What to use to clean a convertible top?

[76 camaro car 1]

A friend of mine left her mustang convertible with me last year after her and her husband were transferred to Texas for a year. The reason they left it with me was so I could do the body work and paint the car while they were gone. I have completed all the work I was to do on the car but I have a lot of tree's in my yard. The top was relatively new when they left the car here. Next month they will be back and I would like to clean the top up a little but do not know what to use on it. Does anyone know a product they would recommend?

[dgiepss]

mothers makes a convetable top cleaner

[earlysecond]

I used to sell a product in the aftermarket that would knock the slop out of dirty tops.

Try to find, perhaps at an auto paint dealer a product labeled leather and plastic cleaner.

It really worked exceedingly well.

[spicewood1]

I have cleaned the original top on my 69 Camaro with everything at one time or another. Straight laquer thinner, greased lightning, bleach - nothing has hurt it yet. You need a stiff brush to get in the grain though.

[76 camaro car 1]

Thanks for the responses, I know dawn and water does not hardly touch the stuff. I guess I should have kept the car washed better. I want the car to look great when they get back. They have put a lot of money into it while they were gone. They sent me the money to take it and have the seats recovered and new carpet installed. I am almost done with the paint. The front bumper lifted when I put color on so still have it to do. But the top kind of takes away from the car now.

[earlysecond]

76 well played nice looking job. Clear of choice?

I once painted a CJ Jeep for a friend of a friend basically in a weekend and pretty much whatever they could pay, they had landed on some hard times so I figured I would surprise them since the Jeep was sitting at my buddy's garage and needed some patches to pass inspection. Once I painted it, one of my other friends bought them a new top becasue he said that it looked like crap compared to the fresh paint.

That will look sharp when you button it up.

What happened to the bumper?

[76 camaro car 1]

Not really sure what happened. It was a new cover and I washed it with soap and water,sanded it,primed it and sanded it with 400. When I shot the base coat on in the very front it lifted in a spot about 6" long. I've never heard of base coat lifting primer but I don't know what else it could be. It was cool when I painted it and all I had was hot weather reducer. I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not. That was the only spot it happened at so I kept going. Cleared the whole car except the front bumper. The color is that nasty looking ford color E9 but I did not use the mid coat just the base. I think it looks a lot better than it does with the mid coat.

[earlysecond]

Not sure what base coat you were using but I always have trouble when it is below 70 spraying cheap base. I have cleaned lightning strike patterns that ran the length of panels 1 or 2 times.

Seems to happen with non-urethane bases to me. You'll get it and it will come out fine. The rest looks really good from here.