Painting a vinyl top

[jcelk]

scrub the top with a spray cleaner really good and rinse with a hose let dry overnight before spraying you can wipe it down with pre cleano get vinal spray from a auto paint store the best results would be if you used a pain gun not in the sun mask off whole car the stuff dries pretty fast clear is not needed

 

[pagrunt]

Here might be some useful info from PPG for spraying & related products for part of this project,
Note the One Choice line is the newer name for the Specialty Performance Products line.

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

I would also try the vinyl repair kit and then spray it with whatever color "dye" you like. The top needs to be cleaned with something that will remove wax and silicone but won't damage vinyl, so SEM soap or Dawn would be my top two picks. Vinyl Pro makes some good videos on the subject, and here are a few that might be helpful. You can utilize their tips and techniques with just about any kit you choose but I would get a high quality kit if possible. The last two videos show them blending the color and show the entire seat when they finish.

Small hole:

Hole all the way through:

Large hole:

Graining:

Scuffed seat repair:

Hole repair of leather airplane seat:

 

[78Delta88]

I would suggest Dawn or Ajax, or bucket of warm water with a teaspoon of mild liquid laundry soap like Pyrex or Arm and Hammer Sensitive Skin (more neutral pH).

 

[84cutlasssupreme]

As far as prep goes, I use Sem Leather Prep. Last time I bought a quart at O'Reilly, it was $32 & this was over 5 years ago. Now, I've used this only on my interior leather since I no longer have vinyl roof cars. But it really peels off whatever is on the leather/vinyl including whatever you use for a protectant. A good way to tell if its all off is to put a piece of masking tape on & pull it off. If it sticks pretty good, you're all done. If not keep working it.
For dye, I've started to use either Color Bond or Malco brands. They both come in aerosol. I don't know if they would work on exterior vinyl since, as I said I don't have a vinyl roof on my cars.
Painting is easy, prepping is the key.

Back in the 80s when I used to do upholstery repair at dealer lots, I was using a water based dye, but I had to mix the colors. I sprayed a couple of vinyl tops with that using a Binks 150 gun, but I don't know how durable it was especially in Mn. weather. Never used any sort of crack filler.

Just for poops & giggles, have you looked into the cost of replacing the roof?