Hi I wonder if anyone could offer some advice please ?

I have a small tear in the vinyl on the drivers door right next to the rubber seal of the window, it extends just below the seal. It's only about an inch at the moment but I was hoping to repair it and stop the spread. I did look around the forums and most people had bigger rips and took it to the dealer. I was wondering if anyone had an tips on a repair kit to buy or something I can do myself (superglue ? )

Thanks in advance

 

I'd try some black silicon sealant, sometimes called RTV.


I'd lift the cut open carefully and get some sil' down in there (toothpick and fill the area) then press everything down, clean off the excess sil' then possibly put a piece of plastic wrap over the area and a weight for several hours or over nite, A sandbag for the weight would be best to conform to the surface....fill a ziplock with sand or even sugar, then but something else with a couple pounds of weight on that. Any excess sil' the next day u should be able to wipe off carefully w/out opening the cut.

I patched a convertable top like this and it held up for a couple of years (for the 'vert I applied a backing piece of black vinyl stuck on with the RTV)

You could also use any good clear sealant - even "GOOP" but I find the black in this application hides any gaps...

I have EASTWOOD's vin' repair kit which uses a heat system to vulcanize a repair material but it will NOT work well in this type application. Been there and learned the lesson (you can melt and damage the underlying foam padding leaving a 'dent' ... you need to be able to insert a heat blocking materiel if there's a foam backing)

added: I'd also caution against 'Gorilla Glue' in this application. I've use GG many times and like it, but it is a "foaming glue" which expands as it dries and tends to ooze out of the immediate application area leaving a strong residue. Not what you want here - but I used it to reattach the rib flap of a Miata top and it held for 4 years!

 

Thanks Capt for taking the time to reply. I will go out and pick up some of the sealant. It just seemed too small of a tear to take to the dealer.

 

I wouldn't try to repair it. If it wasn't your fault, the dealer should replace it under warranty. You have a new car and it shouldn't be like that. If you don't want to bring it in just for this issue, wait until you bring it in for something else.