Has anyone ever made a new white canvas top look old. I know it's the opposite of what everybody wants. New will look out of place on my build. Trying to do research before I get ready to have it done.
Yeah, leave it out in the sun, rain, weather... It will age quickly. Don't do anything to hasten its true patina.
I have a friend that collected old convertible top material from cars that had new tops installed and he sewed up a new top for himself with the old material.
With the wild fire smoke in this area right now it would probably look old in a week. It will look crappy soon enough if you let it sit outside.
If you have already bought the top, maybe check with a fabric shop and see if they can use a dye or something to take the shine off.
Hello, When my brother and I were in the middle of Summer one year, as 8-10 year old kids, we wanted a pool. Our back yard was big enough for a pool, but it was not to be. Our dad had a fairly new canvas tarp sitting in the backyard Rumpus Room. He only used it when he was doing some detailing work on his “Trout Flies,” but he did not want any drips to go on the smooth concrete floor of the room. So, he bought a nice painter’s canvas to spread out. He had not used it in quite some time, so the two brothers figured out a system of ropes tied to our mom’s rose garden trellis/fence and our backyard patio steel poles for the cooling covered roof support. It was about 15 feet across the grass. So, we tied up two heavy duty ropes and secured the large painter’s canvas across the two ropes. We realized it made a nice tent, but that we needed to add in two other ropes and tie the canvas ends up and secure it. Once the 4 sided canvas was secure, we got in and filled it up with water. It took a while until the weight of the water was overbearing on the secure canvas on the ropes. So, our mom’s garden got an instant flooding and her plants were happy. We were not. Our mom told us to hang up the canvas tarp on the rear yard clothes lines, in the far corner of the yard. We did and for the next several weeks, we forgot about the canvas tarp. Our mom was not tall enough or strong enough to grab the canvas tarp, so she just left it there. Finally when we were told to get the tarp down, it was an awful color. Something in the air had darkened the canvas and it now did not look pristine and new, like it was when we started. We lived downwind from an industrial tract that did all kinds of machining, hot rod building, fiberglass spraying on boat hulls and he large oil refinery just down the street contributed to something floating in the air. The canvas tarp looked old and worn. Our dad was irritated, but he just went out and bought a smaller canvas tarp for his fishing corner in the Rumpus Room. He saw how much fun we had trying to be creative and enjoyed what he saw. So, he decided that anger toward us is easily stifled, as it was just as easy to buy a new smaller tarp for his fishing uses and hobby. During our time building our 1940 Willys Coupe, we used the same faded canvas tarp stretched out as a large shade structure for doing outside work, instead of staying in the small backyard garage. The Willys Coupe rolled easily under the stretched out canvas. So, it had its proper usage for us. Jnaki If you are going to get someone like an upholstery shop to do a new canvas convertible top for your car, then ask them to put the canvas outside for several days or weeks to “age” the look. But, remember, canvas does get old fast when exposed to the elements. Perhaps the newer canvas is better in construction than the old painters canvas we used. In our sailing days, our Sunbrella Canvas sail covers and accessory covers were the latest outdoor technology for all things “being covered.” But, as we know, even the latest technology like Sunbrella is no barrier to Mother Nature’s power when left outside day and night, through all kinds of weather, including salt air. From 2011 to 2018, my wife and I had two sets of sail covers and accessory packs. They do tend to fade and get “crunchy” when left outdoors. We even had a huge 15’ x 15’ Sunbrella Tarp made to use as an awning over the cockpit, (so we would not burn to a crisp) after we were safely back in the dock enjoying our day’s memories out in the water. When it was new, it was soft and easily handled. As it was put up for only the afternoon and into the next day for sun protection in the dock, over time, it did get “crunchy.” We could also see the fade differences from the underside versus the surface that always got the sun. YRMV
some fallout from a steel plant or similar toss it in a mud hole for a while then let it dry but honestly, playing with coffee can help age that a bunch or just tell the interior shop you're dealing with or the American Grafitti method, tie it behind a car and drag it
A white convertible top is going to get dirty and aged fast enough if you just leave the car outside for a while, you don't need to do anything special.
Don’t see a roadster in your profile @harleycontracter , folks assume it’s a 32 ,do you have a picture for guidance?
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