convertable top

[gene]

Hello,
I have a friend who has a friend who has a friend who has a neighbor who knows someone who owns a Cambria VW convertible.

There is a seam over the back most rod that is coming apart. It appears that it was glued. I didn't know that they glued convertible tops.

Is there an adhesive that is available for the do-it-your self, not me, -er that can repair this seam failure?

Thank you,

Gene

[baileyuph]

Gene,

The materials today have me wondering if I would try any glue at all.  In the past there was vinyl to vinyl glues that would litterally dissolve the two layers to a pretty good bond.  But, the down side is there was distortion.

Unless, things have been changed, I don't recommend trying the strong glues that would dissolve the material.  Instead, in lieu of  new top, you might trying removing and doing some stitching with a sealer for water proofing.  The professional stitching would not be too esthetically unacceptable. 

My .02

Doyle

[gene]

Thank you, Doyle. I will pass that along to the car owner.

Gene

[hdflame]

My daughter had a '98 Cabrio convertible.  The same seam came undone on hers too.  We just had a new top put on for the tune of about 1500 bucks!  That was a couple of years ago.  This past year about 2 weeks before Christmas, she slid her car into the river just down below our house!  Now she has a new car!

The shop that did her top said a new one was the only fix.  Course I'm sure they wanted the xtra bucks for putting on a new one.  They said that those tops only last about 5 years, so that could be expected as a recurring cost!

[Miami Mike]

Hello every one, been a while, Convertible tops are not glued together, they use a seam tape and then heat seal it, melts the plastic type tape. Which it makes the bond between both pieces of fabric.  A lot of Awning companies use this in sealing the seams. Stitching is not as big as it use to be.

If a seam fails, it is almost impossible to use a glue to seam it back.  HH66 is a vinyl to vinyl glue. Used in tarp material most of the time.

[stitcher_guy]

A couple times I've used silicone to glue the listing back to the top. Put it on, then put the top in closed positio so there's pressue on the listing. I'll also lay heavy weghts on the outside along the listing to help hold it. It works on little tops like Miaitas.