Preventing holes in soft top - my solution
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From: Littleton, CO
Originally Posted by B.Money,May 3 2007, 04:21 PM
so any update on this? does this actually work? im starting to notice light wear marks and would like to know.
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From: Mendota Heights, MN
Originally Posted by vtec4life,Mar 8 2008, 10:09 PM
or another solution that I haven't tried yet would be bending the bar that is at the bend where it seems to cause the wear mark perhaps?
go ahead. let us know how that works
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Originally Posted by fltsfshr,Mar 3 2007, 12:13 PM
I think JoAnn fabric carries it as well.
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Originally Posted by ProjectGSX,Apr 15 2008, 11:26 AM
Jo Ann carries it, but its special order only. I called and asked if they had it in stock and they told me yes, which turned out to not be the case. I ended up with something called "Duck Cloth" which is basically a heavy weight waterproof fabric. Ill post pics later and let you guys know how it turns out.
I used a generic fabric glue that claimed to be waterproof. Havent tried the car wash yet.. Im going to put another dose of glue on first and give it another 3 days to cure.
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Originally Posted by fltsfshr,Mar 3 2007, 11:57 AM
Here's my opinion.
Fabric glue comes in several different curing times. Use the longest cure when doing large backings, it has more flex. It's usually a 24 hour total cure.
Put your patches on like you use contact cement. Tack it then stick it. Sunbrella black fabric is very flexible, extremely strong and matches your exterior top perfectly. If you have a small hole all the way thru and wish to try a patch, put the patch on the inside without the top stretched. After it cures and drys, put the top all the way up and look at the hole. You'll notice it opens a little and you can see the patch below. Take some Sunbrella and match the weave direction, then cut a small piece to perfectly fit the slit. Make it as close as you can without overlapping. Us a faster drying vinyl/leather adhesive here if you like, there are some out there that cure in 45 min. After you have matched the piece to the hole, put vinyl cement into the hole and in between the bottom patch and the top and tack it. Fit in the patch very carefully, making sure not to overlap. Let it sit and dry. IF you have threads sticking up afterward, shave them off. I haven't tried this in really cold weather but it works great here. Most fabric/vinyl glues have a wide temp and flexibility range.
It will be interesting to see how his patch holds, that's a combination of two very different materials with different stretch rates under temperature extremes.
fltsfshr
Fabric glue comes in several different curing times. Use the longest cure when doing large backings, it has more flex. It's usually a 24 hour total cure.
Put your patches on like you use contact cement. Tack it then stick it. Sunbrella black fabric is very flexible, extremely strong and matches your exterior top perfectly. If you have a small hole all the way thru and wish to try a patch, put the patch on the inside without the top stretched. After it cures and drys, put the top all the way up and look at the hole. You'll notice it opens a little and you can see the patch below. Take some Sunbrella and match the weave direction, then cut a small piece to perfectly fit the slit. Make it as close as you can without overlapping. Us a faster drying vinyl/leather adhesive here if you like, there are some out there that cure in 45 min. After you have matched the piece to the hole, put vinyl cement into the hole and in between the bottom patch and the top and tack it. Fit in the patch very carefully, making sure not to overlap. Let it sit and dry. IF you have threads sticking up afterward, shave them off. I haven't tried this in really cold weather but it works great here. Most fabric/vinyl glues have a wide temp and flexibility range.
It will be interesting to see how his patch holds, that's a combination of two very different materials with different stretch rates under temperature extremes.
fltsfshr
I'll did not take any pictures, i should have though..
