My vinyl top is on its way out. It has a bunch of small cracks and now rust stains are starting to become visible since its a white top. I would like to paint it in effort to seal it up and make it look acceptable for a few more years before the car gets completely redone. I used to have a 78 Mercury and in the mid 90s I used a product and it was a vinyl top dressing of sorts that was pretty much like white paint. It took care of all the cracking and I did it every couple of years. It brushed it on but I cant seem to remember what it was. Anyone ever painted theirs? Anyone have any recommendations on what to use?
Yeah I would just like to seal it up for now to prevent moisture from getting in there. I plan to strip off the vinyl and just refinish the roof and paint it gloss white and put the trim back on. Not in the budget for a few years tho.
The roof is allready rusting...Hence the rust stains. You would have to dry it all out completely before sealing/painting the vinyl top...Best bet, remove the top now and hope you dont allready have rust through on the roof skin. Prep it, treat it, and roll some paint on it till you are ready to do it right.
While I certainly agree that it's best to stop rust early on whenever possible.. some folks should keep in mind that not everyone has time to open that can of worms. In the past.. I've just used plastic filler(preferably NOT the lightweight stuff) to finger fill the larger cracks that paint won't bridge. All you need do is finger fill the putty into the larger cracks and wipe it with solvent(lacquer thinner or acetone works well).. before it gets too firm and makes cleanup of surrounding areas more difficult. Then just roll on some cheap 2 part epoxy or acrylic paint(cheaper, maintains flexibility longer, and dries quicker too).. to buy you plenty of time till you're ready to strip it down and do it up right.
This is me. I know its a can of worms. We don't have to worry about much rust here in Arizona, hell it barely rains here. I Just want to seal these cracks up to keep further water from getting in until I got time and $ to do it right. Honestly I think I'm just going to grab a pint of white latex exterior paint and brush it on.
Well, I'll be.. for once my assumption was right on target. You wanna know what us painters call cheap latex paint on these low budget jobs? Liquid Caulk. Here's suggestion based on much experience using that stuff. Wipe the entire top with acetone or lacquer thinner to promote adhesion and remove contaminants. That will also soften and roughen the Vinyl (is like chemical sanding or etching) and won't hurt adhesion one little bit if done shortly before top coating it either. Then pre-fill the larger cracks, wipe off the excess on surrounding surfaces, and allow it to dry for a few hours before applying a couple of coats to the entire top. And considering your UV indexes down there.. I would also highly recommend paying the extra few bucks for an acrylic fortified product too. Will help with heat resistance, keep it more flexible, and also improve gloss retention. Good luck with it all.
