Top Glue

[davery]

I am getting ready to install my new canvas top. I installed a vinyl top about twenty years and can't remember, do I need to glue this? If so, can anyone recommend a glue? Could I use the same spray glue from when I installed the carpet? Thanks.

[seabeelt]

I just bought a new top from these guys, http://www.convertibletopguys.com/conve ... t-Spiders-

They sell the glue, but you may be able to find some at a local autparts store. I would think headliner glue would work
r/

[BEEK]

i have installed at least 500 tops on spiders maybe more, the only glue to use in my opinion, is 3M yellow weatherstrip adhesive,no other brand will do, not black weatherstrip adhesive, even though you would think that black would be better, because if you mess up it wont show. the black glue does not have the same properties as the yellow glue

[dmwhiteoak]

Thanks beek, I wAs wondering the same. The glue that come with my top didn't hold two days.

[BEEK]

what i do is apply the glue, stick together what im intending, pull it apart for 30 seconds, then reattach it. if yu read the instructons on the glue it says to do that as well, or at least it used to

[davery]

what i do is apply the glue, stick together what im intending, pull it apart for 30 seconds, then reattach it. if yu read the instructons on the glue it says to do that as well, or at least it used to

Is this what you are talking about?

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_super_weatherstrip.cfm

[focodave]

Beek,
So my top appears to have never been glued on the front bow (the one that contacts the windshield).
Are you saying that the 3M Yellow product is what I should use to glue the canvas top to the front bow?
If so, how long does it take to dry/set up?
My top will have a lot of tension on it when I secure it with the front latches because the canvas has gotten pretty tight (has shrunk slightly) with repeatedly getting wet, then drying.
Has it been your experience that the 3M glue will hold under that kind of tension?
Dave

[davery]

Beek,
So my top appears to have never been glued on the front bow (the one that contacts the windshield).
Are you saying that the 3M Yellow product is what I should use to glue the canvas top to the front bow?
If so, how long does it take to dry/set up?
My top will have a lot of tension on it when I secure it with the front latches because the canvas has gotten pretty tight (has shrunk slightly) with repeatedly getting wet, then drying.
Has it been your experience that the 3M glue will hold under that kind of tension?
Dave

I remember when I installed a vinyl top on my last spider I did not glue. I don't remember anything unusual happening. What happens of it is not glued?

[dmwhiteoak]

My new top that I installed in April is not glued. It is only held by the strip that runs across the front of the bow. It has pulled a little to where the small flap running across the front is horizonal instead of the 45 degs I put it. I will glue it back where it goes when time allows.

[BEEK]

the front edge of the top, where it meets the front bow, under the plastic strip that is screwed on, is glued there, not on top of the bow, just the front. the strips that attach to the bows also get glued as well as the tabs in the rear by the rear side windows get glued. this is the way the factory installed the top.

[BEEK]

what i do is apply the glue, stick together what im intending, pull it apart for 30 seconds, then reattach it. if yu read the instructons on the glue it says to do that as well, or at least it used to

Is this what you are talking about?

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_super_weatherstrip.cfm

exactly

[focodave]

BEEK,
It sounds like in order to glue the front leading edge of the top to the front bow, that needs to be done before the top is completely installed.
My top, of course, is already installed (its the top that was on the car when I bought it).
Can I glue the front bow without removing the whole top from the frame?
It is easy for me to get glue on the top of the front bow by simply opening the top and allowing the fabric to relax enough to be able to get my fingers in between the top of the front bow and the canvas, but I don't know that I could get to the front edge of the top bow without some more involved disassembly.
I would want to disturb the existing top as little as possible because it is in very good shape and I don't want to ruin it.
Dave

ps - davery -- I hope I am not hi-jacking your thread by asking about my own top. I figure the answers may be pertinent to your installation. Dave

[PininF]

Found this info that has some pics , was looking at this site the other day as my new top has just arrived so I'm gearing up for 5 hrs of possible frustration

http://www.fiatplus.com/members/tech200.htm