KeninBlaine

OK, some of you will start to think I'm a total PITA now. In addition to the PCM issues I posted a couple of days ago, related to my recently acquired 06 C2S cab, there is one more issue I'm dealing with, which isn't the car's fault.

I had the car brought from Denver to OC in an open truck carrier. I know, I know, closed trucks are better yada yada. But it is a car that already has 14k miles in all kinds of weather, so how could a 1000 mile truck ride subject it to anything worse than day-to-day life on the road?

Unfortunately, the trucker put mine on the bottom level, and unlike a previous shipment I arranged a few years ago, this truck wasn't equipped with drip trays. Nor did the driver put anything over my car to protect the fabric top from anything that might drip from a car above it.
Sure enough, the car arrived with some drip stains that appear to be oil-related. The car was filthy when it arrived, so I had to hose it down and wash it to perform a decent inspection before signing off for the driver. While I did notice a little water beading in places on the top, I couldn't actually see anything while the top was wet. Only after it dried (and after the driver left) did I see the marks on the top.

I won't yet name the trucking company, as they are working with me to find a solution. The attached photo somewhat exaggerates the severity of these spots, as they aren't as noticeable as these "enhanced" photos make them look. The trucking company is talking to Porsche contacts in So Cal who may know of detailers that may be experienced in safely dealing with removing these spots without causing other discoloration to the fabric (which is blue on my car).

I'd appreciate input from anyone with a similar experience with stain removal on a convertible top.

Edgy01

Black historically hides a lot more. Start with Raggtop cleaner to get it back to how it should be. If that doesn't work, get going after both the seller and the transporter on why they didn't take care of it enroute.

No HTwo O

Raggtopp is a great product. Use the cleaner. Wait a few days. And then use the protectant.

schwartzwest

Why wait a few days?

LlBr

I think we have "Sunbrella" tops.

Go to the sunbrella website for cleaning ideas.

You want to lift the stain out. Scrubbing just wears out the upper fibers.

Get one of thse sukkers too. It SPRAYS water and cleaning solution (cold, warm or hot) and then LIFTS it away. Very little scrubbing. Scrubbing will KILL your fabric and you'll have an abraded mark. With the correct "solvent" or other pre-treatment I am absolutely certain it will work. You loosen the stain cr*p and THEN it gets LIFTED away. Just keep doing it. The thing is you're NOT scrubbing, all you are doing is subtracting dirt from the fibers by soaking and then suction: again no scrubbing. Eventually the dirt is ALL gone: no scrubbing. It saved my a** dozens of times with pet accidents and other people's greasy shoes on carpet. They call it "steam" vac but there's no steam just the hot water you add to it if you want.

Sunbrella link:

http://www.sunbrella.com/na/care_cleaning.php

Edgy01

Interesting link! Lots of tips for the various hits to a top!

Stain Recommended cleaning solutions Carbona stain devil no.
Beer Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water / white vinegar (3 oz.) 8
Berry Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water / ammonia (4-8 oz.) 8
Bird droppings

Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water, or try Goo Gone Grease Cutter (a hand cleaner), Greased Lightning, or Clean Rite Purple Power (available at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc.)

Blood (dried) Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water / ammonia (4-8 oz.) 4
Butter volatile solvent (acetone) 100% 5
Charcoal, pencil marks vacuum, then Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1gallon water 3
Catsup or mustard Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 2
Chewing gum volatile solvent (acetone) 100% 1
Chocolate Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water / ammonia (4 oz.) 2
Coffee Dawn® dishwashing liquid / water, white vinegar, volatile solvent (acetone) 7
Cola Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 7
Crayon paint remover (100%), oil or grease remover (mix as directed) 3
Egg (raw) Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 4
Grape juice Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 8
Gravy Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 2
Grease (car) volatile solvent (acetone) 100% 5
Ink (permanent, india, ballpoint) paint remover (100%), volatile solvent (acetone) 100%, soap and water 3
Iron rust Carbona™ Stain Devil #9 9
Lipstick paint remover, oil or grease remover (mix as directed) 6
Mascara paint remover (100%), volatile solvent (acetone-100%), Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 6
Mildew bleach (1 cup) / Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 4
Milk Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 8
Nail polish volatile solvent (acetone) 100% 1
Oil volatile solvent (acetone) 100% 5
Orange drink Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 8
Paint (latex) wet Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 6
Paint (latex) dried paint remover (100%), oil or grease remover (mix as directed) 6
Paint (oil or lacquer) paint remover (100%), oil or grease remover (mix as directed) 5
Shoe polish (liquid) volatile solvent (acetone) 100% 5
Shoe polish (wax) apply heated iron over towel, volatile solvent (acetone) 100% 5
Suntan lotion Pine Power® or pine oil detergent / water (mix as directed) 5
Tea Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 7
Tomato Juice Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 2
Tree sap turpentine (100%), Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water 10
Urine Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water / white vinegar (3 oz.) 7
Vomit Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water / white vinegar (3 oz.) 7
Water color Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water / white vinegar (3 oz.) 6
Wax (candle) apply heated iron over towel, volatile solvent (acetone) 100% 10
Wine Dawn® dishwashing liquid (2 oz.) / 1 gallon water / ammonia (4-8 oz.) / white vinegar (3 oz.) 8

schwartzwest

Ken,

FWIW, I am really really surprised that the top of your car, or any car for that matter, riding on the bottom is not protected from the cars above. Dripping oil (and other deleterious matter especially when the cars are not new) is not unusual. In fact, I might suggest IT IS COMMON AND HAPPENS ALL THE TIME! Why simple protection is not standard procedure defies my comprehension... I feel for you- very deflating with a new toy!

The non-steam, steam cleaning looks promising.

KeninBlaine

I agree entirely, and made that point when I brought it up with the firm. I told them I would expect a convertible to be on top to start with, and failing that, the provision of drip trays for the top deck, and failing that, some sort of protection on lower cars, especially if they are ragtops. The driver admitted he would have preferred having my car on the top, "but it didn't work out that way". I guess that means he was too lazy to offload some cars to rearrange them. However, the firm is trying to resolve it, and I'm fairly confident that the situation will be resolved ok. The spots are not that noticeable, and it seems there are numerous products and methods available to resolve this issue.

Edgy01

Best of luck with a reasonable solution. Do you know how damn simple it would have been for that driver to duct tape some plastic on top of that area??

No HTwo O

Because you want the top fabric very-very dry before applying multiple coats of the Raggtopp protectant.

BostonDuce

Use baby powder or cornstarch to absorb the oil first. Multiple times if necessary. GENTLY brush off between applications.

Then if needed, water based (only) cleaner (after testing first) with soft tooth brush.

Any use of a solvent based cleaner will drive the oil deeper into the fabric for a permanent stain.

BD

KeninBlaine

Time for an update. In discussions with the shipping company, we agreed to have a local detail shop deal with the stains (at the shipper's expense of course). I finally got the car in to be done today, and it was a total success. They used a "steam"/vacuum system (actually hot water, not steam) to flush out the dirt. The top looks new again. This shop was recommended by the local Porsche dealer, and the owner has been in business for over 25 years. On my first visit to discuss their approach, I was impressed and comforted by the number of high end cars in their shop. There is no substitute for experience.

Thanks for the suggestions from everyone. The input helped me properly evaluate my options and reach the right, and satisfying, end result. Another reason I find this forum so useful.

Edgy01

Thanks for getting back to us with the solution. Let us know how it looks in 3 months.

yemenmocha

Congrats on the clean top!

LlBr

I see they read my post above.