Vinyl top installation .....

I'm gearing up to attempt the canopy roof on my Dart Sport myself. Upholstery guys I've talked to laugh at me and say it'll never work with the vinyl I have bought, which is thick and made for vinyl roofs. It's got a fuzzy felt like backing. I think it will be thick where the drip rail has to cover it, but I can shave the backing off with a sharp knife I've discovered. The funny thing is, they follow up their comments with an invitation to bring the car to them and just have it done quickly and properly by them. Is their skill really that hard to duplicate?

They say 3M glue and contact cement won't work, ONLY use this product called Helmitine. Of course it's hard to find, but I've found it. About $50 for 4 litres. You have to spray it on with a gun. Maybe they say to only use that glue because they know it's hard to find? I don't trust anyone.

What do you think? Can I do it? My buddy and I are willing to attempt it anyways. The vinyl cost me $22. If we use contact cement, that's another $10-20 maybe. The whole idea here it try and do it cheaply.

If we use Contact Cement we're thinking we'll put waxed paper down on the roof, then lay the glue covered vinyl on it, then pull the waxed paper out starting in the center I guess and push the vinyl down, working our way out. I think two large pieces of waxed paper overlapped in the center, so when we pull it out from the side the overlap will get smaller and smaller until the vinyl is touching the roof, then it will begin to stick.

If the whole thing goes bad, we'll have to scrap and sand the roof again, and paint it again with a rust encapsulation product again.

I've heard to put the vinyl right under the trim, install the trim, then cut the excess off, being careful not to cut into your paint.

Does all this sound right? I think the whole thing could be cheaper than spraying on rock guard...which probably wouldn't look very good anyways.