Porsche 987 Fading roof

[Roonster123]

Hi all new to the forum.

I bought a 987 Boxster S in 2012, its in lovely condition with only 28,000 on the clock.

I garage the car for the winter, the problem is the roof has faded. I am a tad OCD and the car is cleaned very regularly and the roof is cleaned and re proofed on a regular basis. looking through other articles I have heard some horror stories regarding re colouring and was hoping for some advice. Additional problem the roof colour is stone.
Any companies out there that could assist or any recommended treatment??

Any help appreciated

[AndyofSomerset]

Hi, did you ever find a solution. I'm in exactly the same position and the closest I've seen is a grey dye. Cheers Andy

[Rockster]

My advice is to leave the top (canvas) alone. My 2002 Boxster came with a metropol blue canvas top. Lovely color that went well with the lapis blue paint.

After some time the top faded a bit. The fading wasn't bad and in fact kind of made the car even better looking I think.

A problem with putting something on the canvas is the canvas is there to protect the rubber sheet underneath which is what seals the cabin from the elements. Use the wrong stuff on the canvas and this could attack the rubber and shorten the top life.

Believe it or not I never bothered to treat the canvas top with anything not even the stuf that is supposed make the canvas bead water. The problem is the canvas is supposed to be a bit porous to let water dry that gets between the canvas and is stopped by the rubber. If the water doesn't dry it can prompt mold/mildew growth between the rubber and the canvas. One sign this might be going on is if the canvas loses its normal smooth appearance and takes on a lumpy appearance.

Even though my car sat outside in all kinds of weather for years the top lasted until a year or so ago when it started to leak just in front of the rear window. I suspect the replacement window I had installed when the original window cracked was the reason. This replacement window probably put some extra tension on the top.

(When I have the top replaced the top shop tech commented that the original top looked to be in pretty darn good shape.)

To keep the top leak free and looking good (albeit with a bit of fading) I just avoid parking under trees -- to avoid any sap and bird mess getting on the top or the paint and to avoid the risk of a branch falling on the top and damaging it - and keep the top clean by just rinsing it with plain water.