Z4m soft top damaged

[Willgates]

Hey guys, some prick has come along and graffiti the top of my z4m roadster

Does anybody have any ideas on how to remove it?

Much appreciated!

[racerbruce]

Oh no - this is not good.

Is it scratches? Is it a black felt pen?

[Willgates]

Hey, nah not scratches. Not sure on felt pen?

I've tried soapy water, nail polish, meth spirits. Nothing's worked so far.

[3002 tii]

What about regular fabric cleaner like 303? Sorry this happened, did you park outside overnight?

[Willgates]

Never had a problem in my neighbourhood. Last 2 mo ths had my car in the garage and for once it was nice and sunny today and got a pressure washer aswell.

Washed my car and left it outside for 1hr and came back to that 😭

[racerbruce]

Please forgive me for asking, but did you use a pressure washer on your car?

[RossBMWZseries]

Pressure washer can do that to your top. Ask me how I know...

[Steeler]

^^^ yup, first thing came to mind.

[Willgates]

Ah that makes sense the pressurer washer. Fuck.

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by Willgates

Ah that makes sense the pressurer washer. Fuck.

Well, the good news is you don't have miscreants damaging your car.

Open question to those that have responded to this thread....is it possible to have the convertible top fabric professionally dyed black to cover this??

[Huz-Z]

Hey guys

Haven’t folks reported here that a good quality convertible top cleaner and conditioner generally reduces the appearance of creases etc that occur in the top as it is folded down and closed? If so then maybe it will help here. Raggtop products come to mind and BMW has its own canvas top cleaners and conditioners.

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Hey guys

Haven’t folks reported here that a good quality convertible top cleaner and conditioner generally reduces the appearance of creases etc that occur in the top as it is folded down and closed? If so then maybe it will help here. Raggtop products come to mind and BMW has its own canvas top cleaners and conditioners.

303 labeled products; the 303 line has great results, but perhaps there is a professionally applied dye that could assist as well??

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by racerbruce

303 labeled products; the 303 line has great results, but perhaps there is a professionally applied dye that could assist as well??

Could be but I don’t recall a lot of discussions here on them.

Perhaps try the top cleaners and conditioners first to assess how well they do?

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Could be but I don’t recall a lot of discussions here on them.

Perhaps try the top cleaners and conditioners first to assess how well they do?

Well said.

[chickdr]

I agree with others about trying a good cleaner and sealer first but I have also seen posts about redying the top if the cleaner isn't successful. I bet a proper cleaning will take care of it. Just make sure to buy the fabric version. Other than 303 I also like Raggtopp products. BMW also has a kit for this.

[RossBMWZseries]

LOL. I pressure washed my top when it was in good condition many moons ago and created those “graffiti” marks. After a few washes, they kinda just went away or blended in with the rest of the top to the point where you couldn’t see the old marks.

My point; don’t waste your money on top cleaners or dying the top just yet. A good ol’ wash (or two or three) may do the trick!

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by RossBMWZseries

LOL. I pressure washed my top when it was in good condition many moons ago and created those “graffiti” marks. After a few washes, they kinda just went away or blended in with the rest of the top to the point where you couldn’t see the old marks.

My point; don’t waste your money on top cleaners or dying the top just yet. A good ol’ wash (or two or three) may do the trick!

Awesome - a good old-fashioned scrub-o-top.

[SD ///M4]

I bought my 2006 Z4 M Roadster used in 2012. The previous owner (a former member here on ZPost who alias I don't recall) lived in the Bay Area and mostly rode his motorcycle, so there was only 32,000 miles on it when I bought it. However, he also had a hard top installed and I think that the soft top was stowed for a long time, resulting in what I think were faint white mildew lines. A good scrubbing with Raggtopp Cleaner and several coats of Raggtopp Protectant and the top looked almost like new. It wouldn't hurt to try this. As others have mentioned, the 303 Top Care Kit also gets good reviews.

Also, I once tried pressure washing my unpainted wooden fence with one of those swirly tips. Big mistake! It took a few years before it weathered enough so that it wasn't so obvious.

P.S. NEVER use a pressure washer on a car...

[fiberguy]

Let the old retired textile guy jump into this:

The fabric in a Z4 top is solution dyed acrylic, meaning that the fibers in the yarn that makes the top are extruded with the colorant as part of the fiber solution. The color is part of the fiber all the way through.

The color change (fading or marking) is usually due to abrasion (folds in the top rubbing against each other or a pressure washer literally sand-blasting away some of the surface fibers). Deeply embedded dust will also cause a change in appearance. I normally vacuum the roof with a brush attachment rather than an aggressive water wash to minimize abrasion.

Try using a top cleaner like Ragg-top or 303 and GENTLY scrub with a SOFT brush and some warm water. It may take several washes over time to fade the marks. I also use a lint roller as a final pass to pick up away stray abraded fibers.

Trying to overdye the top is IMHO, a bad idea. You only color the surface of the fabric, so it is a very short-term fix and hard to do properly.

[SD ///M4]

To the OP: Since you have determined that it was your own error that caused the problem because you used a pressure washer on your top and not because "Someone graffiti my z4m top", can I suggest that you go back and change the title of the thread so it's not so misleading?

How to do that:

• Click "Edit" on your original post
• Click "Go Advanced"
• Change title
• Click "Save Changes"

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by fiberguy

Try using a top cleaner like Ragg-top or 303 and GENTLY scrub with a SOFT brush and some warm water. It may take several washes over time to fade the marks. I also use a lint roller as a final pass to pick up away stray abraded fibers.

We finally have a "professional" solution!

This is exactly what I did with my top.

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by fiberguy

Let the old retired textile guy jump into this:

The fabric in a Z4 top is solution dyed acrylic, meaning that the fibers in the yarn that makes the top are extruded with the colorant as part of the fiber solution. The color is part of the fiber all the way through.

The color change (fading or marking) is usually due to abrasion (folds in the top rubbing against each other or a pressure washer literally sand-blasting away some of the surface fibers). Deeply embedded dust will also cause a change in appearance. I normally vacuum the roof with a brush attachment rather than an aggressive water wash to minimize abrasion.

Try using a top cleaner like Ragg-top or 303 and GENTLY scrub with a SOFT brush and some warm water. It may take several washes over time to fade the marks. I also use a lint roller as a final pass to pick up away stray abraded fibers.

Trying to overdye the top is IMHO, a bad idea. You only color the surface of the fabric, so it is a very short-term fix and hard to do properly.

THANK YOU for your experience and great explanation as to why a dye only becomes "topical" and does not penetrate the fiber....this will lead me (us) to use the convetible top cleaning products as suggested.