[jk802]

I found a tear in my soft top yesterday where the strap goes across the roof and snaps onto the tabs that wrap around the frame to keep the "ears" down. It's only torn on the bottom/inside of the top. Does anyone know if there is any kind of adhesive I could use to repair it?

 

[mymrsissilver]

I just found a tear in my top last week. Mine is right by were the window goes in. I haven't figured out what to do about it yet.

 

[Uncle Mush]

I have never tried the repair in the link posted below, so I don't know how well it would work. I saved this for future reference for myself for if/when my soft top tears. If you attempt this repair, please let me know how it turns-out. good luck.

http://www.zjstech.net/SpyderTop/repair.htm

 

[FiJi]

Mine has a nice quarter size hole in it from the neighbors cat. -_-

Called insurance, new super black rag top in the mail for 50$! Mines faded to a light grey anyways.

 

[ferrytran]

Mine has a nice quarter size hole in it from the neighbors cat. -_-

Called insurance, new super black rag top in the mail for 50$! Mines faded to a light grey anyways.

insurance will cover that? did you rates go up?

 

[jk802]

Yeah it sucks, doesn't it? I thought someone on this forum might have some ideas on how to patch a vinyl top. I really don't want/can't afford to buy a new top right now. Other than that one tear, it's in good shape. There has to be some kind of adhesive or a patch kit or something that would work. And it's not something I want to experiment with and risk making it worse.

 

[cyclehead]

I also noticed a small tear adjacent to the back glass - yesterday. I'm toying with "injecting" some black RTV from the inside to glue the fabric to the glass, just outside from the tear. But haven't done it yet. The neato iron-on patch won't work by the glass (wish it would!).

 

[jk802]

Uncle Mush, I checked that link out. Looks promising. Thanks! I just might try it. Gotta find the materials first. I'll try to get some pictures and let you know how it goes, good or bad. Probably won't get to it until the weekend though.

 

[cyclehead]

I repaired the small tear adjacent to the top of the back glass with "automotive goop" glue. Just glue the ragtop interior surface to the next layer of fabric inside. Theres a floppy bit of fabric across the top of the glass. I used two magnets to keep it pinched shut overnight while the glue cured. It has stopped the tear from growing, and it's waterproof. :::Update::: the automotive goop adhesive did NOT hold the tear closed. The fabric folds backwards at the top of the glass. No glue can withstand that. My current fix was to glue a huge repair across the entire width of the top, at the top of the glass.

I also noticed that the rear corners of the ragtop were very soft (both left and right sides between the back glass and the doors); like the fabric was worn away from the interior and all that was left was the soft plastic skin. It was very noticeable when the top was warmed by the sun. I glued in two big preventive bandaids on the interior surface. They cover the entire back corners of the ragtop. I used some felt-backed vinyl I had lying around. I glued them in place using 3M "Super Trim Adhesive". It has a nice spray nozzle that keeps the adhesive from flying everywhere. I threw a blanket on the seats to protect them during spraying. The only mess was where I sprayed too long and one glob of glue fell. I'll post pics if there's any interest.

 

[tecaholic2]

Mine has a few pin holes, this is what a fellow member recommended to me. This stuff is awesome. I found it at Academy Sports. They have one kind for fabric and another for vinyl.

http://tear-aid.com/

 

[Sherwin]

I had mine fixed over a year ago by a company. They patched the hole from the inside with a peace of vinyl, heated the top, and put in something like liquid vinyl, they let it dry on it while pushing the patch and the top together...

It worked good, now a year later it still is on and looks good so...
You dont need a new top, just get your top fixed!

 

[hkenso]

I had mine fixed over a year ago by a company. They patched the hole from the inside with a peace of vinyl, heated the top, and put in something like liquid vinyl, they let it dry on it while pushing the patch and the top together...

It worked good, now a year later it still is on and looks good so...
You dont need a new top, just get your top fixed!

Sherwin, could you please tell me where did you have it repair at and how much did it cost you?
i'm here in l.a., not sure if your shop's anywhere close to here...

 

[Sherwin]

Actually i live in the Netherlands. So..
It doesn't cost much... But i think it could be done by yourself... It really wasn't hard to do... I bought my spyder with a hole in the top, so the shop owners send the company over to fix my top! It was a 30min job.

