Just treated Soft Top with RaggTTop

[gaseavey]

I have just treated my softtop with Raggttop and have a question.

After applying the protectant to the surface of the black softtop it has a look of small lighter particles on the surface. Will these stay on the surface once the protectant is dry or will they brush off.

thanks for any wisdom you might have

Gary

[Kirk]

I just did my top with 303 protectant (similar material) and also had small bubbles and little drops of material that didn't penetrate the fabric and dried on the top as small spots of white/clear chemical residue. They literally just fell right off the top once dry, so it was not an issue for me.

Kirk

[gaseavey]

thanks Kirk

I could not tell if it wasn't dry or if it was just particles that were extra on the surface. I will give more time before I touch it to see what happens.

Gary

[Mike_Yi]

How close did you hold the can when you were spraying? Maybe you got a bit to close and it caused drops to form.

I just did mine yesterday. It needed it badly. When I hosed it down before washing it, where the stream of water from the hose hit it, the top instantly turned a darker shade of black. Ugh. I put three coats of the protectant on it. It rained lightly this morning and it's not beading 100%. I suspect that most of the protectant blew away before hitting the top. There was a slight breeze yesterday. I'm going to have to get another can. I can't apply it in the garage as I don't want to have to cover two cars. Masking off the Boxster took longer than putting on three coats of the stuff.

[gaseavey]

I sprayed from about 20 inches from the surface.

I did the job in my garage with the car masked off.

What I see are not drops they look like small gray highlights as if they are a powder.

It maybe what it is supossed to look like but I thought if anything it would look darker after the treatment from what I have read on this forum.

thanks for your input.

Gary

[gaseavey]

I believe my issue is resolved.

I went for a short ride and the light gray particles are now gone, presumably blown off.

Also now the top is darker then before the treatment which I had expected to see.

Also water does not wet the surface it forms water droplets on the surface.

I am satisfied with the results of the Raggtopp treatment.

Gary

[Bob O]

Sounds like you got good results. I have a question though. Why did you guys mask off the car? I've used Raggtop for quite a while (once or twice a year for 7 years or so) and never masked off anything. I just wipe off the overspray with a soft cloth, or wait a little while for the top to dry some and then hose off the body and windshield. No harm done. I haven't read the instructions on the can recently, but I don't remember any warnings about masking off anything, so I could be wrong. Besides, it takes a LONG time to do, like you said. Just curious.

Bob

[gaseavey]

Bob O

Being a new owner of a Porsche Boxster and after reading the many forum discussions about this subject I decided to be concervative and mask the car.

That said I did notice that even after applying 4 coats of the perservative and unmasking the car any overspray was easily removed since it was still not rigid.

In fact it appeared to still be liquid and easily removed with a cotton cloth.

The next time I plan to not mask the car.

Gary

[Bob O]

ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry! Next time you have to do it you'll have more time to drive it afterwards

Bob

Originally Posted by gaseavey

I have just treated my softtop with Raggttop and have a question.

After applying the protectant to the surface of the black softtop it has a look of small lighter particles on the surface. Will these stay on the surface once the protectant is dry or will they brush off.

thanks for any wisdom you might have

Gary

Gary, I have treated my top twice with Ragg Topp. Each time I applied 3 coats. Between coats and after the final coat, when dry, I brushed the top with a clean & dry China bristle paint brush to remove those "small lighter particles".

[turbo23dog]

Do you have to treat the top with any kind of cleaner before applying the RAGGTOP? If yes, what do you use? Soap and water or what?

Originally Posted by turbo23dog

Do you have to treat the top with any kind of cleaner before applying the RAGGTOP? If yes, what do you use? Soap and water or what?

Ragg Topp also makes a cleaner to be used with the protectant.

[Perfectlap]

^ Raggtopp has a cleanser and a protectant. These are the only two products that should be used, meaning don't wash your canvas top with car wash soap or Tide. Other brands of canvas material are probably fine but Raggtopp gets the seal of approval from Hartz who make the canvas for Porsche.

Also, each time you wash the top with the cleanser, you have to reapply the protectant over the area that you washed. For maintenance just rinse it with a stiff stream of water from your garden hose. If you get bird bombs use a soft tooth brush with the raggtopp cleanser. And as the temps get cooler, don't lower the top without heating up the cockpit first.

[turbo23dog]

I just ordered the kit that has both RAGG TOPP cleaner and protectant via Amazon.com for ~$35 delivered.

[Dai]

I use a lint brush to remove those gray particles and any stuff that attached to the top. It works really well.