Excellent work, Roger and Amanda.

When it's all sorted, don't forget to do a step-by-step guide for the 'How to................' section.

Sunbrella

We are led to believe thar Eriba use Sunbrella for its poptops. However, when I read up about the product, Sunbrella is an acrylic and their claim is that it is mould and mildew repellent. adding that any mould or mildew on Sunbrella is a result of it attacking dirt in the fabric and not the fabric itself.

It is also suggested that the UV stable colours in Sunbrella are added chemically to the acrylic before weaving and therefore it is not possible to successfully dye Sunbrella Fabric.

So, after all that rubbing and scrubbing of our poptop before taking it off and after two washing machine washes, why could we not remove the mould? After all they claim that the mould should disappear with the dirt and they also claim that nothing will dye the fabric yet the mould did.

So, two washes later at 30 degree C and a level full of "Vanish".and washing powder most of the fabric came up well but the mould spots were still there. Previously after experimenting with various products the only thing I found successful in removing a patch of mould was undiluted bleach.

This morning, using the top of our trailer as a scrubbing board, I tried undiluted "Vanish" following the instructions on the packet. After about half an hour there was only a small improvement on the patch I tried so there was nothing more for it than to use undiluted bleach.

I scrubbed about half of the affected area with a small paintbrush and then left it for 15 minutes before hosing it off. It looked good. Therefore carried on with the rest of it and after hosing it off went back to tackle a few of the really stubborn stains to good effect.

Back in the washing machine for a third wash with "Vanish" and washing powder and although still slightly damp (didn't tumble dry) it looks remarkable good.We just have to hope now that it doesn't fall apart with all that bleaching although in reality, I only used a cup full of bleach and washed it off with gallons of cold water.

Going back to Sunbrella, it was our secondary plan that Mrs R could make a new poptop if our attempts to recover the existing one failed. However we can't find Sunbrella material for sale in the UK for love nor money.

If all goes to plan, we intend putting the poptop back sometime next week as it's a delight to work on other projects in the van with all that daylight and fresh air. We hope to get the Eriba put under its covers before bl**dy Halloween and Firework month ( no longer Firework night I'm afraid ).

Silicone Spray
I know a number of folk use this. Do you think it would help in reinstalling the poptop and if so is this one any good (it says it's non staining) https://www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-sili...wE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Randa

Silicone spray will lubricate the channel and make it easier to slide the fabric into it.

If you don't fancy spraying it and risking getting it all over the place, could you something like Cotton Buds or a small paintbrush instead?

Quote: Steve and Debbie wrote in post #18

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I notice that Sunbrella have specific cleaning instructions for each of their different fabrics.

https://www.sunbrella.com/en-us/how-to-clean

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Yes but I'll do it when it's back in place as I'm worried about the amount of handling that has to take place to fit the poptop. I've already got the 303 spray. That's what I used last time and it proved to be good stuff.

Randa

Didn't have much trouble last time Ray. Up the ladder and some newspaper loosly applied to the roof curve. Most of the spray was quicly absorbed by the fabric and I quickly removed the newspaper and wiped the bodywork before moving on. It took very little time to complete the task as the canvas was held taut by the roof.

I can't see that any overspray quickly removed from a highly polished surface can do much damage. It certainly didn't effect our roof when I last did it.

Randa

Before:- sIMG_6566.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) sIMG_6585.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) After.

Randa

Now here's something for you all to chuckle about on this cold and frosty Saturday.

Crepe Bandage

While worrying about how to protect our poptop from the condensation on the aluminium rail around the hole in the roof I thought of a removable cloth between roof fabric and extrusion.

Finally I came up with a idea of trying 100mm wide crepe bandage sweat band similar to the one John Macenro used to wear, about the same size too , about 8 metres long. This could sit over the lip of the extrusion and could be used during damp weather or storage and will be easy to remove for washing and drying.

Worth experimenting with it for a few quid.

Randa