I'll never buy a vinyl top car again!!!

Vinyl tops are the classic 70s look/thing. Anyone who remembers remembers alot of cars had them. They didnt last though if not taken care of and garage kept and there was an industry for replacing them. Anyway, my question is would you guys paint and clear coat the roof before installing or maybe just base, no clear ? could I seal my primer and go over that? i dont recall my roof being C7 purple when I removed the top I seem to recall it was grey but its been a few years.