Stubborn Black Streaks on Soft Top

SSTJ

SSTJ

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Anyone else ever had this problem? They seem to be rain tracks, but they leave behind a black stain. Very stubborn, and I can’t get them out with soft top cleaner. I’ve resorted to using Dawn (I know that’s not usually a good idea on a soft top), but then they were back very soon.

This is a Bestop. Can’t remember the material name, but it’s the middle-quality one. Feels more like plastic than like denim. Not “twill” but the material right below that.

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Jerry Bransford said:
Try spraying them with Simple Green. After letting it work for a while scrub with a soft nylon bristle brush and rinse thoroughly. Then see how it did.
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Simple Green is one of the safest and most effective cleaners sold- that and a brush is the answer- what you see is road grime dripping down from dew, etc.

Park it in the shade, apply the simple green, let it sit 15 minutes- even a soft bristle car wash brush is a good option. You may want to back off the 303 as it is a film product and see how it does, as it may be mixing with the grime. It is a great product but may be part of the problem- I had that top and It was easy to clean with no 303 used.

Wait ‘til you tackle brown streaks in underwear. Now that is a job.

Good Luck.
 
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I have those same streaks, but they're near impossible to see on my black soft top. I'm sure they're there though.
 
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AndyG said:
Simple Green is one of the safest and most effective cleaners sold- that and a brush is the answer- what you see is road grime dripping down from dew, etc.

Park it in the shade, apply the simple green, let it sit 15 minutes- even a soft bristle car wash brush is a good option. You may want to back off the 303 as it is a film product and see how it does, as it may be mixing with the grime. It is a great product but may be part of the problem- I had that top and It was easy to clean with no 303 used.

Wait ‘til you tackle brown streaks in underwear. Now that is a job.

Good Luck.
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Ok nice, will do.

Ok for the simple green to get on the windows or should I try to avoid that?
 
SSTJ said:
Ok nice, will do.

Ok for the simple green to get on the windows or should I try to avoid that?
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Wont hurt them, as a rule don’t let anything dry on them, gently wipe only horizontally with a clean, soft cloth (microfiber towels are great) and always try to have them grit free first when you wash them-

You might try 303 on one side and none on the other on the fabric as a test.

The windows can always be polished with Plast -X. How nice they stay depends on how you clean them and maybe more so how you handle and store them.
 
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Black streaks are a common problem on the sides of RVs. I've used LA Awesome with great success on them. I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work on a soft top as well. You can get it several places, even Amazon, but I found it cheapest at the Dollar Store.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Simple green has never harmed/affected anything I've used it on, it's the best cleaner I've ever come across. Not to mention it has a great pine aroma.
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The purple cleaners have sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and many other degreasers are butyl based, a waterborne solvent- they can etch metals and glass, craze plastics and do more harm than good. Simple Green is all I use on my KTM dirt bike, and believe me, they aren’t giving those away- even after years the cleaner has no bad effects at all.

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They make an aircraft grade simple green which is way less corrosive on aluminum, thats what I use on my expensive dirt bikes lol and would suggest it for cleaning the fabric tops as well. Purple Power is an extremely corrosive cleaner with a very base PH I don’t know what you would want to use that on other than a bare engine block.
 
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