Author Topic: Replacing Soft Top Hatch cover Fabric (Read 9750 times)

Jordan · « **on:** January 17, 2018, 19:30:07 »

My soft top hatch cover is looking somewhat ratty so I want to replace the vinyl cover. Was also going to replace the weatherstrip as well.

I have a new weather strip and was just going to buy the piece of vinyl from Buds. I notice they also sell a "hatch retaining strip" for holding the fabric in place. Is this something I should just go ahead and order? Also, the parts book doesn't appear to identify this piece so I'm unsure if I need it. I've done a search and everything that comes up discusses the soft top itself, not replacing the fabric on the hatch cover.

cfm65@me.com · « **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2018, 20:48:09 »

Hi Marcus,
Replacing the vinyl cover is quite straight forward and I am sure the retaining strip should be OK to use again. The weather strips are often damaged by the soft top being raising and lowering into the stowage area a few thousand times over the last 50 years. I would also replace it.
Replacement of the soft top naturally gets more attention than the cover, most probably because it is a little more complicated as well as much more expensive, if you screw up.
Replacing the soft top is not a big deal, ONCE YOU HAVE DONE A FEW. If you have done a MGA or two, you should be OK.
My first one was a 220SE Cabrio. I did not have the courage to rip off the rotten fabric.
Instead, I dissected, examined and studied every little piece. I have done a few since (15 or so, mostly 190SL’s, Pagodas and Cabrios) and just love the challenge. Yes, it still is a bit of a challenge, but what a thrill to step back and look at a well fitted top.
Regards
Chris

Jordan · « **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2018, 21:15:24 »

Thanks Chris. I will just order the vinyl piece for the hatch cover and hope the retaining strip is still OK. Soft top I will tackle later this spring once I have all the little easier things taken care of.

BTW, are you near Cape Town? I have read they may run out of fresh water within the next few months if there is no rain.

cfm65@me.com · « **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2018, 22:08:57 »

Yep Marcus,
Cape Town is going through a very bad patch. It is said to be the worst draught in 100 years and it is estimated that the Cape will run out of water within the next six weeks or so.
We are privileged to have live there for 30 years and bring up our children in Somerset West(50km from the ‘Mother City’)
We are now retired in Mossel Bay, about 300 km east of Cape Town. East? Yes, east. It is assumed that South Africa runs North to South, but take another look at a map.
Cape Town, Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban are all situated at about 34* South.
Regards
Chris

Jordan · « **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2018, 22:42:27 »

Chris, I lived in S Africa for 3 years in the mid 80's, just west of Joburg. Spent every weekend there and did a lot of travelling into Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, even drove into Zambia. Very good memories. Worked in Tanzania a couple times about 10 years ago and the smell in the air brought me right back. Gorgeous countries.

cfm65@me.com · « **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2018, 08:32:04 »

Hi Marcus,
It is amazing how many people have some connection with South Africa and especially with Cape Town. Every so often someone on one of the old car or old aeroplane forums I frequent, drops me a line just to say ‘Hello to Cape Town’
Cheers
Chris

neelyrc · « **Reply #6 on:** January 19, 2018, 05:16:30 »

Straying from the subject but, “Hello to Cape Town,” Chris.

You live in a lovely area. I spent a few years in South Africa in the late ‘70s living in Springs and Evander during the construction of the Sasol ll and lll coal to gas projects and later spent a lot of time in Saldanha, Port Elizabeth and Mossel Bay with onshore and offshore projects. I may have flown with you on my many domestic and overseas SAA flights over the years. My last visit was in 2009 for a week of golf at a reunion of old work mates along the coast around Knysna and George from a base at Pezula. We capped off the trip with a drive back to Cape Town for our flight out. Great memories!

I would love to see some photos of your Pagoda with the fantastic Garden Route scenery as a backdrop.

Pawel66 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 19, 2018, 09:43:17 »

Marcus, sorry, I keep getting to know things I have not known before about our cars - which vinyl cover you mean? I am aware of 3 pieces of covers in that area: a felt stripe on the wall of the soft top box, the bottom insulation cover of the sof t op box and the upholstery piece that goes on top of the hatch. Where should I have vinyl there?

On the Cape Town note: I have been there twice. Absolutely fantastic town! The Table Mountain view over the city is just great. I loved the bazaar. On this bazaar I spotted a guy selling amber for some very high prices. I asked him to tell me something about amber. He said he was bringing it from a very very far place in the North, they are very rare therefore expensive. I said: what place? He said "Gdansk in Poland."

Well, the truth is, when you take a half an hour walk along the beach after storm and you know how they look when they come out of the sea - you would find some, at least small ones, quite easily...

My most unforgettable experience from South Africa was 4 days we spent in Phinda Game Reserve. A small reserve compared to Kruger, but a fantastic one!

Jordan · « **Reply #8 on:** January 19, 2018, 13:57:12 »

Pawel, the vinyl cover I am referring to is the one in the attached picture. It comes in one piece.

mbzse · « **Reply #9 on:** January 19, 2018, 15:11:14 »

Quote from: Jordan

the vinyl cover I am referring to is the one in the attached picture. It comes in one piece

MB Tex yes, or leather as may be...
Very very difficult to install correctly, just compare any original lid to the restored ones you can see at car shows and Club meets.
It is to be smooth (thin foam underneath) but must absolutely not be puffed up. From factory, it was also totally wrinkle free in the corners. Few upholsterers can do it nowadays.
Details like this makes me respect the skills and devotion to quality shown by the workers in the M-B factory.

Pawel66 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 19, 2018, 15:44:53 »

Thank you Marcus, thank you Hans. It is a leather piece in my case.

