cdig

Has anyone had any success in dying a top a different colour? My tan top is really faded, and some of the edging is coming undone but other than that it's in pretty good condition. I'm wondering if I can dye it black and have an upholstery shop refinish the edges?

miscstudent

To be honest, the only way you'd get a really nice finish on the fabric is if you took it all off of the frame of the convertible and then died it and then put it back on. It would be right next to impossible to get a really nice finish on the fabric while leaving it on the frame. Furthermore, getting the dye to stay in the fabric, should you choose to try to dye it on the frame, would be very hard as well (because the typical treatment to get the color to stay is to wash it with white vinegar after the dye has set). Overall, you would be better off purchasing new fabric for the job rather than trying to save your old stuff.

Just my two cents. Good luck!

pacat

I had good luck dyeing my tan top. The top was in good shape like yours but had faded and also had some light stains. The product that I used was SEM Color Coat flexible coating (http://semproducts.com/Catalog.asp?prod=190) in a 12 oz. spray can, about $12.00 a can at the local paint store. I bought two cans but it only took one can. First I washed the top real good, let dry.
I bought a clear plastic sheet used for drop cloth at Walmart (about 12’ x 20’). Unfold the top, lay the plastic across the whole car but under the soft top (leave both side windows up). Secure the top back down with the latches. Masked off the back window and also the rubber weather strip on the side windows with blue painters tape and newspaper.
Spray the top with 2-3 light coats. Unmask after a couple of hours and that’s it. The top looks great, not new but very close. The only mistake I did was I had a spot on the top near the back window (where you would push down to latch) that had a dark spot. When I spayed the dye on this area it did not cover the stain completely so I spayed 5-6 coats in this area. It finally covered the stain but the fabric in this area become stiff. After 2 years it still looks good. Hope this helps, good luck.