need to redo vinyl

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glizvaliant

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my cars got some bubbles under the vinyl so im expecting a little rust under there. and it looks like ****. how do i redo it. what about the crome trim pieces, how do they come off.
 
I have owned a restoration shop for many years and I have dealt with this problem alot. You will need a trim tool to remove the windshield mouldings. I use a bottle opener to remove the driprail mouldings. The 1/4 panel mouldings will either need to be pushed up and the bottom snapped out or "rocked " back and fourth until the release. Because they will not be able to be reused, I have sometimes broken them off. Then the vinyl can be removed. I then DA the entire roof with 80 grit to remove the glue and loose scale from the roof. I spot blast the rusted areas or weld in patches if the damaged area warrants it. Finish the metal in the traditional way (lead, bondo, polyester putty or what ever you are comfortable with. I would then apply two coats of self etching primer followed by two or three coats of a high build epoxy primer. I paint the roof body color to keep the original look, but you could skip this step if it doesn't matter to you. Then I replace the vinyl itself. Sounds like alot of work, but it really isn't to difficult. I have used this procedure on many cars with no problems. I restored a 1969 hemi superbee about 15 years ago and the roof still looks perfect with no bubbling what so ever. Good luck....hope this helps.
 
340john are you saying that the trim along the rear quarters is not able to be "reused" once it is pulled off? i am thinking about replaceing my top on my demon. the top itself is very good to mint with no bubbles but it has been dyed black. it is the original top on it and you can see the white on it in places. i wonder if it would be better to have it stripped back to white , redyed white again, or replace it all together? i really don't want to open up a can of worms if i can help it, but i really want the top back to it's original color.....what do you think?
 
No, the clips are usually not able to be used again, the mouldings can be. Most of the time when I remove the mouldings, the clips break. I would think that redying your top back to white would not be the best answer, unless all the black is removed first. Maybe you could go to an upholstery shop and see if they have some way to remove the black paint from the white vinyl. Then if you don't like the results you could have it redyed white.
 
now i am thinking about keeping the vinyl off for good. should i still use the 2 coats of primer and the 3 of the other kind too before it gets painted?
 
340john: On the use of the etch primer then epoxy primer on top of that, I had always heard that you shouldn't use epoxy over etch primer because there's a chance of a chemical reaction. I used to do a lot of resto work, but that was in the days when we were still using lacquer primer as a base for everything, so it's been a while. :) With the new products, I usually clean up as you detailed, then use Dupont metal etch and then their conversion coating (5717 and 5718 I believe) then spray a couple coats of epoxy primer and then either carry on with high build primer or paint from there. Could you enlighten me on this please? Thanks.
 
The etching primer seals the metal and the epoxy primer is a high build. I use Dupont products exclusively and have never had a problem. You are right that alot has changed since the old laquer days.
 
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