What is the best product for installing Vinyl tops

Have used some of the 3M spray adhesives and had lifting problems

there are several different 3M product Super 74 Super trim adhesive 80, adhesive 77 ?????

I used 3M spray trim adhesive 11 years ago on my dart and have not had any problems.

The 3M spray adhesive along with everyone else's adhesive you buy at you parts store has changed in the last few years and not for the better. Stop by an upholstery shop and see what they use, see if they will sell it to you or give you the name of their supplier.

I've been using 3M Super Trim Adhesive (spray) for the last 3 decades to current use, with Zero issues...application/technique is the key to a successful vinyl/upholstery install

can you post a pic of the can? thanks

this is what i have used is there a better product?

The reason I use Clear as the yellow adhesives have blead thru on White tops!

08090 retails for about $30 a can

The 3M Supertrim adhesive is yellow, and I've used it to install white vinyl tops, white headliners, white upholstery fabric/vinyl never had a bleed thru

When your installing a vinyl top do you spray the backside of the vinyl top material prior to installation?

mike

Critical step

yes both surfaces

I'm guessing thats wrong?

No I believe you are supposed to do both surfaces in a cross hatch pattern.

The adhesive might have a set up time.

Mike is an expert in this and I'm sure he will enlighten us shortly

I've used the stuff Dayclona had posted and works great. In aviation industry, it's basically the same stuff but they call it something else. Prepping is KEY

Anyway, yes, it has to be applied to both surfaces and it sticks to itself.

When you coat the backside of fabric/vinyl, that's when chemical bleed thru, or even the spray/brush pattern can transfer thru the material, when I do any vinyl top or fabric/vinyl application I spray/brush just the surface that I'm applying the mat'l to (I've been doing tops/interiors for decades for myself and customers with never an issue doing it this way)


When I do a vinyl top, after test fitting and centering the vinyl top on the car, I fold it in half the long way from drivers side to passengers side on the roof, I only spray just the vehicles roof from where the folded vinyl rests to where the vinyl's seam that runs along the roof sits approx, I then work that portion of the vinyl that was folded over, up to the heat/sewn bonded seam, then proceed over to the other side, then fold over the vinyl that is not glued on top of the partial previously glued portion, then again spray just the vehicles roof from the center, outward to the last bonded/sewn heat seam that runs front to rear, and again work the vinyl top down to the seam, this way now just the center section of the top between the bonded/sewn heat seams is glued down front to rear, and seam to seam, with very little effort, and minimal working time, then I go back to the previous side, and fold the vinyl top from the previously glued seam up onto the center section that is now glued down, and spray the vehicles roof from the heat/sewn seam down to the gutter rail/C pillar and A pillar, after I work the top down from the heat/sewn seam into the gutter/C pillar and A pillar, I repeat on the remaining side, all that's left is trimming and tucking in the window channels, if your vinyl covers the dutchman panel, you do that in halves at the same time your doing the main roof in halve sections so the vinyl is applied in equal installments, center to center, side to side, so that you don't end up with excess material on one side, or mismatched/crooked heat/sewn seams running along the roof line...

When I install a vinyl top, I buy a cheap car cover, apply it to the car, and cut off the roof area of the car cover that needs to be exposed for application of the vinyl top and tape off the cut/exposed edge of the car cover to the vehicle, this way errant spray glue is the least of my worries, as well as any damage to the paint etc, etc

When I spray glue the roof or panel to be covered, a nice random pattern applied quickly and uniformly, being careful of excessive build up, I never allow the spray glue to contact/spray onto the material backside, I allow about 5 minutes max for the 3M spray glue to set up, during that 5 minutes, I test the tackiness/wetness of the glue, if it doesn't stick to your finger, or is wet, keep waiting, you want it to be like nose snot, sticky to your finger, but not wet, then you can start working the vinyl down by holding the mat'l straight up off the panel/roof and working it from the backside with your hand making broad sweeps, but uniform in pressure and strokes, working as quickly as possible, never pull the material back once bonded, you won't like the results, if you work the vinyl top as mentioned above utilizing the seams as your stopping points to work the entire top down you'll find that once you have managed the center section down, you can relax and work the sides down which are more involved as you have to navigate the gutters, C pillars and A pillars at a much more relaxed pace

Mike

I have a white vinyl half top on my dart that the glue blead thru yellow. Has anyone ever tried painting a top with some kind of vinyl paint?

Yes if the vinyl top material is intact you can spray the top...A very common procedure years ago when color changes{car and the vinyl top}were made to freshen up the car...Any local auto body supply will help you make the correct choice on the materials used...

If you do attempt to spray dye the top (I'd recommend the same color) do it with a spray gun only, using a quality spray dye from Dupont or PPG as a vinyl top sees a lot of heat, expansion and contraction, UV rays, moisture, etc, etc, etc, keep the spray sheen and spray coats to a minimum to make it appear more natural and not sprayed, be sure to remove all trim, emblems,etc that sit on top of the vinyl for complete spray coverage and a professional finish

Thanks I do want to use the same color.