Adhesive for new Soft Top

[keynsham]

I have just bought a new top for my 350i from AllHoods which I am very please with. I have no great coverns with fitting it as it is pretty straight forward but I am wondering about what glue to use. I was going to use something loke Evostick but I am drawn towards TrimFix spray adhesive as it is a lot easier and less messy to use. It is a high temperature adhesive and I have used it for may applications in the past. It is a strong bond. The glued areas of the top are the hard top panel which will be fine and the rear edge and top edge of the folding rear. The rear edge is folded underneath a beam that is bolted to the rear deck so I am sure it will be fine there and the top is only loaded in pure shear on the glue over the top of the folding hoop. There are a lot of square inches of glue there so I am sure that will also be fine.

Has anyone used this type of adhesive before?

[phillpot]

I'd be asking the guys you bought it from what they recommend

[Adrian@]

Alphabond AF178 High heat resistant...no aerosol spray adhesive will be up to the job. A@

[mrzigazaga]

Adrian@ said:

Alphabond AF178 High heat resistant...no aerosol spray adhesive will be up to the job. A@

As Adrian says...but be aware this glue is good and that if you accidentally stick it wrongly then you can be assured the mohair will be fugged!..personally I would do it in small areas after setting out carefully to make sure it is all even etc...

[keynsham]

I have seen Evo-Stik Timebond recommended both here and other forums. I guess that would be good too?
Allhoods just said use impact adhesive.

[Adrian@]

Done properly, my DH, using AF178, (being a dark colour these hoods absorb heat that really test adhesives) having converted the central targa panel to later push on T seal edges, 100% leak proof.



A@

[KKson]

I've used trim fix to reattach the under bonnet insulation and also interior trim, and it worked very well, but spray was tricky to keep in a controlled area.

[keynsham]

So I have almost finished fitting my new roof. Just a few seals to go and it is done.

It was an interesting project and actually quite fiddly with a lot of trimming and alignment fun and games. I can now state with total certainty that the wedge bodys are not symmetrical! Close, but not quite!

Anyway I am happy with the result. It is a million times better that the old roof!











And the old roof..... Believe it or not it was originally black but had faded to the gerey stripy look!

[gordon1955]

Fantastic job, well done 👍

[GreentreeIRL]

@Adrian@ do you have a link to the seals you used?

[keynsham]

I used Phoenix trim and Seals Direct as below:

https://phoenixtrim.co.uk/

https://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/index.asp

The only section I couldn't get exactly was the rather strange strip of seal (one on each side) which is stuck on the front edge of the folding hoop and rests behind the door glass on each side. In the end I used Phoenixtrim reference SRS097EP which did the job.

If you are doing the hard top too, I could only find the edge seal section at Racetech Direct, part number TVR V0158. The original seems to be this rubber section bonded onto a reinforced edge U section. You can remove the old rubber from this U section but glueing the new piece on is tricky. I struggled to find a suitable adhesive and ended up using super glue as it was the only thing I could find that would stick to the original channel.

[Adrian@]

GreentreeIRL said:

@Adrian@ do you have a link to the seals you used?

i have converted fully to the later seal holder (simply filling the voids on each side of the targa with Freefix bonding paste) and mounting the Griffith onwards U1750 seal holder and using V0582 seals, I used S/S washers as shims to align the seal holder to the hood/glass top, replaced the nylon front runner stops (hand made to replicate the originals) and also replaced the bicycle brake cable/trunnion limit stops in the door. The targa hoop seal and the two side lips seals I had on the shelf as original factory supplied items (from years ago)



This alloy strip (V0582) is obsolete ATM, I have ordered some alloy bar to make some for my own needs, (which is due tomorrow, I have already got the milling tool for the slot, that needs the face grinding) . A while ago I had sourced a steel seal holder BUT it is on the cloth roof material so it rusted.



My thoughts are that the alloy will need to be anodised prior to use, so I am a while off having anything to use. A@

Edited by Adrian@ on Thursday 5th January 21:52

[keynsham]

This is what I used to go around the rear roof hoop. I bought 2 mteters:

https://phoenixtrim.co.uk/06-draught-excluder-br-s...

And 8 metres of this for the door seals and over the windscreen:

https://phoenixtrim.co.uk/10-draught-excluder-br-s...

And as in my earlier post, the odd side rubbers were made from 1 metre of:

https://phoenixtrim.co.uk/52-sponge-rubber-br-srs-...