Paint-damaged vinyl top

You're going to have to be very careful to find a solvent that'll remove the varnish but not attack the vinyl.

I think I'd stop experimenting, before I found something that DID attack the material, and start talking to the manufacturers of the varnish, asking their advice. Also ask these guys about the roof material :- tudorwebastosunroofs.com

Might that simply be the original colour, having removed ingrained dirt?

TBH, if you want it perfect and even-coloured, I'd suspect you're going to have to replace the material.

Jangro floor seal remover:

In message , cryptogram writes

Sounds daft, but I would experiment on a small area with proper traditional shoe polish, if you can find a tin roughly the correct colour. I have used black shoe polish very successfully to cover scuffs on vinyl and similar materials. Apply, wait, brush then polish.

Woolies will do you a vinyl 'paint' of any colour. If you send them a swatch of the original, they'll match it. But it is mainly for seats etc. Not sure how it would last outside. But they're very helpful if you phone them.

I agree that vinyl damage is a real possibility. Unfortunately, Cuprinol, who makes Bourne Seal are totally unhelpful abou this, other than to say they don't have a removal product in their range.

I also agree that the now-light area may simply be cleaner thyan the rest!

However, Mr Cheerful (see below) has made a very useful suggestion which I intend to try.

a type of varnish) got onto this roof and set before I knew about it. It ha d run off the roof onto the paintwork, down the gutter, round the door and onto the floor.

ity of the Bourne Seal peeled off the roof and the paintwork but there are quite a lot of drops caused by splashing which are not at all easy to get o ff within the space of ten years. I though cellulose thinners would solve t he problem (like it does most things of this nature) but it won't. Does any one have any ideas how I can remove the splashes by dissolving them or any other means?

Bourne Seal, which has left a light-coloured streak on the fawn vinyl.

Thanks, Mr Cheerful. As always you come up with a good answer.

No, doesn't sound daft, but the first problem is to get the Bourne Seal off.

(a type of varnish) got onto this roof and set before I knew about it. It had run off the roof onto the paintwork, down the gutter, round the door an d onto the floor.

ority of the Bourne Seal peeled off the roof and the paintwork but there ar e quite a lot of drops caused by splashing which are not at all easy to get off within the space of ten years. I though cellulose thinners would solve the problem (like it does most things of this nature) but it won't. Does a nyone have any ideas how I can remove the splashes by dissolving them or an y other means?

e Bourne Seal, which has left a light-coloured streak on the fawn vinyl.

The manufacturers of this stuff have now come back to me to say that it dis solves vinyl. Ugh! I think I'm going to have to go for a new roof - or at l east a re-covered one.

What a strange product, I guess it must have to break into the vinyl to get the Bourne seal off. Good luck with getting it replaced, could it be time to make an insurance claim?

Can't say I'm 100% surprised - the solvents in the varnish may well have dissolved the vinyl slightly and bonded it to it.

If you decided it's replacement roof time what about painting it all with Bourneseal and peeling it off like you did with the large bit?

Yes. Ordinary oil based paint bonds extremely well to PVC pipes, etc.

However, it should be obvious how much damage it has done by the grain in on the vinyl. If that is still intact, re-colouring the entire roof might be the way to go, rather than replacing it.

dissolves vinyl. Ugh! I think I'm going to have to go for a new roof - or a t least a re-covered one.

Good thinking. However, I've ditched the remains of the can. I can either b uy another can, but it's not cheap and this route may not work. Or I can ge t the Jangro despite the manufacturers saying it'll dissolve the vinyl, or I can get a new roof repair. At the moment I'm going for a can of Jangro be cause there are some splashes on chrome strips which I can't remove with sa ndpaper without damaging the chrome finish and having got the product for t his I might as well try it out on the vinyl. If it dissolves it then it's t ime for a new one.

Thank you all for your helpful comments on this problem.

Line too long

Line too long

If it eats plastic it may eat paint.

They say it does eat paint. But that doesn't bother me 'cos I'm going to respray that bit anyway. Paint's no problem but vinyl roofs are.

respray that bit anyway. Paint's no problem but vinyl roofs are.

You may be interested to know that despite the manufacturer's warnings, I b ought some Jangro as Mr Cheerful had suggested and tried it out. Magic!! It shifts the Bourne Seal and does not eat the vinyl, despite what the makers said. It did need quite a bit of elbow grease because it didn't dissolve t he Seal like I might have expected, but made it possible to scrub off with a nailbrush. However, it looks great - in fact better then before because t he Jangro cleaned the vinyl, so I had to clean the rest of it as well. You have to be careful on the paint, though. They did say this. Mr Cheerful, please find attached a bottle of champagne for you!

I will enjoy it at the weekend !