Drying

Drying is an essential part of re-weatherproofing a fabric soft top, for a number of reasons. 

Firstly, you can't really tell if the roof is totally clean until it's dried. When the hood is wet, it is dark, and this can hide dirt and stains that might have been missed during the cleaning process.

Pushing the water out of the hood, inch-by-inch, not only helps dry the hood but allows us to inspect it in detail, ensuring nothing was missed. If we did miss something, the car may have to go back to the wash-bay for another wash and scrub.

The second reason it is important to dry the hood is that our waterproof coatings are hydrophobic! They repel water, but conversely are repelled by water. They just won't go onto a roof unless it's bone dry. 

It's also very important that once the weatherproof coating is applied, it is allowed to dry and cure before the car is driven in case it rains.

We use oil based products and oil and water, famously, don't mix, and so drying is a vital part of our process, and it should be part of yours too, if you are planning on cleaning and weatherproofing your car using a D.I.Y. kit. You should do everything possible to ensure the hood is dried properly between stages. This either means doing in a garage with heating, or during very favourable weather.

What it means

Drying is the stage after a leak or flood where trapped moisture is actively removed from the car. It is more than just leaving the doors open on a sunny day. Proper drying uses extraction, airflow, dehumidification and sometimes gentle heat to draw water out of carpets, underlay, soundproofing, seat bases and hidden cavities so the car is genuinely dry throughout, not just on the surface.

Why it matters

Surfaces dry long before cavities do. Carpet that feels fine to the hand can sit on underlay that is still holding water, and seams, box sections and the voids under the floor hold it longer still, which is why drying is measured with equipment and time rather than by touch.

What survives in those pockets is the whole problem. Damp trapped against looms, connectors and control units corrodes them into intermittent faults that surface months after the leak was fixed, mould and mildew take hold in any soft material left wet, and hidden corrosion works through floors and structural areas where nobody is looking. Controlled drying is the step that decides whether a repair holds, which is precisely why it is the one most often shortened when a car is needed back.

Where drying appears as a line item

Leak repair estimates, flood damage reports and interior decontamination quotes list it as a line of its own: drying of carpets and underlay required, vehicle placed on controlled drying rig, additional labour for drying cavities, or insufficient drying after previous leak repair.

Context

Drying decides whether everything else holds, and it is the stage most often shortened because the car is wanted back. Surfaces give up moisture in hours; underlay, seams and box sections take days under controlled conditions, and a car parked in the sun or given a quick valet is not dry in any sense that matters. Recurring smells, returning mould and electrical faults months later almost all trace back to this step being cut short. Where it falls in the wider repair is covered under water damage.

Common mistakes

• Assuming that because the carpet surface feels dry, the underlay and soundproofing underneath must also be dry.
• Relying on a quick valet and air freshener instead of controlled drying after a significant leak or flood.
• Refitting trims and seats over damp floors and foams, trapping moisture where it cannot evaporate properly.
• Failing to monitor moisture levels, so drying stops too early and hidden damp later leads to mould, corrosion and electrical faults.

Authored by Danny Argent. Reviewed by Gary Wray. Last updated 16 May 2026.