Hey all,

I've got a rip developing on one side of my top and want to stop it before it goes all the way through.

What's a good local place to get this done properly?

 

This is something that you can do yourself! A really effective, viable and CLEAN method was developed by JohnsS2000. Essentially you need a piece of top material.....clean the area and use a small "soft" wire brush (Stanley makes them...look like a large toothbrush). Then a gel type super glue is used to affix patch. This is all done on the INSIDE. His is done and both sides of mine have been done and it has been months ago and no problems.



I'm sure John will chime in when he sees this thread...he is out of town on biz right now.

 

i had my top replaced some time back, took 2 sections of the old top material and stashed it. The top put on my car was a 2006 top that was taken off a 1 year old car(1 year old at the time) and I got the top from the dealer when it was replaced under warranty. I stored it until i needed the 2001s top replaced. It was replaced due to the TSB "frame cut through" and the above described method was performed. Before attemtin it on the car thoguh, i took a couple of small sections and experimented until I found the best adhesion. This was with taking a brass brush(toothbrush sized) and brushing the inside of the top on the car, until the entire coverage area is "roughed up" and also doing the same on the patch. I cut a section large anough to cover the tear/cutfor about 3/4 an inch in all directions from the tear/cut. Using super glue GEL I covered the entir surface of the patch with the GEL and stuck in place making sure to apply even pressure over the surface of the patch for maximum adhesion. It has been over a year with no issues on my top. This method has been done on 3 or 4 cars locally with similar results. Its not a 100% solution but will buy significant time before having to replace the top on your car

 

Ditto on John's comments above. I just did mine, exactly the way he describes (and per his instructions) about 2 weeks ago. Turned out perfect. I will try to get some pics posted just o give you an idea of what and how it should look like.

 

this first pic shows the top partially opened with the patch now behind the part of the frame that causes the tear.


THis pic shows the result of the repair from the outside.


this pic is the repair done as the top is completely closed.

 

Thanks guys for the helpful replies.

One thing I'm concerned about is the brass brush making the material even thinner... Did you find the brush had a possibility of tearing through the top?

 

I have an old soft top that I can cut up for you if you would like. It was given to me for free form another s2ki member to patch mine and my girlfriends roofs, so I'll pay it forward and help you out.

I just glued the patches in, I didn't use any brush or anthing like that. I've had them on out cars for going on a year now, with no problems.

 

Oh that would be great. YGPM

 

thinning will be minimal because you will not need to do more than "sand" the surface until dusting occurs. You will be doubling the thickness with the patch. The primary reason of the brass brushing is that the top material from the manufacturer is impregnated with something that makes adhesion of any sort very difficult. My test was taking a piece of the OEM material and using the GEL superglue to glue two peices together, cured for 30 minutes and pull them apart. With no surface perp it took no effort to pop the material apart where as with prepping the 2 surfaces before glueing it took good effort to get the material to fail and it was not the glue that failed, the material tore.. Mine was the first that I did and it has been repared a year without fail. If you are repairing the top due to the fram cut through make sure to have that issue addressed because the sharp spot on the frame will do the same to the patch

 

Anyone looking for some OEM patch material we have it. I will be happy to give you pieces for free to repair your top.
Just come by the shop with a pair of scissors