Replacing Snaps
with the Top-Snapper™ Canvas Care Kit
Your Top-Snapper™ Canvas Care Kit contains:
- Snap parts for 10 snaps, each consisting of a dome with a hollow post, a corresponding female snap fitting, The male snap fitting and a corresponding back plate with a hollow post
- A 2 sided die and a punch tool
- 1 tube of Top-Snapper™ Snap Lube
If you are replacing a broken snap:
1. Remove the old snap if it is still in place - it may just pull apart or you may need to remove it depending on how it failed. If you need to remove it, you should see that there is a hollow post that runs from the dome through the female part of the snap; the hollow post has been deformed to rivet the two pieces together. Take a drill with a drill bit slightly larger than the center of the hollow post, place the snap on a firm surface and fix it in place. We use vice grips to hold the dome. If you don’t secure the dome, it will spin under the bit and may damage the canvas. Use all safety precautions for using a drill. Place the point of the bit in the hole of the post, and carefully drill, this should cut away the lip that holds the snap together.
2. When the old snap is gone, you can place a new snap through the existing hole. Making sure that the dome is on the correct side, place the post through the existing hole then place the female snap fitting back in place over the tube on the back of the canvas.
3. Keeping the snap together, place the snap dome in the concave side of the die, then place the tip of the punch into the opening of the hollow post.
4. Strike the punch with a mallet or hammer. This will roll the edges of the post out and rivet the two pieces together. Make sure that it is deformed enough that the two pieces of the snap half are firmly fixed together sandwiching the canvas.
5. You've replaced your snap dome!
If you need to change a male portion of a snap in the canvas:
Follow the same directions except:
- Use a male half and a flat backing plate with post instead of the dome and female snap half.
- Flip the die over and place the flat snap back into the round recessed area rather than the concave bowl side.
Installing a new snap:
If you are installing a new snap, you will want to locate the exact spot on the canvas where you want your snap positioned. Punch or cut a small hole in the canvas to allow the post to go through. Otherwise you will follow the same basic procedures outlined above for replacing a snap.
