Date:         Thu, 26 Jun 2003 23:17:21 -0700
Reply-To:     MMunn <mdmunn@SHAW.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         MMunn <mdmunn@SHAW.CA>
Subject:      Moldy Pop Top Cure
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

My '85 Westy's pop top was a black moldy, stinky messy looking thing.  Lying asleep in the top, I would frequently wake-up for no good reason, half expecting to see the stuff glowing on the inside of the roof.

Well, no more of that.  In fact, my roof interior looks as good as new today.  But it was alot of work.  But the results are amazing.

I first unscrewed the four metal rails that hold the bottom of the canvas in place.  Then unscrewed the four metal rails that hold the top of the canvas in place.  Then unscrewed the pop top from the "push up bar" at the front of the roof, and slipped the canvas off.
Then unbolted the pop top from the top of the van, leaving the rear hinges attached to the pop top.  With the help of my wife, we inched the pop top backward and then flipped it on to the ground.

We mixed a one gallon (that would be about 4 litres) jug of Javex with an equal amount of water and dumped it straight into the overturned pop top.  Then we simply pushed the mixture this way and then that way, making sure we got everything very wet.  It took about a half hour, but the mold literally disappeared before our eyes (slowly).

We rinsed the pop top generously and then replaced.  It took 5 hours and some patience, but man o' man the results are nice.

While the canvas was off, we washed it in our home washing machine with a bit of Javex also.  It looked great.  All that was required was to put it through an extra rinse cycle to make sure all the chlorine was removed.  Then had the old screen replaced for about $60 Cdn.

If anybody would like some details, just ask.

Matthew
Vancouver BC
CANADA