painting a hard top

[rr41mag]

With the texture of the hardtop have any of yall painted a hard top with bed liner paint? I have some chassis 2k that I'm gonna use. I'll post pics. Probably this weekend.

 

[jeepboy45]

With the texture of the hardtop have any of yall painted a hard top with bed liner paint? I have some chassis 2k that I'm gonna use. I'll post pics. