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Convertible owners, what is your roof made of?


JDM Performance

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Extract taken from the american forum:

 

 

Here we go again with people who don't know what they are talking about. If you have a 350Z roadster the tops are made of CANVAS, not PVC spun vinyl or any other kind of vinyl. And I have verified this with Nissan. And for you folks who don't know how to tell the difference here is the blurb:

 

The way to tell is by texture and shine. A vinyl top has almost a slippery like feel to the touch and it has a very slight shine to it. Also when you take a heat gun to it and it starts to warm the top gets a slight "greasy" feel to it because obviously vinyl is a form of plastic and the heat starts to melt it. When vinyl gets wet the water will ride off the vinyl much easier than on untreated cloth tops.

 

Canvas on the other hand being cloth does not have the shine to it UNLESS it has been treated with a water repellant like 3M. Many times canvas is mistaken to be vinyl for this very reason. The 350Z roadster top is treated with 3M before leaving for the dealer. That is why they tend to have a slight shine to the top. If any canvas is not waterproofed or if the water-proofing is sufficiently worn-off then the canvas will begin to actually soak in the water. This will be evident by a mottled or matted wet appearance particularly so above the rear window where the roof top curves to form the rear window plane.

 

Another way to tell vinyl from canvas is by the stitching. Vinyl cannot hold the stitching like canvas can and requires glue soaked stitching to reinforce what little stitching one may find on a vinyl top, particularly so in the high-stress areas. Canvas on the other had CAN hold stitching without glue and examination of the raodster top shows plenty of stitching without glue. Reinforcement is accomplished by doubling over the seams and passing the stitching through the doubled over canvas. Doubled over vinyl will not hold stitching for the life of the top whereas canvas will.

 

As for cleaning one should use a cleaner and protectant that is made for either cloth (canvas) or vinyl, however they can be used interchangeably but the repelling affects will be somewhat diminished when using a cloth protectant on the vinyl because the cloth protectant is made to be absorbed into the cloth and it cannot do so if the surface is vinyl...instead the cloth protectant will ride on top the vinyl surface. On the other hand the vinyl protectant will absorb into a clothRead more at http://my350z.com/forum/350z-roadster/2 ... -care.html

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I have read a few threads on the US forums Alex and am still not totally convinced. :blush:

 

http://my350z.com/forum/350z-roadster/2 ... -care.html

 

I remember when I bought my roadster (2004) I was given the option of a black canvas roof or a blue canvas roof.

I am sure that my roof is canvas but there may be later models with vinyl.

 

Martin, talking to Wilky in Glasgow on Saturday, do you remember him? ;):lol:

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