Welcome back once again darlings, In this video I'll show you how to clean, dye and waterproof your convertible/soft top roof with the Renovo Soft Top restorer kit. 🔗 link to the exact kit used: amzn.to/3CzBsGi
Thanks as always! Great product this one, it's the re-dye that really made the difference to the overall look of the hood. It was cleaner, sure, but the dye really covered up a lot. I've seen it driving around too, looks tight as as drum still too.
Morning. Good to see the Renovo kit in action. I have a 20 year old BMW E46 convertible with a blue roof which lives outside and the colour has faded over time so was wondering how to revive it. I do buy the spray treatments (Autoglym when on offer etc) but just decant into a plastic container and apply with a brush like you did. Far more control that way. I also like to use protection that can go straight onto a wet roof rather than bone dry. Makes doing the whole thing easier as I worry that leaving the roof to dry completely - next day/week etc it will be grubby again. Keep up the good work and you have a new subscriber anyway!
Many thanks! I think Fabsil Gold is probably the best waterproofer out there, but I completely agree with you regarding the dry Vs wet application, it's so much easier if you don't have the time/weather conditions.
Thank you for taking the time to comment and watch it. I feel like the quality of the finish was really down to the fact that everything is brushed on, but it also absorbed really well too, whatever Renovo have done with their formulation, they've got it spot on.
Nice video. Can I ask a question regarding soft tops. I've cleaned a few neglected ones using Surfex at 10% with brilliant results. Howe would you go about oft top cleaning on a maintenance clean. I assume avoid snow foam at all costs but would you use an APC and brush every time? Thanks
That's a good question. Generally I don't do much more than just pressure wash. Foaming would be less damaging to the waterproofer than an APC and brush (even of it was auto foam, APC and a brush will scrub off the waterproofer and, potentially the dye). Generally when I had a soft top I just used the pressure washer to blast it from a distance after a pH neutral snowfoam at the time. These days I just pressure wash it really, but always from over a foot away and with the white 45 degree tip (I know these aren't really 45 degrees when it's the cheap nozzles, but it's safe enough).
@@SuperchargedLlama thanks for that advice, I think if it's relatively clean I'll stick to water, if it's grubby \i'll try the snow foam. Much appreciated
Thank you darling. I usually let it dry overnight just to be sure, although if it's super hot and you're able to get it on first thing then I suspect you'll be fine to do the waterproofer that afternoon/evening. It needs to be kept dry though, that's the real issue I personally find. If you're just cleaning and waterproofing then you'll be okay to keep it done in a day, you'll just need to wet vac the roof to speed up the drying.
@@SuperchargedLlama I used the restorer yesterday. Gonna waterproof today. That restorer was difficult to use on the vertical surfaces. Kept wanting to run. Stressful. Thx.
@SuperchargedLlama most definitely a pain in the butt. I spent over an hour masking with plastic and taping off. There was NO glass or paint visible around the top. All that, just to have some of the dye, get under some of the plastic, all down the side. A big portion of a rear quarter panel had dye all over it. Didn't notice until I seen spots on the floor. Wiped off what I could with a damp rag. This morning, I used alcohol on it. There was more than I thought! All cleaned up nicely, though. The area of the top I was trying to cover is still visible. I may order a small container of black and mix it in with the blue to make an even darker shade of blue and only touch up the lighter areas and do my best to fade it in.
A random question matey. Firstly I hope you’re well! I fear a customer has had his proverbial knickers pulled down. He says he’s had his vehicle machine polished and coated in April (I beg to differ after giving it a maintenance wash, no protection present) and also he had his roof deep cleaned and re-proofed at the same time. I only ever use Fabsil Gold, because it’s good! Again in regards to my maintenance wash I saw no hydrophobicity on the roof of any kind, to your knowledge are there any roof sealants that you know of that wouldn’t bead like fabsil ? I won’t name the “Detailer” that charged him nearly a grand for this service but he told the customer that he “didn’t like hydrophobic products” in my mere 8 years experience I’m not sure I’ve heard of a non hydrophobic coating nor roof sealant. Please tell me I’m not going crazy. Thank you again for another great video. Keep up the good work darling. Paul.
Hmmmm, that sounds like your suspicion is right, but obviously I can't say for sure. The Renovo waterproofer isn't as hydrophobic as Fabsil for sure, and I use Fabsil predominantly because most people don't buy the kit that's used here (this was owner supplied). I use Fabsil for the same reason as you, it beads, it works well and it's not hay expensive either. With regards other ceramic coating...that sounds most dubious. There are some that just sheet more than bead, but it's not even been 4 months yet since the install, which makes me think the previous person just used a sealant with "ceramic" in it 😔 - was there any water behaviour?
