Convertible top waterproofing

I wished I had known this back in September during our deluge in South Lake Tahoe. 

i dunno Porsche specified Raggtop for their german Hartz canvas, worked great on  my 04 C4.

I use RaggTop fabric protector on my new Miata Haartz top.  It says right on can - recommended by Haartz. It also has a UV protectorate in it. Others use 303 Fabric (has a smell though) and Chemical Guys Fabric protector.  No Haartz recommendation on either of these.  Remember vinyl tops take a different sealer than fabric one.

Raggtop worked for me before but at the time I had no garage and it did not last the driving season... now I do have a garage but I put on 3 times more miles and this new stuff lasts ,.. just saying.  .... I should of ended it with your mileage may vary.

You drive in the rain Ray, or are you talking about driving in the sun with the roof up ? Sounds like good stuff... How many miles did you put on her this year ?

I try not to run in the rain but as you know our season is so short so I have been caught in it a few times.... I put 10k km this season which is the most I have ever done... And you?   David, did you get many miles in?

I do drive my roadster with the top down as much as I can but at times when sun is plain too hot on my head.... I drive in the sun with the roof up.  I leave my back window down and turn on the AC... come to think of it I drive top down with AC at my feet and it is quite nice too. 

My IM is so well sealed that if I really want it cold I can drive with the top up with all windows closed and I feel quite cool even on pretty hot days. 

IaM-Ray posted:

I try not to run in the rain but as you know our season is so short so I have been caught in it a few times.... I put 10k km this season which is the most I have ever done... And you?   David, did you get many miles in?

It's been a record low for me putting on miles this year. Local record rainfalls, still modifying the boat to our taste and a late necessity of changing out a newly discovered gremlin of a bent right rear axle tube which was not discovered in the accident a couple of years back has taken some time out of the summer season. 

In about July, I caved in and bought a single place airplane for restoration over the winter which will get a CZ radial next spring. Me, I'm still running a small business while my recently retired Wife and I are both coping with the variables of having one each a 95 year old parent in separate retirement homes right now.  Spare time is rare but I like to keep busy. I don't watch much TV ....unless the El Jefe is speaking.....then straight to channel 500 or thereabouts pronto for quick and accurate advice / understanding.....but only for a short time. 

Too much rain here this spring also.  I have put fewer miles than normal on this year, but I am still driving the car until the snow falls.

David, I commiserate with you re: aged parents and caring/visiting.  We have been through all that.

Enjoy that airplane project over the winter.

Yeah David when your parents reach nonagenarian it brings with it a need for more attention ... Sorry to hear about that gremlin in the rear tubes. 

I doubt that any of our canvas tops are actually real Haartz cloth (save for maybe IM).  I know the VS one I bought is not real Haartz cloth.

David Stroud posted:

IaM-Ray posted:

I try not to run in the rain but as you know our season is so short so I have been caught in it a few times.... I put 10k km this season which is the most I have ever done... And you?   David, did you get many miles in?

Me, I'm still running a small business while my recently retired Wife and I are both coping with the variables of having one each a 95 year old parent in separate retirement homes right now.  Spare time is rare but I like to keep busy. 

I know the feeling only too well. My parents are in their late 80's and early 90's and had to be moved into a retirement/adult building about 3 years ago. My Dad's not doing as well the last year and we've had to move him into his own room on a separate floor where he can receive more care. My parents just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary so this is a bit of a sad time for them.

Beautiful building just off the lake, good food, mostly good care, plenty of entertainment/social options. But brace for it.....the costs are now over $11,000 per month.

With 2 children in university (1 out and married) and a business to run, my spare time is severely impacted! But life is still so good, lots to be thankful for.

Been pouring on the North Shore for two weeks straight....will not drive in pouring rain! I have not driven my car for longer than 5 minutes with the top UP...largely because its Hawaii and I dont enjoy it and not great visibility scheme. I will cruise with the top down in light rain/sun showers and get a bit wet...no problem.  No A/C...would be nice but still top down please. IM convertible cloth is the real Haartz stayfast stuff

WNGD... the cost of care if your not on a subsidy from Wynn, can be outrageous so you have to plan ... sometimes it is more cost effective to pay for homecare daily visits and keep them in their own home plus they feel more comfortable still being together.   

Think of it ... they can be in a senior's complex, and have daily visits from a caregiver and even at $100-200 a day your cost is way below the NHome costs which in my opinion is only for those who need respite care. 

My two outlaws were great people and my mother in law was really neglected in the NH which we really only found out after she passed. 

I am committed to keeping my mom out of a home as long as she is not in dementia, first because she is not interested and wants to stay alone and I want to give her her wish and second because it is the right thing to do in my opinion for my mom...

I also feel that quality of life is unmeasurable in that a grandmother just looking at her grandchildren is happy to just sit and watch them and see them live... To some health professionals this is not good quality of life ... to me it is just another stage of life. 

No judgment of you or others who choose NH for whatever their reasons are. 

I applaud your disposition:

"I am committed to keeping my mom out of a home as long as she is not in dementia, first because she is not interested and wants to stay alone and I want to give her her wish and second because it is the right thing to do in my opinion for my mom.."