If you are there in Authentic Classic, could you post the link to this hatch retaining strip holding fabric you were talking about? I wonder what this piece is...

Jordan · « **Reply #11 on:** January 19, 2018, 16:57:42 »

Pawel, here is a picture of the retaining strip I refer to in an earlier post. It is available through Buds Benz, as is the fabric for the hatch cover.

Jordan · « **Reply #12 on:** January 19, 2018, 17:01:06 »

Quote from: mbzse on January 19, 2018, 15:11:14

Very very difficult to install correctly, just compare any original lid to the restored ones you can see at car shows and Club meets.
It is to be smooth (thin foam underneath) but must absolutely not be puffy. From factory, it was also totally wrinkle free in the corners. Few upholsterers can do it nowadays.
Details like this makes me respect the skills and devotion to quality shown by the workers in the M-B factory.

I was hoping to do this myself. Chris suggested it was relatively easy to do. Maybe with wrinkles it's easy and without not so much.

doitwright · « **Reply #13 on:** January 19, 2018, 17:43:09 »

I believe recovering the soft too lid cover in leather leaves you with the same challenge as recovering the compound curves of the dash trim panels. The way the factory did it and the way a knowledgeable and skilled interior trim installer would do this is to skive the leather. If you are not familiar with skiving there are YouTube videos. It essentially involves shaving the back of the leather to make it thinner and more stretchable. Some steam or heat may also be needed. I will be faced with this challenge soon and currently investigating my options.

In reading the comments on this post about South Africa, I suddenly feel like "I want to go to there". (Tina Fey from a line in 30 Rock)

Jordan · « **Reply #14 on:** January 19, 2018, 18:38:57 »

Frank, my interior is MBTex. I don't know if that makes it easier than leather. Maybe someone that has done it in MBTex can comment.

66andBlue · « **Reply #15 on:** January 19, 2018, 18:42:24 »

Getting the curves on lid cover and those on the dash wrinkle free requires skived leather. Unfortunately few places have skiving setups large enough to accommodate wide and long pieces.
With regular leather one can use a belt sander (or orbital sander) and trim it down. Bernd in Colorado and I have done it successfully. It might be helpful to read this discussion again:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=11853.0;all

I have tried to to use the sanding method on the much better "oldtimer leather" sold by GAT but had little success getting the "fleece" off on the back side.

Marcus: my hunch is that it will be easier with MBtex since it can be stretched without having to go through the wetting/heating cycles.

bogeyman · « **Reply #16 on:** January 19, 2018, 19:05:20 »

Apparently even the factory grew weary of fitting this piece as the 107s came out with 3 pieces sewn at the corners....

Jordan · « **Reply #17 on:** January 28, 2018, 16:55:16 »

In order to remove the vinyl cover I believe I need to fold back the 10 clips on the underside of the lid and remove the chrome trim as indicated in the picture. The clips are no problem but how do I remove the chrome trim? Is it held in place with anything, or maybe glued in place. I don't want to force it at this point in case i bend it. Thanks for any assistance.

Pawel66 · « **Reply #18 on:** January 28, 2018, 17:13:12 »

Quote from: Jordan on January 19, 2018, 16:57:42

Pawel, here is a picture of the retaining strip I refer to in an earlier post. It is available through Buds Benz, as is the fabric for the hatch cover.

Thank you, I now recognize the part.

66andBlue · « **Reply #19 on:** January 28, 2018, 18:47:25 »

Quote from: Jordan on January 28, 2018, 16:55:16

.... how do I remove the chrome trim? Is it held in place with anything, or maybe glued in place. I don't want to force it at this point in case i bend it. Thanks for any assistance.

Marcus,
each chrome piece is pressed over 6 U-shaped barbed clips. To remove it I insert a thin poker between the top of the trim and lid edge and carefully lift it up. Take a look at the clip. They are not symmetric; when you take them off note the orientation. The flat side should face outward. After you glued the MB-tex over the edge you insert them at the old location and then press the trim over it. Make sure the ends meat in the middle, there is no cover where they meet.
Also when you take the metal strip off be careful when you straighten the tabs. too much force and the brake off. I did not glue the leather onto the thin foam; only glued it around the metal strip and the edge where the chrome trim sits.
Hope this helps a bit.

Jordan · « **Reply #20 on:** January 28, 2018, 19:33:07 »

Thanks Alfred, that helps a lot. Where did you get such a nice piece of foam?

BTW, as I opened up the clips I noticed that whoever did it last (maybe the factory but doubt it) they put a tiny piece of felt under each clip.

66andBlue · « **Reply #21 on:** January 28, 2018, 21:32:30 »

Marcus,
when I did my 280SL I bought the foam at Grainger:
https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Foam-Sheet-5GDK8
At that time it was about half the price and I picked it up at the store because shipping costs are prohibitive.

When I worked on the 230SL recently I used thin synthetic felt instead that I glued down. I have enough left to do a lid; let me know if you want it and I mail the piece, it doesn't weigh much.

Jordan · « **Reply #22 on:** January 29, 2018, 02:58:07 »

Alfred, sending you an e-mail.

Jordan · « **Reply #23 on:** January 29, 2018, 15:29:54 »

Just thought I would post some pictures of the clips in place so if anyone else does this they know what to look for. I had a total of 11 clips (5 on each side and one in the centre where the two pieces of trim meet). Who ever did it previously did not install any padding. Now just to remove all the glue and clean everything before reinstalling, with padding.

waltklatt · « **Reply #24 on:** January 29, 2018, 15:46:03 »

What was the purpose of the padding?
Think it was 1/8" thick.

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Author Topic: Replacing Soft Top Hatch cover Fabric (Read 9750 times)