Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
Vinyl Top Extreme Makeover - How to remove mold, mildew, dirt and stains out of a vinyl convertible top
By brother-in-law PJ purchased this restored, classic 1969 Oldsmobile 442 and while it shows signs of a very good restoration it needed some attention to bring it back up to its full potential. The paint was completely filled with swirls, scratches and some type of heavy overspray. We fixed the paint issues here at an Autogeek Extreme Makeover.
Before PJ purchased the car it was stored outside in a driveway with some type of tarp over it and the result was mold and mildew grew all over the vinyl top. The amount of dirt and grime built-up in the weave of the vinyl top PLUS the mold and mildew meant in order to restore a vibrant white color so the new top matched the vibrant paint, we needed to do an extreme makeover to the vinyl top.
Process
From experience, I find cars that have NOT been properly cared for or properly stored to often time be horribly contaminated with all forms of air-borne pollution. For projects like this I like to spray the top down first with Iron X. You never know if there's some form of iron or metallic pollution on a surface until you treat it with a product like Iron X. If you're LUCKY you won't see anything. If you're UNLUCKY you'll see the surface bleed read showing the surface was in fact contaminated and the red bleeding effect is the result of the Iron X dissolving the metallic particles so they can be removed off the top.
Again - I didn't know if the top was contaminated or not until we sprayed it down with Iron X. Looks like it was contaminated to me.
Sorry no pictures of the other steps as we had some camera issues this day but here are the end results after all the steps I listed plus the last step....
Last step: Apply Marine 31 Mold Guard to seal the vinyl top and prevent future mold and mildew growth.
Products used are all available on Autogeek.com
Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher
CarPro Iron X Iron Remover 500 ml
Marine 31 Mildew Remover
Marine 31 Mildew Guard
2 Pack Cyclo Polisher Aqua Soft Carpet Brush
McKee's 37 Half Gallon Foamaster Foam Gun
McKee's 37 Xtreme Foam Formula Auto Shampoo
Gold Plush Micro-Chenille Wash Mitt
The Guzzler Triple Kit - For drying the car and the top
By brother-in-law PJ purchased this restored, classic 1969 Oldsmobile 442 and while it shows signs of a very good restoration it needed some attention to bring it back up to its full potential. The paint was completely filled with swirls, scratches and some type of heavy overspray. We fixed the paint issues here at an Autogeek Extreme Makeover.
Before PJ purchased the car it was stored outside in a driveway with some type of tarp over it and the result was mold and mildew grew all over the vinyl top. The amount of dirt and grime built-up in the weave of the vinyl top PLUS the mold and mildew meant in order to restore a vibrant white color so the new top matched the vibrant paint, we needed to do an extreme makeover to the vinyl top.
Process
- Spray vinyl top down with Iron X.
- Spray vinyl top down with foam gun - wash top to remove Iron X and all loose dirt.
- Spray vinyl top down with Marine 31 Mildew Remover.
- Machine scrub vinyl top using a Cyclo brush on a Porter Cable 7424XP polisher plugged into a GFI power outlet.
- Spray vinyl top down with foam gun and re-wash top using Microfiber Chenille Wash Mitts.
- Rinse vinyl top with water to flush off all loosened mildew, dirt, grime and cleaners.
- Dry top and apply Marine 31 Mildew Guard
From experience, I find cars that have NOT been properly cared for or properly stored to often time be horribly contaminated with all forms of air-borne pollution. For projects like this I like to spray the top down first with Iron X. You never know if there's some form of iron or metallic pollution on a surface until you treat it with a product like Iron X. If you're LUCKY you won't see anything. If you're UNLUCKY you'll see the surface bleed read showing the surface was in fact contaminated and the red bleeding effect is the result of the Iron X dissolving the metallic particles so they can be removed off the top.
Again - I didn't know if the top was contaminated or not until we sprayed it down with Iron X. Looks like it was contaminated to me.
Sorry no pictures of the other steps as we had some camera issues this day but here are the end results after all the steps I listed plus the last step....
Last step: Apply Marine 31 Mold Guard to seal the vinyl top and prevent future mold and mildew growth.
Products used are all available on Autogeek.com
Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher
CarPro Iron X Iron Remover 500 ml
Marine 31 Mildew Remover
Marine 31 Mildew Guard
2 Pack Cyclo Polisher Aqua Soft Carpet Brush
McKee's 37 Half Gallon Foamaster Foam Gun
McKee's 37 Xtreme Foam Formula Auto Shampoo
Gold Plush Micro-Chenille Wash Mitt
The Guzzler Triple Kit - For drying the car and the top
