Chemical GuysHOL_996 Convertible Top Cleaner and Protectant Kit, 16 oz, 2 Items

Just buy this.I have a 2007 convertible with the original cloth top. It has only been garaged intermittently, parked under several trees, and the age and abuse were showing badly. The light dirty spots seemed permanently stained into the originally black fabric. I had tried other well known and recommend brands without success so I was very hesitant to spend another $54 on this but I am so happy that I did. This worked.I used the cleaner on a dry, moderately "clean" top, no pre-rinse or wash. I went to town and used a solid 70% of the cleaner on the first (and so far only) application. This did involve a lot of scrubbing but that is purely because mine was so far gone. I found the brush great at working the cleaner into the fabric while also being gentle, but it was an awkward shape/size for my smaller hand and made the work feel harder than it was. If scents/fumes bother you, this gave off nothing that I could notice outside.I followed the scrubbing up with the pressure washer, using a fan spray on the cloth until no residue was coming up in the water and let it dry in the sun. I was blown away by the results. Truthfully I expected another let down, I didn't even take a before photo because I didn't see the point, but I cannot stop staring at my top in amazement. It hasn't looked this clean in years. It restored what looked like a dull charcoal gray top to a clean black sheen top.I have not used the protectant spray yet. I plan to do one more go with the cleaner to see if that will take my top any further or not.Attached, I found a before photo that just happened to show my old gross top, a second photo from right after the clean, scrub, and rinse when it was about 90% dry, and a third from the day after where you can see how little discoloration is still there.

This really does a good job cleaning the top on my Miata. I was, in fact, surprised at how clean it got. I had made the mistake the first time I washed it of using a cotton towel to try to dry it. It didn’t work! It just left thousands of bits of white lint on the black top. This cleaner lifted the stuff right off and rinsed it clean as new.

Works ok.

This is long, but it is detailed, and it addresses both my reservations and my delight with this product. I hope it helps someone who might be on the fence.I got this cleaner/ protectant combo for our convertible with a tan/khaki canvas top, mostly because of the number of good reviews here and elsewhere regarding the products.For perspective, we got the car used a few years ago, and while I don’t know if the previous owners ever cleaned or protected it, I know for sure I didn’t.We live out in the country in upstate New York, we don’t have a garage, and I never really knew much about convertible top care. Suffice it to say that after a few years here, with the birds (plus the digested poke berries they so willingly leave everywhere), dust, toad salt and wood smoke, the poor top was looking very dirty, black stains and streaks all over… it severely detracted from the overall look of an otherwise very pretty car.It looked BAD… like worst-case scenario bad short of a ripped top. I truly had almost zero hope that ANY product could possibly do a good enough job to convince me that I wouldn’t need a new top at some point. But better to try, right…?I got these and didn’t use them right away, mostly because winters up here are more often than not this time of year to be way too cold to be outside spraying stuff on cars in your driveway. I was waiting for, and was glad to finally get an unusually warm spell, though, with precipitation that wasn’t frozen (for a change).Now, while I might not have known about convertible tops, I DO know quite a lot about cleaning and stain removal in general from many, many other things. So, knowing that nearly any textile is easier to clean once it’s soaked with water, I was happy to have a slow, soaking rain come around. Not too cold a day, not a hard rain, so I went out & sprayed a little but on half of the wet top, let it soak a bit, and then scrubbed it up into shockingly dirty foam with a small, stiff nail brush.Now I know nobody said anything about letting the roof get wet before cleaning it, and everyone says don’t use a stiff brush, but my thinking was that the dirt and stains were already wet, that the rainwater may buffer the cleaner a bit in case it was too aggressive… and really, what did I have to lose?After the scrubbing, I rinsed the half-top off thoroughly. I truly wish I had taken a picture of before, after rinsing the first half, and then after I had finished the entire top. The difference was literally astonishing. I re-applied the cleaner to the entire top, spent about 20 minutes scrubbing every square inch, then let it sit for 20 minutes… all in the rain. When I rinsed it off, I was so glad I had bought and used this cleaner.Did the top look pristine & new? No. It had started in truly awful shape, and it looked SO much better… even wet. I absolutely WILL be using the cleaner to go over it again, and then again if necessary… and I really expect things only to improve as I work the dirt & stains out. After I’m satisfied with the cleanliness & things dry out, I will feel very happy, a bit clever & more than a little accomplished to apply the protectant.I LOVE instant gratification.Five stars, easily... and more if I could. Don’t hesitate. Get some and save your top.

Ok I decided to do a test and clean only half of my top to compare. At first when I put this on, I felt nothing happened. In fact, I felt the spots got darker. And then I did something. I’m not sure you’re supposed to do. I went to the car wash and washed the car and I did apply some pressure wash to the left side of the top. So between the cleaner and the wash, you can totally see the difference on the left versus the right. I’ll be cleaning the right side tomorrow.

Brought the color of my soft top back to a dark black. Looks super clean. Still looks clean even with rain and some pollen. Will definitely buy again.

There is a guy on Youtube in a "Chemical Guys" shirt saying that you do not have to rinse the cleaner off before applying the protectant. The bottle says you should rinse it off, so I did rinse the cleaner off before applying the protectant.The cleaner did not seem to clean anything. The run off water seemed clean. The stains that I did have remained. After rinsing and letting dry I applied almost the entire bottle of protectant to the Toyota Solara convertible top. 2 days later I tested the top for repellency. The top did not repel water but soaked it up as it always did.I give this product a 3 star rating. It was OK. I think it probably helps keep the top protected but I was dissapointed that it does not repell water or make it bead up in any way. The product was pricey so I expected it to work better. I'm thinking it must be help in some way but it is not evident.

These days it's a rarety that a product actually delivers what it claims. This is one of these rare occasions. Brought my 13 year old convertible top back to looking fresh. Impressive.