Has anyone replaced soft top windows?

[bosshoff]

I have an older softop which I use on my trail rig. The clear plastic windows are no longer clear. They have frosted over. I have used McGuiers plastic cleaner, and then polish, with OK results. I am wondering if anyone has ever taken their top to a boat canvas guy to have new windows installed, and what the results were. Was it expensive, or a no brainer? Is this something that can be done at home? I am thinking there may be an off the shelf 3M adhesive, which could be used to bond the new clear window to the old window. (I would cut the old window out, leaving maybe an inch of material all the way around the opening to bond the new window to.) I am more concerned with performance vs. looks. Thanks.

 

[g-money]

I did it. I had an old kayline top that had cracked windows and where all yellow. I bought some clear plastic and some vinyl glue. I cut out the old and glued in the new. It roked great. I will see if I can dig up some pictures.

Galen

 

[bosshoff]

Vinyl glue? Is this a specialty thing, or something Ace Hardware may have?

 

[NicksTrix]

a few years ago i did one. i took the top to a marine shop that does canvas work. it was a simple process for them. they cut out the old and sewed in some new. it brought new life into the older top. they do that type of work all day.

 

[bronko69er]

a few years ago i did one. i took the top to a marine shop that does canvas work. it was a simple process for them. they cut out the old and sewed in some new. it brought new life into the older top. they do that type of work all day.

I did the same thing.....

 

[bosshoff]

I got a budget of $250.00 to re-do the windows on my top from the local canvas guy. The clear vinyl/plastic material goes for about $15.00 online, so I was looking at maybe doing it myself.

 

[Dan's73]

I doubt any consumer grade sewing machines could handle the vinyl/plastics that are in the softtops. I've found a few shops around me that do piece work for soft tops, interiors, etc. Rates vary from $45/hr to $90/hr, but most seem willing to work with materials I provide & some will even just do the sewing if I do all of the prep work. Had my Specialty softtop repaired for under $200 and that included reinforcing & re-sewing the rear corners, re-sewing the zippers, and generally fixing up the weak/worn spots. They said they could redo my rear window for $125, including the tinted vinyl.

I'd be interested in seeing the results of glued-in repairs. Not saying it won't work, but it didn't on my softtop, hence the need for professional repair.

 

[thegreatjustino]

Many years ago I read g-money's article about replacing windows in a soft top. I tried it a couple of years back and it didn't work worth a crap. The only vinyl glue I could find was an aerosol product that had directions for a "near permanent bond" and a "fully permanent bond." I followed the permanent directions to a T and the first time I tried to put the top on, the glue pulled right off and was worthless. A complete waste of time and money. I called a couple of auto upholstery shops and they wanted nearly as much as a replacement top would cost to sew one window in.

FYI: Back when I tried all of this two years ago, Wildhorses told me they could get me a replacement Kayline Fastrack top. Since I had all the hardware already, just the top was going to run about $250.

 

[cgbexec]

You have to sew them, don't bother glueing them. I am in the marine industry and I know a little about some of these materials.

Isinglass is what the clear panels are called that come standard on these tops.

Strata-glass is an upgraded Isinglass that is more expensive, but will last longer and is more optically clear. This is what we use on boats where the material needs to be really flexible.

Macrolon is a hard clear plastic that can be sewn and used to replace Isinglass or Strata-glass. Obviously this material is hard and does not flex. It is the most optically clear, but you can't roll it up. You could use it for the front windows where you just un-zip and fold down.

Barrett is a patented material that is also a hard acrylic. This material can not be sewn and must be glued. you must send your top to them and they replace with their material. Needless to say this is one of the most expensive materials out there.

EZ2CY is another patented material (hard acrylic).

You may be able to sew regular Isin-glass if you have a large enough sewing machine. You may be able to sew strata-glass for that matter. Macrolon however would require an industrial machine to sew.