On Friday, 26 December 1997 at 23:59, John McEwen wrote:
JOHN> The tonneau cover vinyl itself doesn't leak - just the stitching
and the
zippers. I've tried to get mine to stop but in spite of my best efforts
with waxes and greases, it still leaks. Even the headrest pockets get
wet inside if the car is exposed to any rain.
RICH's $0.02> When I was in the military, I had a similar problem with a
cover for a piece of a equipment. The problem was that the material
stretched around the holes made by the threads of the stitching (due to
expansion, contraction, and tension); also the webbing around the zipper
was somewhat porous, being made of a woven material. Now, I knew then
that one of the charms of being in the Army was being cold, wet, dusty,
etc, etc., (oddly, my LBC is somewhat the same) but I saw no need to be
uncomfortable (or have to do extra cleaning) if it could be avoided, so,
like any good trooper, I MacGyvered it:
I turned the cover inside out and fully cleaned all the seams to remove
all the crud and protectants that had accumulated over the years. I used
Castrol Super Clean and a M16 cleaning brush (similar to a toothbrush).
Then I took the cover to a local upholstery shop and had a flap sewn over
the zipper so that mositure could not settle on it and weep through. I
made sure that it would overlap the zipper by 1.5" on each side, and had
velcro tabs sewn in to secure it.
When this was completed, I laid the cover out so I could work on its
backside of it. Taking a piece of fine sandpaper I carefully scuffed the
surfaces of the material adjacent to wherever the stitching came through,
getting as close as possible to the threads without touching them. I did
the same with the inside joint of the seams. Then, I again washed off
the cover and let it dry.
Once dry, I very carefully applied a thin bead of silicone gasket
material to the inside joint of the seams, and pressed it into place with
a wet finger. Very little crept through, which didn't matter in my case,
but you might want to use a silicone that is the same color as your
cover. Once that had set up, I applied an equally thin skim of silicone
over *all* the exposed stitching on the backside (this has the added
benefit of securing the stitches), and smoothed it over with a wet finger
so that an even coat of silicone covered the stitching. I let this all
dry for a good day.
To complete it, I went to a camping store and bought a waterproofing
stick -- looks like a little tube of deoderant that has paraffin wax that
can be rubbed over leaks in tents to seal them. I used this on the
zipper and its binding material (this also lubricates the zipper).
This took care of the problem for me. I used this method to repair the
holes in the top of my Midget, and I think they're the only 'dry' part of
the whole top...
A buddy did this to his tonneau, but also glued some 3/8" by 3/8" closed
cell foam weatherstripping to the outside edges to prevent water and dust
being blown or leaking around the edges. Also added was a piece of
tubing that stretched over the doorframes as an additional support, and a
strap that ran from the center of the front edge to about the middle of
the cockpit. He lifts up on the strap to dump off any water that
accumulates.
Luck,
Rich
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