

"So the question is, what constitutes a detergent?" he said. "Do you know? I don't."

If you want to be super careful, he said, you can use a product called Raggtopp. It's a cleaner and protectant that's endorsed by Haartz, the major convertible top material manufacturer.

Haartz discourages use of Armorall and petroleum-based products. But a protectant such as Scotchgard is okay, and Shawver recommends it for cloth tops (as opposed to vinyl tops, which are in the majority).

So cleaning your convertible top is going to be a bit of a hassle. But it's important. Besides harsh chemicals, the biggest enemy of a convertible top is mildew. Keeping the top clean is the best way to stave it off.

Once the top is mildewed, there's nothing much you can do about it. White tops are especially likely to show mildew, so bleach is a tempting treatment. But bleach will damage the stitching faster than a brushless carwash.

Besides regular cleaning, you should protect the top as much as possible. You can use a car cover if you want to be extra careful, Shawver said, but covered parking will help a lot.

McElroy suggests always parking with the top up. Even in your home garage. Water can get trapped in creases of the fabric if the top is left down when it doesn't have to be.

On the other hand, Shawver said, a top needs to be exercised. It shouldn't be left in either the "up" or "down" position for weeks on end. The action of opening it and closing it helps keep the fabrics supple and helps it keep its shape.

Choosing a black top can help hide mildew. But that's a problematic choice in Florida. Often, drivers here keep the top up because it's too hot outside, not because it's too cold. A black top is going to significantly increase the heat inside the car.

Rear window choices also represent a tradeoff, Shawver said. Plastic windows crack and fog and can eventually be a safety hazard. But glass windows are heavy and can strain the stitching that holds them in place. It's often the stitching around the windows that shows the first signs of wear on a top.

Glass windows are often a bit more expensive.

One other choice convertible owners can face when they're buying a new car or replacing a top is the fabric. Cloth tops are mostly available on higher-end cars, but more mass-appeal cars are starting to offer them.

The differences between cloth and vinyl come down to appearance vs. price.

"The cloth tops are a little classier looking," Shawver said, "But they're going to cost $400 to $600 more."

[Last modified February 3, 2005, 10:00:09]