Anyone thinking of wrapping the front A pillar on their Slate?

[AeroWolf]

Curious if anyone has thought about wrapping the Front pillar, or Why Slate appears to avoid that location?

 

[EV Trek]

Hmmm never thought about it before but probably because it flows better with the door frame color.

 

[bartflossom]

Definitely thinking about doing it in white to match my white roof.

 

[cstanley]

yep. thinking about it.

 

[EV Trek]

I was actually considering a Vinyl top on mine. Lasts much longer than a wrap would.

 

[SailorDan]

As a former vinyl top owner, I must at least partially disagree. The vinyl holds up well, but when the glue starts to dry up it leaks around the edges, and water gets under it, and that moisture rusts a regular steel top, badly. I had to replace the entire top of a 1967 Buick which had a rain leak in the front and looked like Swiss cheese when we pulled the factory vinyl off. In its defense, it was over forty years old.
Now, what a leaky old vinyl top would do a a Slate with plastic panels over a coated steel underbody, I don't know. Can't even guess, really. Maybe it would be good twenty or thirty years, then replace it, just to be sure.
I might give it a try myself. But caveat emptor.

 

[AZFox]

I was actually considering a Vinyl top on mine. Lasts much longer than a wrap would.

Convertible-Top Cloth instead of vinyl might be even better.

 

[SailorDan]

Most convertible top cloth is vinyl on a fabric backing, usually cotton but sometimes polyester. Except for the mohair acrylic woven fabrics like Sunbrella and Stayfast, which are dyed acrylic threads woven into canvas-like fabrics. Really nice for a convertible top, about twice the cost of vinyl, but would not work well as a wrap.

 

[AZFox]

Most convertible top cloth is vinyl on a fabric backing, usually cotton but sometimes polyester. Except for the mohair acrylic woven fabrics like Sunbrella and Stayfast, which are dyed acrylic threads woven into canvas-like fabrics. Really nice for a convertible top, about twice the cost of vinyl, but would not work well as a wrap.

I thought of it because my S-10 Convertible's removable fiberglass top had convertible-top material "wrapped" on it. It worked for that.

 

[EV Trek]

Most convertible top cloth is vinyl on a fabric backing, usually cotton but sometimes polyester. Except for the mohair acrylic woven fabrics like Sunbrella and Stayfast, which are dyed acrylic threads woven into canvas-like fabrics. Really nice for a convertible top, about twice the cost of vinyl, but would not work well as a wrap.

My Sky’s and Solstice and 2012 Camaro convertible tops were all cloth…

 

[EV Trek]

As a former vinyl top owner, I must at least partially disagree. The vinyl holds up well, but when the glue starts to dry up it leaks around the edges, and water gets under it, and that moisture rusts a regular steel top, badly. I had to replace the entire top of a 1967 Buick which had a rain leak in the front and looked like Swiss cheese when we pulled the factory vinyl off. In its defense, it was over forty years old.
Now, what a leaky old vinyl top would do a a Slate with plastic panels over a coated steel underbody, I don't know. Can't even guess, really. Maybe it would be good twenty or thirty years, then replace it, just to be sure.
I might give it a try myself. But caveat emptor.

Probably would not do anything to the Slate top. If it lasts 20 years that would probably be equal to 4 or 5 Vinyl wraps.
the reason many steel tops on older cars rusted automakers often used standard primer or cheaper paint underneath the vinyl top rather than fully sealing the roof. Factory roof seams were sometimes filled with plastic filler (like Bondo) rather than lead; this filler absorbs moisture over time, accelerating rust.

 

[SailorDan]

And that's probably what I'll do to everything but the top: nothing, except maybe a ceramic coating. Probably. Maybe.

But I want the top white, whether it's paint or wrap or vinyl or whatever. So I have to come up with something. And other than the proprietary adhesive Slate says they have for vinyl wraps, I have no facts about what might work on these plastic panels, or what prep might be needed before application. Just flailing around really. Thanks for the help!

 

[SailorDan]

My TR6 has a vinyl on cotton cloth convertible top, as have all my British sports cars, mostly MG's. All except my first MGB, which had a beautiful non-OEM acrylic cloth top and tonneau cover that were worth more the rest of the car. Only British roadster I have ever seen that didn't leak. The cloth tops are usually superior, just a little harder to keep clean.