Nory,
Fibreglass tops are usually made with a thin layer of a hard, shiny
material known as "gel coat" on top of a matrix of glass fibres and
resin. If made in a female mold, the gel coat is sprayed in first, then
the wet cloth, resin, cloth, resin layers are added and worked until the
cloth is saturated with resin and the desired thickness, at which time
the thing is set aside until the FG cures and hardens.
So, as to #1. If the scratches are less deep than the gel coat is
thick, you can sand them out. If you have crazing, something not at all
rare in gel coat, you're pretty much out of luck with the sanding
approach. But, it is usually easiest to fill the scratches with FG repair
material, which is usually an epoxy resin version of Bondo. The tricky
part here is that there is probably wax on the top now and in the cracks,
and that must be 100 percent removed in order to get sufficient adhesion.
I would not use a power sander on the gel coat as it is now, because it
is soft and the power sander is likely to cut right through it, down to
the cloth and resin matrix. Heat isn't the problem, it's the fast sanding
that may get you into trouble here.
2. If you have a marine store nearby, just get whatever is on the
shelf for FG boats, and of that, whatever is on sale. This was high-tech
in 1940, but not any more.
3. Ordinary primers and paints will do fine. Again, at the marine
store, you may find a selection of urethanes in spray cans, if you can
use a ready-mix white, black or whatever.
4. I can't speak from experience with a car hardtop, but again, there
are headliners in boats, and they fall down often. Check with the local
dealer for the headliner materials and spray adhesives that they use.
Here's something you might want to try-when the headliner fell down in my
S-10, a local fabric shoppe had some short-nap velour that was a dead
match for the original mouse-fuzz velour that was OEM. The NAPA store
had 3M adhesive. In 1/2 hour I had a re-covered headliner that's pretty
good, if I say so myself.
5. This could be the worst part of the game. Novus makes several grades
of plexiglass/perspex cleaners and polishes. There's a lot of plexiglass
on boats too.
I keep mentioning this boating connection--don't you live in the lakes
region of NY?
Bob
On Thu, 18 Mar 1999 12:07:13 -0800 (PST) Nory P <nory_midget@yahoo.com>
writes:
>
>Now that I've unpacked my new/used hardtop, I have a few questions:
>
>1. Sanding: I know nothing about working with fiberglas- Do I sand
>out the scratches, just like any other material? If I used a power
>sander on it, do I have to be concerned about generating
>heat/warping/melting/???
>
>2. Filling: It doesn't look like it needs any, but just in case I
>find one or two gouges that would need filling rather than sanding,
>what should I use?
>
>3. Painting: Is any special type of paint required, or will ordinary
>automotive paints and primers work just fine?
>
>4. Headliner: It has a headliner, but it's coming off, and it looks
>pretty old. Any suggestions what to replace it with?
>
>5. Window: The rear plexiglas window is scratched up pretty good.
>If it was flat, I'd take the measurements to the hardware store for a
>replacement, but it's curved, and the corners are rounded. I'm
>guessing the only way to get one is to take it out and have it
>duplicated somewhere. Any suggestions? Is that going to cost a small
>fortune?
>
>6. Manufacturer: It's made by Parrish Plastics in PA. Does anybody
>know if this place still exists? Anybody ever heard of them? Anybody
>else have one of their hardtops? (If so, I could use some instruction
>on how it attaches at the side. The front uses the same kind of
>clamps as the soft top, but the side hardware looks kinda strange)
>
>That's about it for now, I think....
>
>
>==
>
>***The above address is for list purposes only. Please send private
>e-mail, as before, to Nory@webtv.net
>-----NORY
>http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Way/9101
>Don't assume that because you have found one problem, you have found
>the ONLY problem.
>
>
>
>
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