Customs Oh noooo, question about Vinyl Roofs!

Does anyone know if a seam on a vinyl roof that has shrunk do to heat and lack of protectorant can be gently heated to stretch it back so it can be glued down. I know it can’t be re-sewn but glue should hold it. Vinyl is ‘60s high lead content, the good stuff.
This is not a paint question so no flames please!

 

Bttt

 

I guess everbody is just thinking about the rust under that vinyl.

 

I didn't know Vinyl had Lead in it... Must be Canadian Vinyl

 

Well there is no rust at all, mainly garage kept. I buddy of mine a few years back went home to Trail BC where there is a huge lead smelter. At a garage sale he found an old financial report stating that th edemand for lead would remain high due to the usage in the automotive field including vinyl upholstery. So I'm taking his word for it.

So back in o my original question about gentle heat and stretching....

 

Nobody....?

 

If it was me I would get out the heat gun on a low setting and give it a try.

 

I am no authority on the subject of vinyl. However, I do believe most, if not all, plastics are produced with chemicals that contribute to their characteristics.....such as flexibility, etc. I also believe those chemicals ‘outgas’ over time, at a rate that varies depending on conditions where they are stored. I think the ‘outgassing’ process is responsible for the shrinkage, reduction in flexibility etc.

My point is, do what you can to save the vinyl, but do not be surprised if the only real solution is replacement of the vinyl material.

Ray

 

Old original vinyl tops usually end up - dried up and hard as a rock. If that’s what yours is like it’s not very likely it will be heating and stretching very much - but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.

 

does anybody remember the vinyl repair kits sold on tv? they used a paste and a form to iron the texture into the vinyl.

 

I used to install vinyl tops, but I have to admit I never tried what you are wondering about. I'm sure you already know that the right way to fix it is to replace the vinyl top and then keep it cleaned and conditioned to make it last.

 

found it! k-tel kit.

 

If you mess it up worse it needed replaced anyway, if it works you are a hero. What have you got to lose?

 

Rusty, that's my pint of view. I was merely asking if anyone had experience with this. I think I may try to dress it then gently warm it up and then glue. It was my dad's last car that he ordered and I'm trying to keep it as original as possible. Th stop is in very good condition except of course for this isssue.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

You might think I'm nuts, but the vinyl on my tonneau cover is twenty years old, every now and then I rub it down with baby oil and let it sit for a few days, then wipe down the residue. My tonneau is a sheet of plywood we covered in contact cement and glued the vinyl to, in a ninety degree garage one night. So far-so good. It's dirty here, but still supple.

 

I remember that commercial Easy peasy.

 

They had vinyl roofs in 1950 but being old does not qualify as traditional hotrod

 

I understand that but it does fall into the realm of upholstery/fabrics so I was hoping an upholsterer would offer advice. The things that are posted here seem to be rather non-traditional hot rod themed every so often so why not. And besides, the HAMB seems to have the most knowledgible car people of any form I have ever visited!

 

The answer to your question is yes.
Jeep tops are vinyl. Last spring I bought an 83 cj with the original soft top still in the original bag. It was very ridgid and had shrunk to the point it was impossible to put on .

I layed it on the warm driveway on a dark coloured tarp on a 25degree day and soaked it down with 303 protectant. After 4 hours of hot direct sun I was able to get it to lay flat and fit onto the jeep. It took three more days of gentle stretching on hot days to get the snaps done up and the bows in the correct position.

It will stretch, but you really have to work at it. Pull too hard and it will tear.

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

your question was fine, no need to explain, vinyl was/is VERY traditional in the CUSTOM world.
grumpy old men just like to complain.

 

Thanks for the support. Everybody has the right to be grumpy occasionally!

 

Not a vinyl roof, but probably a close cousin..
I bought a house in 2016, and quite a large area of the vinyl (floor covering) in front of the shower, in the bathroom had peeled back from the floor.
It was hard and brittle to the touch, but responded well to the heat of a hair dryer..
I heated it up, peeled it back on itself, cleaned both surfaces, applied some contact glue on to both floor and vinyl, and while still heating, worked in back in to it's original place.
That was 13 years ago, and it hasn't moved..

 

I would think again before putting any kind of dressing on it, if you want an adhesive to stick to it afterward. We used to have fits getting paint to stick on areas adjacent to vinyl tops after the owners would hose them down with Armor All, even after substantial periods of time.

 

Well I'm not 100% sure on the protectorant as I not sure if it will soak through to th backside. The area I want to glue is about 4" long so I may just try heat and some serious 3M adhesive. Time will tell...

 

I've used baby oil to soften up old vinyl as well, it does seem to help, although I've also had issues getting paint to stick to areas that have had oil contact, so if I were to try it, I'd be sure to mask off the glue area and be careful only to get it on the vinyl. Also heat in the hot sunlight seems to help soften up vinyl as well.

I'd probably oil it, let it bake in the hot sun for a couple days, then try to pull or flex it again in the middle of a hot day, perhaps with extra heat gun heat. A blazing hot day will also help glue set up quickly, which you're going to want if you have to hold things in place.

Is this a seam in the middle of a roof? If you can get the lip glued down, you could fill in a minor gap with some vinyl repair compound. The seam might not be perfectly straight but if it's flat and doesn't have a gap that'd be better than a big open split. A picture would help.

 

I just put a new top on my Model A at the Upholstery school. I used a 70's Convertible top for the material and had to heat it to stretch out some big wrinkles. If you use a heat gun, keep it moving and don't let it get hot enough to melt or burn, it only takes a couple of seconds for the heat gun to get too hot.
Good Luck.