You should get a patch.. Like vinyl or what material your top is made of, glue which really sticks and is waterproof... And something like rubber which you should melt and apply on the top(this makes it look normal)

I'll take a couple of pictures of te finished product

 

[beagle007]

tear near window

Hey Cyclehead

I have a similar tear and have a few questions about your repair. Did you glue the reinforcement that runs along the top of the rear glass on the inside to the torn area? I thought I would purchase some vinyl material and use that,perhaps on the outside and along the entire top of the rear window.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Beagle

 

[cyclehead]

Hey Cyclehead

I have a similar tear and have a few questions about your repair. Did you glue the reinforcement that runs along the top of the rear glass on the inside to the torn area? I thought I would purchase some vinyl material and use that,perhaps on the outside and along the entire top of the rear window.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Beagle

Yeah. I smushed the reinforcement loop against the tear and (tried to) glue it all shut. The shoe goop (actually "automotive goop") held for about three days and then let loose. Now I'm back to square one. I want to try what you describe - an external surface repair extending across the entire width of the glass. I haven't picked any material or adhesive yet.
There are some suggested adhesives on this thread.

Also, the back corners ( back window to the doors) were getting super thin, so I scabbed some material on the interior surface as big bandaids. So far they're good.

 

[ZACK01SPYDER]

Mine has a nice quarter size hole in it from the neighbors cat. -_-

Called insurance, new super black rag top in the mail for 50$! Mines faded to a light grey anyways.

How'd you get you insurance to pay for that? what insurance do you have?

 

[beagle007]

Vinyl material

Hey anyone know where i can buy some vinyl material to patch a rip in my black top?

 

[cyclehead]

I patched the tear(s) forming along the top edge of the glass last night. I got some scrap ragtop material from the local installer. The fabric was heavier than any of the scraps I had lying around. I have the car sitting in the sun now to let the adhesive cure. Folding the top will be hard on the repair bond, because it will try to peel it away from the surface of the ragtop. I think I won't fold it for a few days. Here's what I did, and the problems I saw.
- scrubbed the exterior surface with rubbing alcohol
- cut out two repairs from scrap material (I did not have a large piece to do the repair from one piece)
- pop the latches loose so the the top is not stretched tight (you need to pull the flap away by the glass so you can work in there)
- apply the glue to each part separately, then assemble them, all within 3-5 minutes. Hurry!
- once the two glued parts touch, they do NOT want to be moved. Don't screw up.
- slopped glue on the exterior surface of my patch parts
- slopped glue onto the exterior adjacent to my patches
- misaligned one curved section, leaving a gap at the centerline splice
I'll update when I see how well (or not) the patches perform.

Before the patch - with the latches popped loose so I can reach under the flaps...

Patch is in position - but not glued yet...

Somebody on Spyderchat recommended this adhesive...

Here's what sloppy glue application looks like. Shiny. It won't come off. **update** The top was looking sort of gray, so I coated it with "Forever Black - Black top dye". That fixed the shiny over-glue areas perfectly. Now the repaired area, the sloppy glue job and the rest of the top are all a uniform dark black.

Some of the lumpy appearance is disappearing as the car sits in the sun today. Yes, I'll probably glue in a little strip to fill that gap on the center line.

 

[Kev7van]

Didn't work

I have never tried the repair in the link posted below, so I don't know how well it would work. I saved this for future reference for myself for if/when my soft top tears. If you attempt this repair, please let me know how it turns-out. good luck.

http://www.zjstech.net/SpyderTop/repair.htm

Hello,

I tried this on mine and it worked for a few months but after awhile the vinyal repair breaks apart. Your left with a hole and some small ones from the stitching.

Wouldn't recommend.

 

[cyclehead]

Hello,

I tried this on mine and it worked for a few months but after awhile the vinyal repair breaks apart. Your left with a hole and some small ones from the stitching.

Wouldn't recommend.

The "iron-on and stitch" patch isn't feasible to fix tears by the glass. My "glue and fabric" patch by the glass is still too new to know. I folded the top for the first time this morning. It was very stiff with the extra layer of fabric and glue - right where the fabric must fold backwards. We'll see....
:::Update::: One month and it's holding well. One small area came loose by the glass. I re-glued it with the hh-66 stuff. The repair looks good to me, and I'm getting some good use out of a top that would otherwise have been replaced. Plus I don't think twice about flipping it up and down on a whim - I'm not wearing out a new top.
:::Update II::: Two months now and I'm thoroughly happy with the glue-and-fabric repair. The top looks great, the cracks are covered with a functional repair that's holding up well.
:::update III:: Eight months later. Small part of the patch came loose so I just glopped in some more HH-66 glue. The whole patch job is almost unnoticeable, and I've avoided springing for a new top ...so far. Very happy with the results.