Can I put my convertible through a car wash?
Yes, you can put a soft top through a car wash, but remember, not all car washes are made equal. The older nylon brush types are fairly rare these days, but they are safe to use on an infrequent basis. We would have more concern about their effect on your paintwork than your hood. They can be quite harsh and some manufacturers of after-market hoods do not recommend them.
These days, most automated car washes are soft-cloth or touchless, and these are perfectly fine to use.
Advice from Ford and BMW
We looked at the advice that Ford and BMW give to convertible car owners. We chose Ford because they are one of the biggest and oldest manufacturer's of cars in the world, and we chose BMW because the Mini is the UK's top-selling cabriolet.
Neither manufacturer specifically advises against using automatic car washes, in fact, we found out that repeatedly running their cars through car washes is part of their durability testing. However, both did advise caution.
- Ford does specifically advise against using automated car washes for soft-top vehicles which have plastic-window panels, as this will cause damage. However, this is a rarity in the UK, and generally only older vehicles still have soft plastic windows.
- Both BMW and Ford advise against using stiff brushes on your convertible hood -- some older car washes depend on stiff, broom-like brushes to do most of the cleaning.
- Ford advises against using strong "detergent cleaners" [source] - however, well-maintained car washes will use a good quality car shampoo.
Ford advises against "Hot Wax" as they claim that it can "affect the cleanability of the material". However, Hot-Wax is just a rebranding of Wash'n'Wax. It's not hot, and will have minimal effect on your hood if applied sparingly -- and as it's expensive stuff, car washes do tend to apply it sparingly!
We should also note that BMW/Mini recommend hand cleaning your soft-top with their own brand of soft-top cleaner, and offer little other advice on the subject. They do recommend that you re-weatherproof your hood after every 3-5 washes. [source]
Our Advice
We recommend you find a car wash that looks clean, well maintained and is operated by a reputable company. Some that are not well maintained, not working efficiently, or maybe just because they want to speed up the process to increase profits, will use extremely harsh soaps which can strip all the weatherproofing off your roof... they may also stain chrome and metal and etch and bleach plastics. This warning doesn't just apply to automated car washes, but also hand car washes.
It should go without saying, but when taking a convertible through a car wash, make sure you have the roof up, firmly secured and latched down.
And after you have washed your hood... don't put it down until it is dry! We know the temptation, the sun comes out so you want to get the car cleaned and put the roof down. It's why you bought a convertible in the first place. But cleaning your hood in a car wash won't get rid of all the dirt and organic matter. If you fold it away while still wet on a warm day, you will get that mouldy mildew smell.
Driving along, your hood shouldn't take very long to dry, if it has a working weatherproof coating on it.
Is your hood sopping wet after washing?
Once cleaned, your hood should feel damp to the touch. If it is sopping wet, then it means that your weatherproof coating has worn off, and you should get it re-coated as soon as possible. The weatherproof coating not only repels water, it also contains mould and mildew inhibitors, and helps protect the fabric against UV radiation and oxidation. It's really rather important to keep it maintained.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 27/05/2025 18:40