Foxy's small tear in vinyl roof.

Chilli Girl · September 10, 2020, 14:41

Can anyone advise on how to repair a very small tear that's beginning to happen at the driver's side? It's above the drain holes, roof is perfectly watertight. Don't really want to fork out on a new roof at the moment as it's hardly noticeable. Do I patch it or glue it for now?

paulj · September 10, 2020, 14:52

Before replacing my roof I had some success with goretex patches and waterproof seam sealer from the local Millets shop. It depends how well you can make them stick, and how flexible that part of the roof is when folded etc. Worth a try as not expensive items....

AdamR28 · September 10, 2020, 16:16

I've used some vinyl cloth from eBay, and HH-66 glue. Works a treat.

dgreaves · September 10, 2020, 21:19

I had the same and found best way is to clean round the area with panel wipe or similar then gradually fill the tear with Tiger Seal or black Sikoflex and then with a wet finger work it to a nice smooth raised finish and leave to dry you will not be disappointed with the resulting finish mine has been done a year and remains intact as the sealer does not go hard. Both Tiger Seal and Sikoflex are expensive about £10 a tube so if you have a favorite bodyshop they use this all the time and hopefully will squeeze a little on your tear foc.

Dave Greaves

Chilli Girl · September 10, 2020, 21:24

Thank you Dave for that useful tip.

jonbill · September 11, 2020, 09:13

You could just ignore it, it won't be leaking water into the cabin. my silver car has a 6 cm tear down there and is dry.

1979scotte · September 11, 2020, 18:36

Quote from: jonbill on September 11, 2020, 09:13You could just ignore it, it won't be leaking water into the cabin. my silver car has a 6 cm tear down there and is dry.

This is Jane we're talking about.
Not going to happen.

Chilli Girl · September 11, 2020, 23:01

Correct Scotte!

Chilli Girl · September 12, 2020, 17:23

Today, I've sealed up Foxy's little tear. I won't be going lidless until a Monday afternoon now so it should be ok. Thanks guys.

pauls0212 · September 12, 2020, 18:40

but what did you use....?? photos please

Chilli Girl · September 12, 2020, 18:58

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There was quite a gap before when you look down into it, not that noticeable if you look towards it but nevertheless this should help in stopping the tear becoming worse. Passenger side isn't too bad at the moment and certainly not worth investing in a Swansea roof yet.

pauls0212 · September 12, 2020, 19:00

very neat!!!

Chilli Girl · September 12, 2020, 19:03

I think I could've been abit neater but to be honest, it can get abit messy but anyway it's done now. The test will be next week when I go lidless and see how it fairs when it folds back there.

jonbill · September 13, 2020, 12:19

Quote from: Chilli Girl on September 12, 2020, 19:03I think I could've been abit neater but to be honest, it can get abit messy but anyway it's done now. The test will be next week when I go lidless and see how it fairs when it folds back there.

£2.95 is my kind of price!

Mr Lazy · September 13, 2020, 14:11

@Chilli Girl I have a tear in exactly the same place! It looks like it is the same size and everything. How did you actually do it? I can't pull the two parts of my tear together because they are under tension with the hood up. I have tried putting some gorilla tape behind it to hold it in place before filling (I bought some black "Stormsure") but it just lifts straight off where I can't get in there to clean it. Help!

Chilli Girl · September 13, 2020, 15:49

I made sure that the roof was not quite closed, just open enough to get my slim hand behind the tear and put some duct tape to hold the roof tear together from inside. I then got the sealant gun and eased abit out down on the crack being careful not to get it on the rubber framework of the car. If you do get it on the rubber then just wipe off quick with damp cloth. I used a wet finger to massage over the vinyl tear outside only and left it to dry. I haven't put the roof down yet but I will tomorrow and see how it goes.

Mr Lazy · September 13, 2020, 17:25

Thanks. That sounds more or less like what I was intending to do. I'll have to be more persistent. It'll be interesting to see how yours holds up.

Chilli Girl · September 13, 2020, 19:23

I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see how it would fold so just done it now. Hmmmm, slightly disappointing. The sealant has separated and so has the tear at the very bottom BUT it certainly is I would say 50% better as the tear is not as long as it was so hopefully the sealant will remain and stop it. Time will tell if it travels to the point of where it was. $:-\$

Mr Lazy · September 24, 2020, 16:50

I've now had a go at repairing mine. More details to follow shortly in my "Reader's Rides" post, but basically, I added some stitches to the bottom before applying some gunk. It seems to be holding so far.

Chilli Girl · September 24, 2020, 18:10

Good job there. Well Foxy's small repair seems to be holding up nicely too.