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Roof Dye

There are several products on the market for recolouring cabriolet roofs, and even if people don't know about them, they still assume that you can re-dye a soft top back to its original colour, or to another colour.

Roof dye on a vintage vehicle.
This car was hand built and there are no replacement roofs available, so it makes sense to patch and recolour as this is far more cost effective than having a new roof made.

However, it is not possible to re-dye a synthetic fabric roof. Dying is an electrochemical process that can only be done once because it depends on the difference in electrical charge between the dye and the fabric.

What this means is that any product for recolouring fabric hoods is actually a paint rather than a dye. The product needs to have some opaqueness and body to it, so it can cover. Unfortunately, the finish it gives also looks like paint. This may be acceptable on vintage vehicles, where it is impossible to buy a replacement roof kit, and the original finished looked like painted canvas anyway, but it wouldn't satisfy most owners of modern vehicles.

The good news is that recolouring is seldom needed. Most of the discolouration of a hood is actually dirt which can be washed out.

Weather proofing also darkens the hood, taking it back to its original colour.

Written by . Last updated 22/04/2024 17:20