Painting a vinyl top

[buhler86]

Hey everyone, I have a couple small cracks starting on my vinyl (landau) top. The rest of the top is in decent shape. And the exterior is holding up pretty well. I am thinking of filling g in the crack and painting the vinyl.

Maybe someday, years down the road I might tackle the whole body, and might delete the top at that point. But I'm not there yet, but want to preserve the top to save the metal underneath the roof.

Any suggestions on products? I am considering SEM Color Coat (and the associated prep products from SEM). But I haven't found much online for results or other products, maybe duplicolor as well.

Anyone have experience doing this sort of thing? Open to any tips, tricks, product recommendations. Thanks!

 

[mikester]

Ive sprayed a few tops over the years when I worked at my friends used car dealership. Cant remember what we used to clean them back in the day but now SEM makes their own line of cleaners and preps which Ive used quite a few times on my own stuff. The prep is always the most important thing to do.
As far as the splits in the vinyl Im pretty sure we used 3M weatherstrip adhesive to seal them up.

 

[buhler86]

Ive sprayed a few tops over the years when I worked at my friends used car dealership. Cant remember what we used to clean them back in the day but now SEM makes their own line of cleaners and preps which Ive used quite a few times on my own stuff. The prep is always the most important thing to do.
As far as the splits in the vinyl Im pretty sure we used 3M weatherstrip adhesive to seal them up.

Thanks for the insight, I hadn't thought of using weatherstripping adhesive. Wasn't sure if it was paintable.

I see SEM also sells a clear coat in the same line of products. Do you think it is worth clear coating after the vinyl paint?

 

[pagrunt]

Per my '79 Fisher Body manual they do not recommend repairing tears or cuts longer than 1/2" or other types of damage to 1/4" in diameter. Section 8 in the manual has they recommended method of repairing. Bad thing is it don't list a recommened brand or material p/n's. Just list Vinyl Repair Patching Compound, Vinyl Cleaner Solvent Type, Vinyl Repair Paint. As or the color, the body plate on the cowl & the SPID tag on the trunk lid (if your year used them) will have the color code needed for the mix needed. I'd suggest get enough to do the whole cover to ensure a uniform match. Permatex did have a vinyl repair kit that had five basic colors of repair material to mix to gether to get a close match for the repair. I think I have one burried in the garage that also included a hot iron & sheets o recreate the grain.

 

[78Delta88]

The Arizona sun tears them up, and each one is different. The first one I did I used 3 spray cans of bed liner from Ace Hardware. The original top was a dark grey on a 91 Grand Marquis. All I had was black, so it was recolored black. It didn't have many large tears, mainly lots of tiny ones.

On the larger tears there was a kit at NAPA. Hopefully they still have It. It has a paste you put in the cracks and use a matching texture paper and you use and iron the harden the paste. From there you can decide how to finish. I found the easiest was to use the bed liner ... Spray on or roll on. I have also seen where Rhino coat was sprayed on.

Keeping with the original top and with restoration, then it needs to go to a shop that specializes in replacing the top. Here in Tucson I knew of just one man that was doing this professionally and would come to your home or shop. He did the top on a prior customer's 69 Chevelle. I don't have his contact info any more, when he did the Chevelle, that was like 7 years ago.

 

[78Delta88]

On the pics you show, that's nothing. Yours still look pliable. If it were me, I would just mask and spray the bed liner material. I'll try to find you a pic of the stuff I used.

In the mean time, if you have Joanna Fabrics, or Hobby Lobby around you... Go get a small piece of similar color and texture foam backed material. Practice on that piece and see how it comes out. That is much better than possibly ruining what you have on the car.

 

[SoFloG]

Amazon.com

Have had not so great results with this primer, might be good to build and fill in the cracks in your case. A flex agent in the paint is what I learned to use on vinyl. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K27IIU/?tag=gbody-20

 

[78Delta88]

I haven't personally used the primer as shown above. From what I read, it is more in line with the urethane paint for the bumper covers, Trans Am Spoilers, Etc...

 

[78Delta88]

Pics of products I have used in the past with good results...

Ace Hardware bed liner...




NAPA leather/vinyl repair...

 

[mikester]

Thanks for the insight, I hadn't thought of using weatherstripping adhesive. Wasn't sure if it was paintable.

I see SEM also sells a clear coat in the same line of products. Do you think it is worth clear coating after the vinyl paint?

I dont think you would need to use clear coat. SEM Color Coat has UV protection.
One thing I do remember from back in the day. My buddy used to go to the Spartanburg SC auto auction every couple of months. He use to bring back 73-77 Montes. It was a great idea. He would stock cases of pads and shoes, filters, tune up stuff. They all had the same parts. He would bid on the real clean ones and usually have 5 or 6 shipped up at a time. They would sell pretty quick. Now and then he would get one that was a little rough. We would detail the crap out of these cars. As he used to say, turning wh*res into ladies. He even brought up a couple of the ugly year El Caminos.
One car had a dark red landau top. We used some kind of cleaner to get the years of mung off it. When I went to blow it dry I hit it with the air nozzle and the whole top had soap bubbles coming through it like foam. That landau was so dry it took the whole quart to make it look right. I dont remember what the product was back then. I dont even know if SEM was around back in the early 80s. To be honest I really miss doing that on the side. LOL