Small rip in the roof

[LotusFanatic]

Ahh help. <br>I got out of my car today and noticed a tiny rip (no more than an inch long) in my brand new elan roof!!!!<br><br>Obviously im pretty pissed off about it, but I was wondering if possibly it could be patched as I have just paid out hundreds of pounds for the new one, I don't really want to be having to get another Anyone have any experience with this? Or know anywhere I can get it patched? It seems to be just above the rear joist, is this something that happens often or have I just been unlucky?<br><br><br>Sean<br><br>

[westonben]

Sorry to hear about the hood  :-/<br><br>I got a patch put on the inside of hood, over a small tear, at my local boat builders. Cost £2 and he also put some precautionary ones where the hood rubs (near the top of the door posts?)   <br><br>Do you know what caused it?  Could it be the fault of the fitting of the new hood?<br> ???

[Sy V]

Damn Sean you must be gutted...sympathy mate.<br>There is a tendency for the hoods to wear at the point where the frame touches the inside on deployment and collapse.  Folk tend to reinforce the inside with a variety of materials to avoid this problem.  Yours however sounds like a cut or a split...heat-related over-tension perhaps...doubt it though.<br>Have a check inside around the frame chap.  Have you caught the fabric on something when putting her to bed last night...I'm assuming you were driving around with the hood down yesterday.<br>I've got a couple of hood fitting contacts, I'll ask them about repair.  The other thing I've seen are a pair of black-grey Lotus embroidered patches sewn on to the outside of the hood to cover the wear spot.

[LotusFanatic]

Thanks for your sympathy Guys, Its most welcome. <br>Having examined it further I think I have been quite luckily, the tear is very small and very precise, almost like someone pushed an inch wide razor blade through the hood (which of course is a possibility) I've looked in to some patches which can be applied on the inside that supposedly completely hide any tears. But its really annoying as the hood was only just fitted. <br><br>Oh well its sods law I suppose. <br>Thanks again guys. <br><br><br>Sean<br>

[Doug]

Sounds like the bloke who fitted the hood slipped with his razor knife and decided not to tell you of his goof!!

[steven]

Could it have been that the material got stuck between the mechanism that holds the cover when the roof is down?<br>I noticed a similar cut in my roof and it was caused by that.<br><br>Steven<br>

[John_W]

It's not this is it? [smiley=headscratch.gif]<br>http://gglotus.org/ggtech/m100-problems/m100probs.htm<br>John

[LotusFanatic]

Yep... <br>Thats it. <br>I took it back to hoods galore and had a moan, they admitted Liability to a certain extreme, they patched it for me but its still going to cost me £200 for a new front section  >:( Mind you thats not so bad as tghey are going to releather my seats at the same time when its in <br><br>Sean<br>

[timhagger]

What have people used in terms of material and glue to protect the S2 hood from becoming ripped / rubbed by the frame?<br><br>I have tried a number of things and nothings seems to stick. I've got hold of some spare seat belt webbing which i was going to use as the material to protect the hood.<br><br>Any ideas greatly appreciated.

[Doug]

Timmay,<br>guess I don't know if it is OE or not (never checked anyone elses here) but mine has what I would term a section of adhesive velcro loop-side tape placed/stuck onto the frame in this area for a buffer/protection<br><br>simple and effective,<br><br>

[timhagger]

Sorry - i wasn't specific enough, I actually meant to prevent this problem:<br><br>http://gglotus.org/ggtech/m100-problems/m100probs.htm<br><br>Any ideas on glue / materials?

[Monty]

U could use old roof material or any material as long as it`s not to stiff  ::) i would use contact adhesive.

[Doug]

[quote author=Timmay link=board=body;num=1077397914;start=0#10 date=05/21/05 at 04:15:40]Sorry - i wasn't specific enough, I actually meant to prevent this problem:<br><br>http://gglotus.org/ggtech/m100-problems/m100probs.htm<br><br>Any ideas on glue / materials?[/quote]<br>that's what I was referring to . . .

[Fubar1764]

Being the cheapie I am, I cut a piece of black denim and used a rubber-type cement that's often used in leather-working. As the cement ages, it becomes stronger. There are some issues as to flexibility, but if you begin to flex the patched area about 12 hours after application, it tends to be ok. Mind you, I did this just recently so I'll keep everyone posted as to results.<br>A couple of additional thoughts:<br>Denim is a lot cheaper and readily available than black canvas. Also, denim is of a similar weight as canvas. My conclusions are that they're substantially similar in performance for a patch or for prevention of cuts.<br>I consider the patch on the soft-top to be a maintenance issue. Sure, it's an engineering goof on part of Lotus. Not much to be done there other than roll with the punches! Like changing the oil - another design flaw as autos should last forever with zero maintenance!  ::)

[niall]

I had this problem too. I used a piece of black closely woven "tape" from my mother's workbox. I suppose it is cotton? I glued it with the glue used to join plastic drain-pipes. I sewed arround the patch while the glue was still soft. You need to use a strong thimble or a sailmaker's palm as the fabric is quite hard to push a needle through.<br>The glue sets quite hard but as the patch is quite small. that doesn't seem to matter.<br>It appears to be an adequate repair so far.<br>I agree this common problem is a pain and must be particularly so when it happens to a new roof.<br>Good luck with the repair.<br>Niall

[timhagger]

Doug - I get it now, I think i'll try some velcro (the softer one) if i can find it wide enough. Thanks for everyone's ideas.

[Pete_Tapping]

I got a pretty seamless and efficient repair and reinforcement from iron-on black denim patches from the local haberdashers. They come in different thicknesses.You need to put a piece of wood underneath (as well as stealing the iron from indoors without being caught).

[John_W]

Pete,
sounds like a neat job on the outside, but doesn't the piece of wood make the hood stick up a bit untidily when it's folded?

John

[Fubar1764]

And if your fear of rolling pins is greater than your need to fix the tear, consider purchasing: 3M Fast Tack Trim Adhesive (part no. 08031). Wow. Like most other 3M adhesives, the stuff is amazing.