@@SuperchargedLlama thank you for your swift reply sweet cheeks. No water behaviour at all, I didn’t expect much until maybe the contact wash rinse but there was none. I’m stunned. But because the customer took it to a very reputable detailer within our area he can do no wrong. I’ve seen Koch PW give more water behaviour after four months than the so called coating applied to this vehicle. It makes me angry that people are charging a grand for not even a full Valet and getting away with it. Even the roof after a deep clean and re-proof four months prior was in a sad state. Thank you again darling. Much love
@paulclark22 that is appalling isn't it. I've had something similar in the past, where they'd had it polished and the previous detailer has just left bugger trails all over it. Charged them a bit too dissimilar amount to what you're saying and was done in half a day or something (they were baulking at my quote of 1.5-2 days even before seeing the state of it).
For this specific job....I think you'd beat it with a citrus, but you would only want a weak dilution of that. I was glad I tried the APC afterwards just to be reassured that nothing more could come out after the Renovo cleaner. I will say that the Renovo cleaner is nice and thick, it was far easier to apply. The APC could never sit and dwell for 45 mins as it would just dry up, so you've had to brush it up before it had a chance to soak and penetrate to the same degree.
The cleaner absolutely is, as is the waterproofer, but make sure you choose the right colour kit for the dye (if you were interested in that step too).
Do you think this kit would work well to dye a dark blue mx5 Mohair roof to black? I figure going from dark blue to black wouldn't be too much of an ask for the dye, but I don't know how long it would last.
I can't say for sure I'm afraid, I'm not too sure how strong the pigment is and how it can be used for colour changing or not. I agree with your logic that it shouldn't be too much of an ask and I would try it personally.
@@SuperchargedLlama Thanks! I can't imagine it looking worse than it is now. Worst case I think is that it'll end up a very dark blue. Should look cleaner and more consistent!
@@SuperchargedLlama Yeah that was the debate I'm having with myself. Keep it blue or go black. The car is a Mx5 in British racing green, which I fitted a blue roof to that I got for a great price. However blue and green is a bit of an odd combo, and I think black would look better. Hence hoping to re-dye it.
@@ibyfishhunter the black would definitely look better for sure. Fortunately there's quite a lot of dye product, you'd easily be able to do two coats, maybe even three.
help! i drove through a car wash and accidentally had wax added. My canvas top is loaded with wax and I can't get it out. Any tricks? It is melting down my windows and into the door panel.
That's....that sounds odd. I can't really picture what that would be like. I'd say that you'd probably be able to get it out with a strong APC clean, but you need to be gentle and you will very likely need to give it multiple hits. The process could very well lighten the colour of the hood material so you may need to re-dye it later. However, the wax will probably fade away over time, I'd give it six months and then try cleaning it. Unless it looks rubbish now of course.
I won't, it's way too far away for me to consider, I'd have to charge you so much that it really wouldn't represent good value for you at all, especially when there will be plenty of competent detailers local to you that will be able to do it.
@@LovellWatson thanks dude, it's a good kit this one, I've not come across another dye that works as well, although is the waterproofer the best? I prefer Fabsil Gold personally, but the owner supplied this one.
I thought £60 was pretty reasonable tbh, but you could do it cheaper by using an APC for the cleaner and Fabsil Gold to waterproof. I don't know of a better dye though and I'm not sure how compatible other options are.
I’ve got the dark red kit to do a fiat 500c red roof. I’ve opened the bottle but am concerned about the colour. It looks sort of light plumb/dark lavender, nothing like the roof. That black looked black. Have you had any experience of the dark red?
I've not I'm afraid. I'm not surprised to hear it might look a bit different as it's definitely not the factory colour, so it has to sort of cover every red roof option out there. The Fiat one is a lot lighter than then Merc one for example. Try it out on an inconspicuous area, you can always give it a hit with the cleaner and a scrub (after it has dried) to remove I guess? I'm not 💯 sure that'd work btw, but I'd try it if it was mine. I don't think it matters too much if the colour match is spot on, after two or three even coats you will have a good even colouring.
@@SuperchargedLlama thanks. I think I’ll have to retract the roof and try it on a bit underneath that you can’t see. It’s just a completely different colour. You wouldn’t look at it and say that’s dark red. It’s not even red.
@@Love500 I have a feeling that it'll dry quite differently, have you tried a bit on....I dunno, a bit of paper or wood? It'll look different of course because it's not on the roof fabric, but dried it may look different again. As this is a dye rather than a paint you'll find that red pigment can look really odd compared to what you're used to.
