Canvas top canvas details

[printjunky]

Anyone know what weight or "gauge" canvas is used on the canvas tops. An approximation would be fine, too. Having a custom bikini top made and at the debate between canvas, stayfast, etc., stage.

[Jim-ME]

All a bikini top will do for you is to basically keep the sun off your head and may keep you sort of dry in a thunderstorm. I'd go with the cheapest material if I were you.
Jim

[SafeAirOne]

#8 (AKA 11oz) Cotton duck (18oz/sq yd before treatment).

For a bikini top, I personally would use a PVC coated polyester fabric such as an 18oz Shelter-Rite fabric ($14/yd)with a Sunbrella acrylic edge binding ($0.40/lf) and size 92 polyester thread (~$12/8oz spool). Oh, and I'd use 1" polyester webbing for the fastening straps, but that's just me.

Can you tell I've done LOTS of research on this type of thing lately?? ;)

[Alk-3]

I bought mine form all wheel trim in the uk. I love it. I fit it as soon as weather permits, and leave it on till first snow. I keep the door tops in the back, and have driven trough many heavy storms without any issues. With the door tops on, and the heat on, it states very warm inside. I think they list on their website somewhere which weight they use.

[yorker]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/exmoortrim/m.html?_nkw=bikini+hood&_sacat=0&_odkw=&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3911.c0.m270.l1313&clk_rvr_id=327044899939&afsrc=1

[printjunky]

First, let me illustrate how conditioned I am. I read Mark's post, and looked for the "like" button. Yikes.

Mark, I've looked at a lot of the poly options. That's a great price for something like that. The Haartz stuff is triple or more that. Sunbrella's up there too, IIRC.

But, even with the wrinkles (ha) it involves, I've been thinking of trying canvas, because if you've seen my pickup cab, I painted a Union Jack on it, and I thought it would look cool to try to dye a U.J. into the canvas bikini top before canvakking it. I know there will be bleed issues and other unknowns in the execution, but I think it would look great. Might be able to get a kind of pre-weathered look (like this, sort of, minus the lettering, of course).

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ls2rwPk1uIc/TWJtitu26hI/AAAAAAAACKg/4wSe-PpJ_Zs/s1600/union-jack-canvas-art.jpg


Alk-3 and Yorker, that's very similar to what I'm doing. But I have to have one made, because it will need to go over a roll bar (so be longer) and accommodate (sit below, and have holes for) a cage that will be similar to the defender front cage.

I'll also be having a sort of a fume curtain made to sit in the roll bar hoop. Like you said Yorker, that will take me from mid-March to mid-November. Today had a fluke 50 degree day (fluke, in that it was actually around the temp it's supposed to be this time of year, instead of the 20-degrees warmer we've gotten used to this year). And driving to a lunch meeting with the top off, and the door tops on wasn't too bad. With coat and gloves it was fine.

A little tip: I work downstairs from a banner printer, and the company that puts the doubled edge hems and grommets on his banners does it for FAR less than any boat/convertible top company that I've ever heard of. Since I don't have the piece mocked up yet, I haven't gotten a quote yet (and I forget what he told me they charge him for a banner) but I was floored by how low it was when I asked about it. They're not equipped for any fabrication, just the sewing and grommeting, so I'll do what I can myself (templating, cutting, etc) and have them hem and add my straps.

I think I'm going to use the typical canvas top front windshield top piece with the hooks (or fab something similar), but no door-top or side pieces. I like the way they look with the top on, but I like it better without when the top's off. And that's kind of the point. In genereal and to Alk-3's point, I don't really care about some spray during rain, or the occasional chilly night. Though bear in mind I'm single, so that point of view about the forces of nature could be changed by the forces of nature.