Date: Mon, 9 May 2005 11:42:50 -0700
Reply-To: rob campbell <rob@QUIMP.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: rob campbell <rob@QUIMP.COM>
Subject: Re: Mold on Canvas
In-Reply-To: <11dcddf805050911183e855571@mail.gmail.com>
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I just went through this...
In my case I went with X-14, a mildew remover available at many
grocery stores. It was suggested to use carefully in the archives.
I tested it in an inconspicuous location at the very back of the
canvas. It didn't seem to discolor the material, so I went ahead.
The stuff is pretty nasty, even with side door, windows, sunroof, and
poptop screen open I didn't want to stay in there too long. I tried
to get the bottle pretty close to the canvas, so that I didnt have to
spray it through the air very much. I sprayed it on the mildew
spots, and all over the bedboard (mattresses removed), and a little
on the fuzzy ceiling.
It helped a great deal, I'd say about 65% gone after an hour. I
wiped the spots with a wet-with-water sponge to clear away residual
x-14, and then repeated the process. After another hour, the mildew
was almost totally gone. I repeated the "rinse" and let the poptop
dry for about 6 hours. A few weeks later, there are some very mild
fades where the worst spots were, but I don't think they would be
visible to someone who wasn't looking for them.
I am wanting a new poptop anyway (for the 3 window version), I just
did this to put off the inevitable $$$ expendature. Still, I would
not be upset with this process if I were wanting to keep my poptop as
long as possible. I think the very minor bleaching is far preferable
to the spread of mildew.
I've always tried to be very careful about letting my poptop dry out
after trips, and was really surprised how quickly my top went from
close to perfectly clean to pretty bad mildew in just a couple
months. One lesson I have learned is to try to take your matresses
inside if you are going to keep the top down in the rain/winter/for a
couple months. I suspect it is at least as important to dry out your
matresses as it is to dry out the poptop material itself.
Just one 87 Westy GL's experience... I'd like to hear other reports.
I'd also like to hear from aftermarket poptop users... especially
those from gowesty (3 window). How does the hemp blend hold up? I
assume the plastic tents are great as far as mold resistance goes,
but how do they feel/breathe? nasty to roll up against at night?
On May 9, 2005, at 11:18 AM, Christopher Gronski wrote:
> Hello Volks,
>
> It seems a small bit of mold built up in the passenger side back
> corner of my pop top. I've checked the archives and have come up with
> about four interesting solutions:
>
> 1) Bleach and Water Mix
> 2) Tilex Bathroom Tile Cleaner
> 3) Starbrite Mold Cleaner
> 4) Dura Last Mold and Mildew Remover
>
> The first three appear to contain bleach (I'm not sure about option
> 4). Does anyone have any further insights? I would really like to stay
> away from bleach as I know it will discolour my canvas. Ideally I
> would like to clean the canvas top WITHOUT removing it from the
> vehicle.
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
>
>
