Klinh

Hi all,

My car convertible top fabric/canvas separated from the seams. It look like they glued together from the factory. Dealer/aftermarket shops won't repair it. It need a replacement. Anyone here have their top replacement yet? Please recommend a shop in LA/Riverside area. Thank you.

mrbobby

Not to break in but I'm in the same position here in Naples Florida and will need to replace my top in the near future. As usual the dealer is "over the top", no pun intended, with their pricing.

pskdude

Im in the Same situation. :/
Ive been looking at items like this on ebay. They even seem like a DIY. type of job. I inquired quite a bit in my area and it was over 800 for labor.

I do know the same company sells the A5 material OEM. Also,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-10-Mercedes-Benc-CLK-Convertible-Black-Top-Haartz-Stayfast-Cloth-/111537174405?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ACLK500&vxp=mtr&hash=item19f8223785

Rudeney

If it's just the seam, you can re-glue that. I recall a member here (or over on benzworld?) fixed his. I don't recall the glue, but I would check with an upholstery shop for something they recommend.

Klinh

It should be able to re-glue it but two upholstery shops said that they it can only be done at the factory. I think they make more money just by replace them.

Rudeney

I found the thread on benzworld:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w209...ing-apart.html

Contact cement seems to be the solution. That guy used DAP, but I see many options from 3M that are designed for fabric. I'm going to need to do this as I am beginning to see some separation on mine, each side, above the corners of the rear glass.

Critter

Wifes Cab is showing this seam separating, started last year, at the start of the driving season a friend of mine used a glue that he uses for horse saddle building, super strong, held all this summer and still going strong. He said if that does not hold he would free hand stitch it similar to what he does on saddles, and he does a super clean stitch on them. FYI

Klinh

Rudeney,

Thank you so much !!

Rudeney

Keep us all posted as to what you do and how it works out. I'll do the same!

drrobertjfrank

I am having the same issue with my just purchased 2007 CLK350. An upholstery shop said they use a special heat-sealed adhesive at the factory and that regular glues don't hold very long (The guy selling it had just glued it - held until a day after I bought it! Grrrr....) I'll let you know what my shop says tomorrow.

Rudeney

I used DAP "glove and boot" contact adhesive on mine abut two months ago and so far it is holding. The right side worked out really well, but on the let side, I let some adhesive creep under the tape and it cure, so I have a bit of an ugly seam there. I tried picking it off, but it's still not pretty. But, no more gap!

drrobertjfrank

Rodney, how wide was you seam gap? Mine has come apart over about 24-30 inches in the center. The shop this mooring said that gluing would cause the top "lip" to uncurl and flip up, eventually re-seperating. He also noted that the overall condition was pretty old now, and I can see that too, so ordered a new top today. $$900 through him, I found some for $769 (A5 Haartz OEM) but the full warrantee on labor and installation is worth a bit more for me. Labor is 14 hours (!) so $1050 for that! I checked alldatadiy.com and yep - it's more complicated than I am willing to take on. Since I plan to keep it for many years to come, an otherwise it is in GREAT shape, time to shell out the cash.

I am still very curious about if any glues DO work to hold the seams back together... so will keep checking on here! Thanks all!

Patton001

I have just started to notice this separation starting on mine. Wish I knew of a way to stop it before it gets bad.

abqhudson

And the manufacturer/brand of the top would be much appreciated.

A review of this top may be helpful to a bunch of us. Thanks.

Rudeney

My seam separations were an inch or two long on each side of the top - the outer "corners". I opened the gaps a bit until I hit some resistance in the existing adhesive, so maybe 4 inches total on each. This gave me room to work with the contact cement. I used tape to protect the canvas, but like I said, on one side it seeped under the tape and left a bit of a mess. It's not bad, but noticeable. For now, it's holding and I'm leaving it as-is.

Airmousam

2 grand yikes!! Is there anything we can do as a preventitive to get addt'l life out of the top? I'd had a a cquartz soft top application done last year. Beaded up the water for a couple of months, but that was it. Car is garaged most of the time...Thx