My vinyl roof is cracking

Question:

The vinyl roof is cracking on my 1979 Lincoln Town Car.

What can I use to fill in the cracks and is there anything to put on the roof to keep it flexible in other areas to prevent them from cracking? Thank you for any help you can give.

Answer:

There is no shortage of vinyl top repair products on the market. The only one I’ve used is the Permatex Dashboard & Vinyl Top Repair Kit (Permatex part #81785) and it works OK as long as you follow the directions and are very careful with it. It can be difficult to exactly match the color of your old vinyl top, especially considering that it has likely faded and changed color in areas over time.

There is also no shortage of products that supposedly extend the life of old vinyl. While many of these do improve the appearance of old vinyl, and they usually make the person applying them feel better because they think they’re doing something good for their vinyl, I’m not convinced that any of them can measurably extend the useful life of old, deteriorated vinyl.

If you’re not going to install a new vinyl roof, which would obviously solve your problems, then it’s probably worth a modest investment in a name-brand product that purportedly gives old vinyl a new lease on life.