Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Renovo Recolourer and Reconditioner

Renovo is generally regarded as one of the best hood treatments.

They do a rear window refinishing cream, which has been around a very long time, and produces excellent results on cloudy and yellowed plastic rear windows.

There is a soft top cleaner fluid, which I have on the shelf, but have not yet tried, because I have other products on the shelf.

There is a clear conditioning fluid, which is painted on. I forgot I had this, so up to now have used Nikwax on the stitching to prevent leaks.

Finally there is a black liquid treatment, which re-colours and re-conditions. These products are specifically for Mohair............Not PVC.

So............My 15 year old Roadster soft top has clearly faded when compared to the four year old soft top on my Plus 4. It has also leaked around the seams from time to time.

And there's no better time to do this job, which can be messy.

But first..........around the rear of the easy up hood, the rubber seal rubs the paint on the rear panel. Not seriously, but a while ago I added some clear film to protect this area. It's quite difficult to cut the film so it does the job, but doesn't show, and I needed to replace the corner hockey sticks which were not quite wide enough. In the end I got these slightly too wide, and they show on the corners, but it's such a time consuming job that for now it will do.

The first image gives the idea.............when the film is applied it doesn't show. I've fitted the film all round the rear panel.



So.....my first job was to clean the soft top, using a standard spray on cleaner, and a soft bristled nail brush. I made sure the whole surface was rinsed off, and then left for two days to dry off.

Next job was to de-fuzz the soft top, and one of the best things for removing dust and specks is clear adhesive parcel tape. I use a two foot length, well, lots of two foot lengths, and it's amazing how much fluff and debris comes Off using this method. I did the whole surface twice. The fluffy clear tape was good enough to mask off part of the rear window. Once fully de-fuzzed the soft top looked really good.

Next an improvised masking off..........................

,

The fluid is watery thin and jet black. It is applied with a soft brush from a container. I used a plastic ice cream container. One bottle should do two treatments, but initially I didn't think it would. One loaded brush doesn't go far. and the mohair has a real thirst for absorbing it. The instructions are to start in the centre and work fast in regular strokes, making sure that the fabric is totally saturated.

When completed, the surface looked slightly patchy, so I had to wait a day for the final verdict.

This is wet........................



And here we are fully dry.....you'll see on the front corner, a small oval patch. I fitted one on each front corner back in 2008, because when the hood is down, it rubs on itself on the corners, and the mohair was already getting shiny after three years.





I'm delighted at the result. The soft top is now blacker than my Plus 4, there is no streaking and it looks like new. It seems that the reputation of Renovo is well deserved.......(I have no connection).

I know coloured soft tops are very popular, but for me there is only one colour to have.........................

Well done Dave. My roadster has Everflex but the previous +4 had Mohair and the Renovo product worked well,

- another vote for Renovo products from me too

I have used the black on several cars now (MGB, Saab, Smart, etc.) and it has always given good results.

You can also get it in colours too - Dark Green and Dark Blue that I am aware of (possibly brown too, but I may have imagined that ).

Also, it is available (in a different formulation) for vinyl/plastic type hood material too - although I have never used this myself.

Like Dave, you must mask up well as it is a b*gger to remove from the paintwork.

I have also found that you need to vary your start point for each brush stroke as it easy to leave a stripe of darker material if you are not careful.

James

Excellent job Dave, I was thinking about doing that and you've made my mind up.

However I'm going to have to knock a few points off your overall score for putting the bottle on the unprotected bonnet.

I'm sure you scrupulously cleaned it's bottom first but you're setting a bad example to us mere mortals. I think an apology is in order

Well done 👌👌👌

Stefan

Well done 👌👌👌

Stefan

Funny funny. What you can't see is a 2mm neoprene pad under the bottle.........

Only kidding. My bottle bottoms are immaculate, and placed with exceptional care......just for the photograph.😜

I use my partners car to rest stuff on. Sometimes I forget and leave it there. Yesterday, she drove to ASDA with a pair of scissors and a lighter on her roof. Testiment to her driving that they both made it there and back ok

Good skills!

Excellent job Dave, Renovo works brilliantly!