Hi. So I mentioned in another thread a wbile back that my OE soft top is starting to pull apart at the corners of the center rib. I am considering ways to delay the inevitable. As things slowly worsen, Function is overtaking Form, but "ghetto" is simply not a good look on these cars.
I tried using Tenacious Tape on the inside, combined with Shoe Goo on the outside. The T-Tape simply could not handle the shear force of the stretching fabric versus the non-stretching tape and eventually fell off after losing adhesion at the interface. The dragging across the rib didn't help. A big factor here is the virtual impossibility of being able to apply the patch while the fabric is fully stretched. In fairness to Tenacious Tape, I don't think anything else would work either. It is probably a great product for patching tents and jackets.
The Shoe Goo is difficult to work with, but it adheres extremely well. However, once again, that little milimeter of stretch when the top closes is a bit too much tensile force for the Goo, and my once-pinhole is now a 3mm long tear. It will only continue to pull apart.
So I am looking for a way to patch the outside with something that will absorb the tensile stress. I believe that Shoe Goo will be an adequate adhesive, as it is quite flexible and sticky.
A friend of mine spotted a wrecked Frog cousin at a local scrapyard, so I am considering going out and cutting a big scrap out of the top to use as a nice color-matched (within reason) patch material. Yes, it will be an external patch. Sigh, "so, it has come to this...". My plan is to apply the patch while the top is closed/stretched, and I may even try to devise a way to stretch the patch in a frame while it is applied. Not sure about the implementation details of that just yet, but I think that both fabrics need to be either stretched or relaxed while being bonded, and it seems to me that if both are relaxed, it will be much less precise and controllable. There is just more chance for a mismatch and eventual de-lamination.
I am looking for thoughts, opinions, advice, etc. I do remember someone doing some patches and using magnets to pinch the pieces together. Anyone else have any wisdom or warnings to share?
🐸, 2003, Electric Green Mica
Topic starter
Posted : November 30, 2020 12:21 pm
This is the tear where the top hinges and folds back on itself. It will not grow any more I’ve found. Plus it usually doesn’t leak inside the car. It’s just a little unsightly. I’d ignore it. The failure that kills the top is usually the long split just above the back glass.
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Posted : December 2, 2020 5:09 am
I had the same issue. I bought some marine vinyl (UV protected & waterproof) & vinyl cement. I cut rounded bits to cover each of the stress holes, at least 0.5 inch of overlap on all sides of each hole. I had 3 very small ones, one slightly larger (small ones were barely visible light through, more wind noise on the highway....the "larger" hole was still only a few mm across). I cleaned with rubbing alcohol, used sand paper on each side of the application (inside of the soft top & on the marine vinyl). Vinyl cement placed on each side of application, wait a few mins for it to tack up, then apply together & held for as long as I could with gentle pressure. I haven't had an issue from those repairs. They are barely noticeable from the outside & for a few bucks I couldn't be happier. I did opt to put the black side of the marine vinyl facing "outward" to keep the pinholes less visible, then I used a sharpie on the white colored backing to keep it a stealth fix from inside the car. Kept the top up for 2-3 days to let it completely cure. I have no issue now when raising or lowering the top. I did use slightly bigger pieces to the repair than absolutely necessary just to make it sit where I wanted against the rib so it wouldn't have extra stress when being manipulated.
My back window is letting go from the soft top as well, just on the outer part of the soft top; so I will be using another strip of vinyl to repair this as well when the weather is warm enough.
Posted : December 23, 2020 9:12 pm
I’ve noticed that pinholes appear where the inner lining of the material has worn off. On one older top, I glued in some large patches on the internal surface to try and restore the structural integrity of the material. The worn areas and pinholes were mostly on the back quarters directly behind the roll up windows.
The fabric backing material seems to take the stretching loads, and the pvc coating provides the waterproofing. When the backing is scrubbed away by the ragtop frames, the vinyl gets pinholes as it fails.
This post was modified 3 years ago by cyclehead
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Posted : December 24, 2020 9:40 am