A few days after taking the hardtop off, I noticed a tiny sliver of sunlight poking through my top. I discovered a small tear that seems to have developed in the typical problem area where the soft top frame rubs against the fabric. The tear is less than 1" and is nearly invisible from outside, but definitely noticeable from the inside. Right now, I have a piece of duct tape on there to keep it from getting worse.

Anyone have any suggestions on the best way to repair it? I'd prefer for it to not look noticeable on the outside.

Yes, I did some searching, but I figured I would ask you guys too

 

With over 270K miles on The Bruised Banana, I'm in my 2nd top presently. And that said, I patched wear spots quite a bit before replacing. Although I could be due for yet another top for the patches in place presently, they do their job (and the top is down more than up in the warm months, so I don't give much of a turkey . Okay, so all that preamble aside...

I cut out pieces of material from my prior top, sized ~ 1" greater in diameter/size than the particular tear, evenly apply clear silicone sealant to one side of the entire patch (like spreading peanut butter), then [inside the car] line the patch up to the tear and press the patch firmly it into place / seat it well. Hold it there for a minute or so...rubbing/smoothing. The silicon sealant is flexible, wonderfully sticky, and waterproof.

What I do with old cut out pieces of my prior top, you could likely do just as easily with some cut up old blue jeans, etc. You just want some flexible material to keep the tear from getting larger, etc. Oh, and *if* the tear is located in a place where the frame rubs when top goes up/down, I probably add ~ 2" to the material...just so the frame won't catch the patch and peel it off over time.

Hope my experience/suggestion is of some value.

Thanks,
Dave

 

Thanks Dave! I actually pursued a similar approach today after doing some research. I picked up some textured black vinyl and Loctite Vinyl adhesive. I pretty much did what you said: cleaned the area around the tear, spread the adhesive evenly on the patch, and held it against the top from the inside for a few minutes. I'm letting it cure overnight, so we'll see how it turned out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

 

I've got a tear in the exact same spot. I've patched mine over the past 2 years but am edging closer and closer to buying a new top. After patching and re-patching you get kind of tired of it.

 

You know who to call, when you decide to get a new one!

 

I'm just letting mine go. I have several small tears, so it is about on its last legs.

 

That I do! I'll see how she holds up throughout the summer.

 

Gut soft top, go full time HT, problem solved!

You could still take the top off if you really wanted to go top down, haha!

But seriously, once the top starts tearing it's going to go at some point. I bought mine with patches on it done by Honda and they were busted within a year.

 

If you need patches to get you by for a while just shoot me a PM.