vinyl top removal

dallas6778 · 01-24-2007, 08:12 PM

looking at a 69 cutlass, needs paint and vinyl top repair, but i was thinking about removing the vinyl altogether and painting the whole thing solid. any tips on how to go about this, or what to expect? thanks

Oldsguy · 01-25-2007, 05:20 AM

Welcome to our site. You might find quite a bit of rust underneath, perhaps some pretty bad stuff, but more the reason to reveal it now are correct it. If you remove the vinyl top and reveal underlying rust then it would be like any other body repair. If you re-paint it you would have to grind down the studs that the stainless trim mounts to and fill any holes left by damage or corrosion. You might also just remove the back and front glass and repair any corrosion in the channels surrounding the glass while you are at it. Often the lower corners on the back glass channels corrode all the way through and leak.

Eightupman · 01-27-2007, 07:34 PM

Rust around a vinyl top is no joke. I plan to do the same on my 72 Supreme. When the glass man came to replace my windshield, he told me (over the phone as I was at work) that the channel was so badly rotted that he could not warranty it against leaks. The top was replaced once and the pillars were put on AFTER the top giving water a channel into the metal. And yes, in a good rainstorm, it rains inside too. Good thing the floor is rotted a bit to let the air circulate and dry the carpet

The rear window where it meets the trunk is about gone right at the corners. They dont make replacement panels for that area. It is a custom job that I have to find a good lead man (as in the chemical element Pb) to fill it, OR learn the art myself.

I'll just say that I am SCARED as hell to remove that top until I got 3 times as much cash as the body man tells me it will cost. And I am thinking it will cost....

Just my .02

classic_car_guy · 01-28-2007, 05:08 PM

Well I am not sure what you will run into but I just walked in from removing the top from my 69. It started out pretty well, I removed all the trim from around the windows and doors. I removed the trim from around the bottom where the top meets the rear quarters. I then used a putty knife to start the actual removal of the top. It only took about 30 minutes once I got started but it has unvield many hours of work to come. The worst areas, on mine at least, were where the rear quarters and top meet. I have large pitted areas and in some areas it has pencil size holes. I do not believe that I want to take on this kind of repair...now I must look for a good body man, but better to fix it now then wait on it to eat completly through. My 2 cents

Oldsguy · 01-29-2007, 05:40 AM

That is EXACTLY what I have experienced and seen in the past.

01-24-2007, 08:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
dallas6778 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 19	vinyl top removal looking at a 69 cutlass, needs paint and vinyl top repair, but i was thinking about removing the vinyl altogether and painting the whole thing solid. any tips on how to go about this, or what to expect? thanks

01-25-2007, 05:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
Oldsguy Administrator Join Date: May 2004 Location: Lees Summit MO Posts: 2,553	Welcome to our site. You might find quite a bit of rust underneath, perhaps some pretty bad stuff, but more the reason to reveal it now are correct it. If you remove the vinyl top and reveal underlying rust then it would be like any other body repair. If you re-paint it you would have to grind down the studs that the stainless trim mounts to and fill any holes left by damage or corrosion. You might also just remove the back and front glass and repair any corrosion in the channels surrounding the glass while you are at it. Often the lower corners on the back glass channels corrode all the way through and leak. __________________ Dan '46 2 door

01-29-2007, 05:40 AM	#5 (permalink)
Oldsguy Administrator Join Date: May 2004 Location: Lees Summit MO Posts: 2,553	That is EXACTLY what I have experienced and seen in the past. __________________ Dan '46 2 door

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01-27-2007, 07:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
Eightupman Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Fayetteville, NC Posts: 251	Rust around a vinyl top is no joke. I plan to do the same on my 72 Supreme. When the glass man came to replace my windshield, he told me (over the phone as I was at work) that the channel was so badly rotted that he could not warranty it against leaks. The top was replaced once and the pillars were put on AFTER the top giving water a channel into the metal. And yes, in a good rainstorm, it rains inside too. Good thing the floor is rotted a bit to let the air circulate and dry the carpet The rear window where it meets the trunk is about gone right at the corners. They dont make replacement panels for that area. It is a custom job that I have to find a good lead man (as in the chemical element Pb) to fill it, OR learn the art myself. I'll just say that I am SCARED as hell to remove that top until I got 3 times as much cash as the body man tells me it will cost. And I am thinking it will cost.... Just my .02

01-28-2007, 05:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
classic_car_guy Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4	Well I am not sure what you will run into but I just walked in from removing the top from my 69. It started out pretty well, I removed all the trim from around the windows and doors. I removed the trim from around the bottom where the top meets the rear quarters. I then used a putty knife to start the actual removal of the top. It only took about 30 minutes once I got started but it has unvield many hours of work to come. The worst areas, on mine at least, were where the rear quarters and top meet. I have large pitted areas and in some areas it has pencil size holes. I do not believe that I want to take on this kind of repair...now I must look for a good body man, but better to fix it now then wait on it to eat completly through. My 2 cents