Good call on replacing the straps...those in the pic are worn out badly!

 

So I went ahead and patched the two spots today. I used marine vinyl fabric and DAP RTV silicon adhesive. I cleaned the two areas with water, dish soap, and 70% alcohol. I also cleaned the vinyl with the 70% alcohol and then sand papered the surface (to form a more rough surface for the glue), then cleaned it again. I applied RTV to both the top and the vinyl using a tooth brush to evenly distribute the adhesive. A tip I found in another forum was to tie the bar back using rope to make it easier to apply the patch. See the picture below:



Here's how it turned out:

Left side:


Right side:


To make the appearance better, I'd like to paint the back of the vinyl black (instead of that cream color). Any suggestions on what to use?

Also, as you can see... The inside of my top is quite dirty. What does everyone use to clean this? I have cleaner and protectant from cleaning the outside, but the inside is not the same material. Any suggestions?

I'll post a picture of the new straps when they arrive. Desperately need them as RedCelica saw!

Thanks!

 

Nice work! If it was my own car, I wouldn't worry about the patch color since I never drive with the top up. But, I'm sure somebody will have a good idea though.

I know some others mentioned that the tears progressed, even after patching. At least in my case, there has been no progression in the rip over the last 6 years. I got my bar ends very smooth, and replaced the straps too.

 

Looked again for the patch material and the dogs must have hidden it. As I recall it was self-stick as I don't remember using any glue. For me it was important to have a double layer with both layers sticking to the roof material, not one sticking to the roof and the 2d patch sticking to the first.

-- Chuck

 

OP, nicely done and thanks for the tip/pics of securing the bar. Take some of the left over scrap pieces of marine vinyl and test paint to see what paint adheres/looks the best.

 

Good idea. Any idea where to start on paints though?

 

You might also try looking around in https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/forum/232...ody-and-paint/

While that is mostly about body panels, it's very common for people to post in there about top issues/questions too.

Also, take a gander in interiors. https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/forum/252-s2000-interiors/ There are those who have decided the inside of the soft top is in the interior of the car, so they have posted there too.

With soft top repair/replace questions becoming so common now as the cars have aged, I kind of wonder if it wouldn't be helpful to consider having its own section like wash and wax does, or body and paint, etc. But that's for another discussion and not here...