Hardtop to soft top changeover: one week from today!!!!

[RICK]

Next weekend (first weekend in April) is my usual top changeover.
Time to lift off and store the "casket top" and put on the summer soft top.
The summer top and windows have been cleaned and polished all winter and are ready to be put back on.
The inside of the hard top has become yellow stained from cigarette smoke.
It's been a really stressfull winter and spring.
So please no lectures on why I started smoking again!

Question:

Can I "high pressure" power spray the inside of the hard top without worrying about the white inside white paint coating flaking off in the process?
Or do I need to scrub it with amonia/warm water and rinse it by hand with the low power garden hose?
Any advise?
(Please don't tell me why I shouldn't be smoking, again!)

[sparky]

I'm not sure by looking at mine the interior didn't appear to be painted. It looked like the natural color of the top and the black outside was painted.

Just to be safe I'd scrub it carefully and use the garden hose. I suppose if you were to flake the paint w/ the high pressure washer you could touch it up again without too much problem, after all it is inside, not on the outside which is more critical IMO.

[AmyMo]

Hope that Mother Nature is kind to you next weekend, I am about sick of this weather..60 one day, snow the next. Am I ever gonna get my doors off?
Keep smiling, Rick

[Cooch]

I think washing it won't be a problem, like it was said above you have all summer to paint it if it does peel.

Mine is coming of next week too.

Can't Wait!!!!

[Etnomaiab]

its 82 here. :D :D Mine could be off, but i had to move my hardtop, and i dont want to leave it topless while im at school.

[rickyb24]

%$#@*^% SNOW , we got another 3" today !!! I can't wait to get my top off ! I live in upstate New York , I probably won't get mine off for atleast another month. Anyone want to trade homes and jobs?!?!?! I'd prefer south and good pay.LOL

[Tgoose]

GEE,you mean the inside of my hdtp wasn't allways yellow??!?-------I just clean mine w/409 or such and rinse . I don't know what color the top material is but my white was touched up w/paint at the factory for some reason. I don't remember what color my cutout edges were when i put in the sunroof.

[lonegpr]

Softop has been off and stored in the garage since the 1st of this month. Been running the bikini top with the full doors since then. Been a few cold mornings (25*F or so), but for the most part temps have been starting out in the mid 30's, climbing into the mid 60's and low 70's.

Perfect temp is between 80*F-- 90*F for topless weather. Summer here gets hellacious; hot and humid with highs routinely above the century mark. Then the softop usually goes back on and the AC is turned on. No need to suffer. :)

[Joel]

It was in the 50's the other day and I was thinking the same thing about putting the softtop on. Last night and tonight it's down around zero with a 20 mph wind, so I guess I'll wait!!! No snow, anyway.

[Jeff Weston]

I took the hard top off a couple of weeks ago and am just running the bikini top. If/when it rains hard I'll slap the soft top back on, but until then, I'll just keep enjoying spring.

As for power washing the hardtop, are you talking about one of those 1200psi washers or something more like a coin-op carwash washer. I think the 1200 psi type may be a bit strong for this application. Instead, think I'd try some Simple Green and a scrub brush. I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time on it, cuz' if you're storing it for 6 months it'll just get really dirty again anyways.

As for smoking, it's still not a crime (yet) ;) Good luck with the top.

[1986cj7]

First day of spring I took the hard top off and put the bikini on
But I did check with my wife to make sure I could borrow here xj if it snowes any more

[Lauti]

Hi Rick,

My hardtop definitely has white as a groundcolor and the black outside is painted. If the outside paint doesn't flake/peel off when pressure washing the Jeep's hardtop, then I wouldn't worry about pressure washing the white - yellow in your case - interior side of the hardtop! Schrubb it down by hand and then use the pressure washer, i'd say! Good Luck on the weather for next weekend! :p

[F]

Well Rick it was in the high 50s for us last week. Today it is 20 and snowing. I wish you luck next week. It might be 60 and sunny or 25 and snowing.

As for cleaning the top, I would try the garden hose first. If that works wonderful. If not take the pressure washer to the top. I wouldn't think you would incur much damage.

Finally I really hope the sun begins to shine on the Mathews family. You need some good times Rick.

[Stubbs]

Rick, you bugger... Last Thursday it was 8 C up here.. Today its minus 6 and snowing again... I don't think spring will ever arrive :(

wahhh....

[DanB98TJ]

Um...what's a top?:confused:;) It's been in the mid to upper 80's for the past week or so, and I've been topless since Sunday.:cool: Of course, when it starts getting close to 100*, the top goes back on so I can run the AC.:p

As far as the yellow stuff goes, I had the same thing in my Bronco hard top when I was smoking. I just used a sponge and some soapy water, then wiped it dry. The tops look to be of similar construction.

Good luck if (when) you decide to quit smoking again....it was the hardest three things I've ever done (quit 3 years ago...hopefully for the last time;))

[Chris S]

It's still below freezing at night here, but it's been nice and sunny during the day, so I'm thinking of putting the soft top on. Normally I would wait until May, but I need to get the soft top out of the storage room to make way for baby stuff.

[rickyb24]

This is for everybody that keeps saying that they have had their top's off............................... I HOPE YOU GET THE WORST #$%&@#* SUNBURN OF YOUR LIFE !! It's still snowing just about every other day here. ;)