Z3 clean inside roof

[Inferno]

hey guys, i must clean and repair the fabric roof, as you can see in the pics, plastics are something like burnt and the color is "cracked" also the fabric itself is really dirty, do you know how can i clean it, and repair the plastics?

[Southernboy]

The plastic coating on the section attached to the top of the windscreen is easily removed from the car - screws etc.... you can then choose to have it stripped and re-coated, or strip it yourself and have an auto trimmer cover it in black vinyl which will be heaps cheaper. I imagine the guys who have done steering wheels and seat leather re-covering would be the best to speak to. Seems there are some really good trimmers over there.
The inside of the roof is best cleaned with some soap and water and a fairly stiff brush. It won't clean up "as new" - to achieve a new'ish look, get some dye from Furniture Clinic and apply that to get a really black new look. Obviously cover any other areas / seats etc etc with plastic sheet to avoid making extra work for yourself.

[Inferno]

thanx Boy!

What about the outside of the roof? how do you clean it up? i just use water with the pressure washing machine

[peter2b]

if its a sort top I used autoclem ? stuff to clean my soft top looks like new
peter2b

[Inferno]

if its a sort top I used autoclem ? stuff to clean my soft top looks like new
peter2b

i think this is the best, autoglym is what most cabrio owners use, however it is a bit expensive, how often do you use it? in every wash or a few times per year?

[BladeRunner919]

I sorted the peeling plastic coating using this:

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel ... aint-300ml

and managed to get a pretty-much invisible repair. You can match the texture of the existing finish almost exactly with a bit of practice.

[Brian4]

Why not trying to get one from a car being dismantled in the UK where the plastic hasn't been exposed to the temperatures you have in Athens. A Small steam cleaner might clean the inside of the roof or carefully with fabric cleaner.

[Inferno]

Why not trying to get one from a car being dismantled in the UK where the plastic hasn't been exposed to the temperatures you have in Athens. A Small steam cleaner might clean the inside of the roof or carefully with fabric cleaner.

this is what i was trying to find yesterday but i don't know the name of the part, and i couldn't find it in bmwfans.info either

[Inferno]

Inside of the roof cleaned well with just a wet microfiber cloth, nothing fancy but it's ok, however, does anybody knows the part number or the name of the damaged plastic on the pics guys?

[BladeRunner919]

I don't think it's a part in its own right, just the coating of the front part of the frame. As I said, I peeled off the damaged coating, rubbed it down and painted it with the paint in my previous post, and it looks identical.

[Inferno]

I don't think it's a part in its own right, just the coating of the front part of the frame. As I said, I peeled off the damaged coating, rubbed it down and painted it with the paint in my previous post, and it looks identical.

i wish i could do it, it's just i really suck in painting things.. perhaps i must visit a professional to do it.

[BladeRunner919]

It's worth trying yourself. Worst case is that you then need to get someone professional to do it, but for the sake of a few quid (Euros) on a tin of paint you may as well have a go.

Just open the roof up, scrape off the peeling covering, sand any corrosion off, mask off the surrounding area, warm up the metal with a hairdryer if it's cold, and start some light coats of paint. However it ends up, it will look better than it does now.

[Inferno]

warm up the metal with a hairdryer if it's cold

What metal? isn't it plastic? what type of paint i need? spray? for plastics? matte finish?

[BladeRunner919]

The front bar of the roof is metal. If you scroll up a bit you'll see a link to what I used.

[Inferno]

The front bar of the roof is metal. If you scroll up a bit you'll see a link to what I used.

ok, as you can understand i suck so much that i don't understand the difference between metal an plastic...

found this in Greece, hope it's close as the one you used http://www.rovaza.com/pix/artikel_groot ... 00098P.jpg

[BladeRunner919]

You really want a wrinkle-finish (or crackle-finish) black paint, because that will give you the sort of textured finish that the part already has.

[Robin82]

Regards the outside of the roof I would *highly* recommend the Renovo product range - especially the roof reviver (dye). I revived my roof last summer and when I say revived I mean brought back from the dead.

I wish I'd took before and after pics - I had moss growing around the rear part and a nice coat of green algae all over. My roof now has that almost new look - I couldn't believe the difference the reviver made. Mind you it took over 4 hours to clean properly and copious amounts of elbow grease.

I've used the autoglym stuff before a few years back and I wasn't overly impressed - the cleaner is ok but the proofer didn't really do too much.

[BladeRunner919]

I agree on Renovo. My roof had gone rather green over the winter so I used Renovo on Saturday. I left it on for an hour before washing it off and it made a great difference.

[Robin82]

I agree on Renovo. My roof had gone rather green over the winter so I used Renovo on Saturday. I left it on for an hour before washing it off and it made a great difference.

Yeah its great stuff - although the cleaner smells an awful lot like carpet cleaner You can get the 3 part set on amazon for just under £30 I think.

[Inferno]

Wow! Thanx i will check it out close to summer though, it's raining all the time here lately and it's raining mud!?!? Travelling here from africa. Luckily i have her sleeping on an underground garage