attaching Velcro to PVC canopy

Have you considered sewing the Velcro onto the PVC?

As an ex Velcro distributor, I can tell you there should be a velcro product to do the job.

If you baught Velcro ... genuine Velcro product ...... the standard adhesive is 072, this is their general purpose adhesive and probably won't work well on PVC or Vinyl ...... it is not water or temperature tolerant

There is an adhesive compatability chart for the various velcro adhesives that ..... a few years ago covered 5 different types of adhesive that velcro imported at the time.

074 grade adhesive has a higher temperature tollerance and is more compatable with PVC and Vinyl. ( not sure if 074 is currently available in Australia) ( I'm saving my personal stash) this product was intended for upholstry work.
074 was a great product .... my understanding is that Velcro Australia where having too many complaints because people failed to properly consider substrate compatability, failed to prepare surfaces and failed to understand the limitations of the product. ... so they stopped bringing it in .... that may have changed.

Of you realy want it to stick, what you want is heat and solvent activated ( cant remember the number) ....... this product is not sticky off the roll ...... it is either heat activated with an RF wand or is swabbed with one of the specified solvents, this softens and activates the adhesive ...... use the right solvent for your substrate any it softens the plastic substrate and keys into it.
Get a good bond with this stuff and it ain't comming off any time soon.

One of the problems with PVC and Vinyl is it contains plasticisers to make it soft and flexible..... these plasticisers leach out thru the life of the material and cause most adhesives problems.

here is something that might work .....( bear in mind standard adhesive is not water or heat tolerant)
Clean the area you are trying to bond to well with white spirit ( that is white spirit not metho) then mask up with masking tape and apply a thin coat of regular solvent bassed contact cement ( sprayable/ brushable adhesive) .... let it dry , remove the masking and apply the hook/loop tape.

If you are buying non-genuine product the adhesives are often very poor.

you will not get any commercially available adhesive to bond to normal sew on hook /loop tape ....... the adhesive products are primed with a proprietary substance to make the adhesive stick.

hope this helps
cheers

I have noticed most comercial applications using velcro sew it on the pvc Then have a rope track on the metal that the mating velcro goes into the mating velcro has a rope sewn in I think this is probably one of the more garanteed ways of fixing it but will take some effort
Cheers Steve

I have used sika flex 227 to stick 50mm Velcro onto my trailer/awning to attach my batwing awning.

Just make sure you clean the area well with prep wash or similar to remove grease. Mask the area with tape that you want to stick the Velcro too. Squeeze out the sika and spread out evenly. Lay Velcro on top of Kia and gently press it down (so you don't squeeze out the sika and make a mess) leave for 24 to 48 hours to cure.

Just make sure you think it through and lay it in the right place - once it cures you will never move it.

Cheers

Anthony

Thanks everyone for all these options. The original idea the upholsterer was working to was removable screens to do away with them when travelling & to let the air go more freely through the cage to reduce wind resistance. However, now I'm thinking of more importance is to be able to sleep without insects, so I'll take the trailer back to him & suggest these options. Even if the screens have to be more permanent - which means he'll probably want to sail track them in. Cheers.