'66 convertible top dyeing

[Jim H.]

Has anyone had experience dyeing a convertible top. My '66 convertible has a 1981 vintage vinyl white top that, while in good structural shape, has yellowed and has staining I can't remove. I'm planning to paint her in 6-12 months and may not want to put a new top on until after the repaint to avoid the need to clean-up all the paint sanding dust. In the meantime, I was toying with the idea of having it professionally dyed black as an interim measure. Anyone have any experience with this?

[Timothy B.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

Jim,

If the top is in good shape and the color white is OK with you why not use some soft scrub with bleach and scrub it some to see how it looks. I bet you will be happy with white all over again. :-)

[Jim H.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

Jim,

If the top is in good shape and the color white is OK with you why not use some soft scrub with bleach and scrub it some to see how it looks. I bet you will be happy with white all over again. :-)

That's a good thought, Tim, and may be worth a shot. My resident domestic goddess (wife Cristina) thinks bleaching would turn yellow over time and degrade the structure of the material. It might be worth a shot though in an inconspicuous area to see what happens. The problem w/dyeing (I'm guessing after seeing a few youtube dye jobs) is the dye blotches and the finished product looks like a dye job. Anyone dye their top out there and like the results?

[Paul D.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

I can't speak to dye job, but I can speak to using soft scrub with bleach. Back when I was doing car shows with a ten year old top, if it got grundgey looking I would hit it with soft scrub with bleach and and a brush and got very good results. I think you will be pleased. Save the money you would spend on dye job for a new top after paint. I would avoid getting it on your paint as much as possible. Chip.

[Jim H.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

I can't speak to dye job, but I can speak to using soft scrub with bleach. Back when I was doing car shows with a ten year old top, if it got grundgey looking I would hit it with soft scrub with bleach and and a brush and got very good results. I think you will be pleased. Save the money you would spend on dye job for a new top after paint. I would avoid getting it on your paint as much as possible. Chip.

Paul, in what concentration did you use the bleach - straight or diluted and if diluted in what concentration?

[Jim S.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

Paul, in what concentration did you use the bleach - straight or diluted and if diluted in what concentration?

I think he meant Softscrub with bleach

https://softscrub.com/products/soft-scrub-bleach-cleanser

[Jim H.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

LOL - Thanks, Jim.

[Jim H.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

Tim, Chip, and Jim, Operation Softscrub went spectacularly well this morning on my '66 427's top. I thought it was beige, but it turned out to be white after removal of 40 years of accumulated schmutz. As you can see in the pix below, the difference is astounding and the product works incredibly well. You guys were right and I really appreciate your suggestion. The photo on the left is the condition when I got the car; the middle is in progress, and the right is the finished project. What a difference. Thanks, again.IMG_1947.jpgIMG_3196.jpgIMG_3219.jpg

[Timothy B.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

Beautiful job, Jim.

[Jim H.]

Re: '66 convertible top dyeing

This was a classic case of that Rolling Stones line: I got what I needed not what I wanted. Thanks for taking the time to respond.