[blockquote]Hi,
we just took off the hardtop of our 1997 Mercedes 500SL. The softtop's polyglas is awfully stained with
mildew. We are trying to use Meguiar's PlastX to
remove the stains. It helped a little but we still can't
really see out of the rear window. Anybody has a suggestion how to solve this problem?
Thanks,
Kim

[/blockquote]

 

My wife, Kim was kind enough to post this question after seeing me try to save the back window of our 97 SL 500. However, I will probably end up replacing the top. When I do this, I will be sure to post pictures and instructions as I see them.
As a follow up, the cleaners I have found for plastic rear window maintenance,
[ul][*]Meguiar's Glass X. available at most parts stores in the U.S.[/ul][ul][*] Novus Plastic Polish No.2, Novus Inc., Minneapolis,MN, USA, toll-free 1-800-548-6872[*]Autohoods No Wet PVC cleaner, at the following link: http://www.autohoods.co.uk/clean_a.htm[/ul]Best of luck to all of you who read this post. I had some success with the Meguiars product applied with a small buffing wheel in a cordless drill (at a somewhat slow speed as not to heat the plastic).
Regards,
Perry

 

The soft top was replaced this week, as the window clarity issues were never fully resolved, and the white stitching on the black top was starting to look ragged. I ordered the top from a site off of the internet, and had a local upholstery shop install it. It was approx. $650 U.S.D. for the top, and $450. for installation. We are very happy with the top. I could have paid less for the top, but I could call this company and actually reach humans on the phone. The upholsterer (Dave at Upholstery, etc. in Largo, FL) said it was of good quality.
Regards,
Perry