First Convertible and Need Advice

[discr33t]

Hey guys, my 2012 128i is the first convertible I've owned. With my previous cars I have always hand washed and detailed them with the exception of in the cold winter months. During that time I usually went to the car wash 2 or 3 times until it got warm enough to wash the car in my driveway again. My main question is everything else about the car wash aside, how does the convertible top handle going through and also I would imagine that getting the wax would be a bad idea as well since it is a soft top convertible.

What do you guys do in the cold winter months?

[motley2012]

I applied Gtechniq I1 for the roof but make sure the roof is very clean & dry and remember to cover all paintwork. Roof beads like a waxed bonnet.

[JimD]

You definitely do not want to go through a car wash and apply wax to the convertible top. If you just clean it this way, it isn't great for the top but it will survive.

Mine is very dirty right now because I haven't found time to clean the car in months. When I clean it, I hand wash the body and vacumn the top (from the outside). If a little water splashes on the top I don't get excited but I do not try and wet it. Once a year, I wash the top with a special soap, I think I use RaggTop, and then follow that with an application of the water repellant. One kit contains enough cleaner to clean the top multiple times but only enough water repellant for one treatment. I am overdue on this at the moment.

The idea is that the top is cloth. Cloth doesn't get waxed, right? It also should we cleaned a bit differently than painted metal.

How well (and how often) you do this helps to determine how long your top lasts. Properly cared for convertible tops can last more than 10 years. But they do not always, in part due to poor or infrequent maintenance, I believe.

[discr33t]

Thanks JimD. I guess I either need to man up and wash the car in the cold or just wait till winter is over to hand wash. I'll definitely be picking up some of that ragtop cleaner and repellant to take care of the roof.

[pj.rodriguez]

+1 for RaggTopp cleaner and repellant. That's what I use to protect once a year before winter. The cleaner I use after winter for the summer and do a light spray of the repellant. I've never heard of the GTeq stuff. Is that specific to convertible roofs?

EDIT: Wow. Just saw a video of the Gtechniq I1 and it looks really amazing!