Can you dye a convertible soft top?

No, you cannot dye a roof. You can only paint a roof, which isn't the same thing. You probably don't need to, and if your roof is that bad, then you are probably better off with a new roof. 

What is a dye?

A dye is a coloured liquid which chemically bonds to the fibres of your fabric and stains them permanently. It works very well on natural fibres which will take the dye. The chemical bonding process is usually electrical, with the fabric having an opposite charge to the dye, the dye is attracted to it like a magnet. This is exactly the same process that happens if you spill red wine or beetroot on a tablecloth, it causes a stain.

Fabric roofs are synthetic

In all likelihood, the soft top roof of your modern car is made of synthetic fibres and is designed to be stain-proof. And so you see the problem, a dye will not work on a cabriolet roof, you could put it on, but it would wash right off again. 

What are soft-top recolouring products?

The products that are marketed as dye, colour revivers, or colour restorers, are actually paint.  They need to be thick and have body so that they can cover in one coat. The problem with this is that if you brush on a thick matte black paint, that is the finish you will get, and it will look like somebody has brushed on thick black paint.

In our opinion, it looks awful on a modern car, and our customers agree. We have recoloured some vintage cars, but you are more likely to find us removing it (which is an expensive process).  As we have stated elsewhere, cleaning roofs is hard work, and if you don't put in the work, you don't get the results. Many people are tempted to use a roof dye to try to cover up the green. It doesn't work, it may turn all the dirt, moss and lichen black, but you can still see it. A colour restorer won't cover up wear marks either, so using these products as a shortcut just makes things worse.

Roof dye on a vintage vehicle.
This car was hand built, and it would be impossible to find an off-the-shelf replacement roof, so it makes sense to recolour. Painted canvas doesn't look out of place on vintage vehicles.

Is there a use for them?

Yes there is. If you have a very old vintage car with a canvas roof, replacement roofs are not available or costly, there is a good argument to recolouring it with a paint. 

We have reviewed a number of these products, but we will mention no names because there is nothing wrong with them. They are just misused and overused.

Over the last few years, New Again has earned far more money removing these products than we have from applying them!

What is the best convertible roof dye?

The product we prefer is Renovo Soft Top Reviver, and notice they don't call it a dye!
Renovo is our favoured company for convertible roof products, because it's all they do, and they have been specialists in soft tops for a long time. 

You probably don't need to recolour your roof.

If you are looking at a roof which is dirty, covered in green and looking very shabby, you may think that recolouring it is the only way to go.  However, a good clean will make a dramatic difference to the roof. Washing out all the moss and dust will significantly darken the roof, then, applying a weatherproof coating will darken the roof further. It may even look like new, but even if it isn't perfect, it will look a lot better than a roof which has been recoloured.

Recolouring will not restore the value of the car

If your roof has faded so badly, that it really does look awful, then it is probably best to replace the roof.  A replacement roof will put value back into the car, while a painted roof generally isn't an improvement over a faded roof and could look worse.

In our experience, a roof will wear out and need replacement, long before it faded to a point that it isn't acceptable.

Our recommendation

If your roof is faded, and you want to restore the colour, get your cabriolet roof professionally cleaned and weatherproofed and see what the results are. You will probably be surprised at how well it turns out without recolouring. If you are still not happy, then it may well be worth considering the monetary value of the car, how much the car means to you, and considering a replacement roof.

Written by . Last updated 21/03/2023 16:08