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Crazy I know, but I want to change the colour of my OEM stock soft top from black to tan.

Has anyone done this successfully? Is it possible to paint / dye the sift top a difference colour, without cracking and maintaining the flexibility of the original?

Appreciate your thoughts.

Cheers, David

Most reliable was would be to talk to an MX5 wrecker that imports smashed cars from Japan and see if they'll do a trade for your black one.


There are dyes for vinyl around, but my understanding is that they tend to work ok going from light to dark, not the other way around.



The dyes do tend to have nowhere near the UV stabilisation or abrasion resistance as a proper original colour either.


I used some on a few faded interior panels of my partner's old Kingswood, and while it worked well on those, it did fade within a year or so.
I imagine the direct sunlight, and constant folding/flexing of a soft top would mean it wouldnt last long at all.


So yeah, best to try and swap for a factory tan roof.

You can forget trying to dye it a different colour- its not going to be effective- it will turn out patchy and inconsistent and a light colour over a black is asking for a mess. I have dyed a few products see colour - - hats- and if something is faded and another section is not then the difference will also be noticed. Buying any sort of new soft top is expensive The existing standard soft top in vinyl is a very serviceable product- but like any of the soft tops they have a service life dependant on storage of the vehicle. Personally I reckon black for the early car is right.

someoene is wrecking a Heritage model on facebook. It comes with a Tan top. Although it must be said thats about 18 -19 years old now....so the soft top probably would t be all that good if its the original.
I would have loved to get the dash of that....but too late. I got a dash a few weeks ago.

Yes, it won't work/not look good. Heaps of work and chemicals needed - that will cost more than buying a tan top!
Easier just to give up on the idea.

I don't think you'll be happy with any method to change the colour. Better off to change to a new top IMO.

Thanks everyone. Will try to trade my perfect black top for a tan. Appreciate all your suggestions. Cheers.