What adhesive do I use on vinyl Top ?

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mopar madness

mopar madness

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I've been researching this now for a couple weeks, and still can't make a decision on what glue to buy.

1.NAPA/Permatex Heavy Duty Carpet and Headline Adhesive (spray can)
2. Weldwood Contact Cement (brush-on)
3.Loctite 200 Spray Adhesive
4.3M Super 77
5. a vinyl supplier also suggested 3M 80-which I could order in aerosol cans
6. THE LIST GO'S ON AND ON.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Weldwood contact cement
Do not use aerosol adhesives no good for vinyl top.
You can spray weldwood contact cement. Use a cheap gun with a large
tip.
 
Sorry I don't know modern paint gun tip sizes. I have a upholstery shop
and spray contact cement thru a Bink's 2 1/2 gal pressure pot I bought 30 some
years ago.
If I remember correctly the tip I use was meant for spraying undercoating.
This has been working for me my entire career.
If you just get the largest tip you can find it will work. I believe the modern clear coats
take a large tip.
You can clean up a gun after using it for glue but I would just buy a cheap throw away
unless you plan on doing more than 1 top. The cheaper the better for something like this.
It would likely ruin a quality gun. Bink's 69 is the model I use. You should be able to get one cheap on eBay they are so out dated. But you wouldn't need one that good to get the job done.
But it may be the cheapest thing you can find?
 
3M Super 77 and 3M 80 both suck the big one. No matter how much you prep, no matter how much the follow the directions to a T, it wouldn't be able to stick bubblegum to itself.
 
The problem with aerosol adhesives is the fact they have to be able to
sit on a shelf without cureing till sold and be able to come out the nozzle
when sold.
The formula that makes it work in a can destroys the good quality's
that make it work for your project. It never dries and is thinned down
to much so it can be sprayed out of a aerosol can tip.
Glue needs to dry for it to hold.
 
ssba said:
The problem with aerosol adhesives is the fact they have to be able to
sit on a shelf without cureing till sold and be able to come out the nozzle
when sold.
The formula that makes it work in a can destroys the good quality's
that make it work for your project. It never dries and is thinned down
to much so it can be sprayed out of a aerosol can tip.
Glue needs to dry for it to hold.
Click to expand...

For the most part, yeah.

I bought some type of Loc-Tite aerosol glue a few years ago (I think it was General Purpose or something) to install the Vinyl Top on my '74 Duster. It worked perfectly, but you had to be quick and exact because once it sets up it's permanent.

My dad later used it to glue a piece of Rubber Roofing to Rubber Roofing and he realized it needed to be repositioned. When he tried to peel the 2 pieces apart, instead of the glue coming loose, both pieces of rubber ripped in half
 
Let me put it this way. I turned 50 this year. I glued my first vinyl top on when I was
16. I could not begin to make a guess how many hundred vinyl tops I have made and installed
on everything from muscle cars to limos to pickup trucks.
Every one of them was put on by spraying contact cement. Yes you can brush it on but spraying works best. Small acid type brushes work for touching up small areas or loose edges.
When using contact cement you spray it on one surface and let dry. Then spray it on the mating surface and let get mostly dry or tacky enough it stays on surface and doesn't
lift with your finger. Position your piece and press to set position when you are sure it is where
you want it to be.
When doing your vinyl top you need to have a center line drawn on the roof of the car and
on the underside of the fabric. I use a sharpie if the new vinyl top is black. Lead pencil if white.
China markers for colored tops.
Next you set the top on the clean roof. By clean I mean no oils and run your hand over every inch to ensure their is nothing that will create a lump once trapped between roof and new top.
With top in position on roof so both the lines you have drawn are stacked you fold top over to one side and work half or one side of car at a time. Do not press down on top until it is where
you want it.
Its not really that hard. I do them by myself all the time. It can help if you have a helper depending on the size of top you are doing. But I have learned to do limos by myself.
I guess my point is do yourself a favor and use contact cement. It is how it was done
at the factory and how it should be done today. Nothing has changed. Aerosol
adhesives arn't up to the task. On a hot day the uncured glue will boil and can even
bubble a new top. Not a job you want to do twice as it will be harder the second time
around because now you have to remove all the uncured clue.
 
I had planned to go into more detail but I got tired of typing on this phone.
Hope it helps some of you guys.
 
ssba said:
I had planned to go into more detail but I got tired of typing on this phone.Hope it helps some of you guys.
Click to expand...
Please finish this when you have the time. It's rare to hear from someone who "does it" that can "teach it". It is really hard to find someone to do this stuff anymore and these threads are the only way some people can get it done. Thanks for sharing the info. Doing upholstery I'm surprised you didn't tell the OP to get a critter gun.[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Critter-Spray-Products-22032-118SG-Siphon-Gun-New-/371143774697?pt=Paint_Paint_Supplies&hash=item5669e491e9"]Critter Spray Products 22032 118SG Siphon Gun New | eBay[/ame]I've had one for years and it is great for glues , clean up is easy and it reuses those pint jars that get thrown away anyway. Home Depot also has a touch up gun with a 1.8 nozzle which will work. 2.1 or bigger would be better. You can thin the glue with 10% lacquer thinner if needed. Home Depot also has a couple other guns for around $30 or Harbor Freight has coupons! While we are on the subject of glues, Worth makes some kickass rubber cement for gluing weatherstrips and seals. I'm sure somebody makes it for them but we buy from Worth. It's clear , it comes in a great brush can and it sticks.
 
Honestly I wasn't sure they still made those sprayers. Been a couple decades
since I have seen one.
Once I got the Bink's pot I haven't used anything else. It will out last me.
Sprays very good unless you leave it idle for to long. Holds 2 1/2 gal. so you dont
have to fool with it much.
I have to clean it out if planning a vacation or leaving for a week. Glue will thicken
up in that amount of time to mess with the spray pattern beyond what the needles can control.
I take it you have worked or are in the trim buisness?
 
My Dad did upholstery but I never got into the sewing part. I did restorations for 10 years and the old guy who did my upholstery died so then I had to start doing headliners, seat covers and stuff and it's a lot more economical to have a glue gun setup than spraycans. That's why I have an appreciation for someone who knows how to do it. No better way to appreciate another mans walk than to walk in his shoes. It is a art and one that is getting harder to find someone to do it. One of these days finding someone to do it, is going to be like finding someone to pour and fit new babbit bearings in a model T block.
 
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