Some folks lifestyle, livelihood cannot permit that luxury and the demands of space and time can be overwhelming.

Their quality of life is tough enough, very often, and the attachment of family can greatly improve that with the personal connection. Certainly if there are management issues that require professional expertise, that can often be made available in the home unless the demands of dementia and other severe debilitation precludes reasonable safety.

Which ever way you cut it ... a caregiver can be hired even if it is just a friend or a bunch of volunteers, church friends at a much lower cost.  

They can be there part time with the person again so long as they are with it enough to not harm themselves.. 

The best would be to live with you ... @MusbJim is the expert on this area having cared for his loved one in his home. 

“ I caved in and bought a single place airplane for restoration over the winter which will get a CZ radial next spring.”

You obviously like building projects...Good for you...

I nearly bought a used Canadian IM to do the same but I paused and it was gone... 

I am presently planning my winter projects on my IM...

Ray, my father got to the point where he was falling quite regularly (20X in the last 3 years) but thankfully never broke a hip or other but did receive a couple of nasty gashes to his head. It got to the point where it would have been considered abuse to leave them in an apartment.

Several of those were at night when he tried to get to the bathroom. We tried a caregiver to stay over nights @ $300/night I think it was but he saw that as a major intrusion on his privacy. The nervousness of his falling was starting to affect my mother's sleeping ability (most every other health issue for them both is remarkably good). With the falls being the issue, a drop in caregiver didn't solve anything.

Plus, my experience with elders who insist on staying in their own home is as much for familiarity as anything and they start not eating too well and just watching a lot of television. Health or mental health can slip slowly and escape the notice of even the most attentive son or daughter. Not a healthy way to live. 

They now have 3 healthy meals a day, snacks and coffee/tea always available plus their own kitchenette. Tai Chi, lawn bowling, movies, bridge card playing, bingo nights, pet therapy visitations, exercise and falls prevention classes(!), music acts and choirs coming in regularly and most importantly, the company of their own age group, since most of their friends have passed away.

Where they are is not a nursing home but does have an age-in-place nursing floor where my Dad has now gone to. It's heart breaking for a son but we know it's for the best in their situation. Very expensive but worth it imo.

It's not at the expense of family either as each of their 5 kids visits more or less weekly and we even have a dinner there that we kids cater every Dec 27th for about 30 family members. That was my parents biggest concern in moving, was could they continue to host a family Christmas dinner when all the kids and their families get together.

Unless one of us was on vacation elsewhere, we haven't missed dinner or seen my parents on Sundays for about 30 years. Rare these days I know, we're very close and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Sounds like you found a plan that works for you.  

WINGD: A good son taking care of a good father....sometimes doing the right thing is a double edged sword but the right thing nonetheless. 

Vinyl!!

WNGD:  We went through that a few years ago with my parents, also in their 90's.  It's a lot of work and worry and can wear you out.  I think the worry and stress of caring for them in their home contributed to my brother's fatal heart attack, so I know that you are all happy that they're both in a better environment.  Neither of my folks wanted to leave the home that they both built with their own hands, but the environment in an assisted living campus was so much better, as you've found, too.  After helping to set things up for my Mom, after my Dad passed, my wife is all ready to move into one, too ("It's so nice here!"), but I think that might still be a few years off - Haven't found one yet that'll have a garage for the Speedster    

Sounds like you've found the perfect place for them, and you all, too!

Gordon Nichols posted:

WNGD:  We went through that a few years ago with my parents, also in their 90's.  It's a lot of work and worry and can wear you out.  I think the worry and stress of caring for them in their home contributed to my brother's fatal heart attack, so I know that you are all happy that they're both in a better environment.  Neither of my folks wanted to leave the home that they both built with their own hands, but the environment in an assisted living campus was so much better, as you've found, too.  After helping to set things up for my Mom, after my Dad passed, my wife is all ready to move into one, too ("It's so nice here!"), but I think that might still be a few years off - Haven't found one yet that'll have a garage for the Speedster    

Sounds like you've found the perfect place for them, and you all, too!

Wife? .... Hell, my kids want to move in there 

Gordon, they have underground parking (Mom still drives but that might change soon enough too) and I see more than a few of what is likely the resident's kids use the unused space for their own Winter car storage. I see a Z4 under a cover there and also a Mercedes 'vert.

Forgot to add they also have a huge 2nd floor outdoor garden with 30 foot trees and raised veggie beds and lots of roses, rhodos and other flowering bushes, water feature, a view of Lake Ontario etc. We sit out there a lot when the weather allows, up until the last few weeks this year. The squirrels find their way up there pretty easily off the ground floor trees and misguided but well meaning residents keep them pretty well fed. They also do regular Summer outdoor BBQ's there.

They also have a billiards room, craft room, cooking demonstrations in a full kitchen, library and fireplace room with tables just for visiting.

I'm starting to sound like I'm hard selling the place. It may not be "home" and not perfect by a long shot but in some respects it's better. 

I still hope to go out in a giant ball of flame before that day comes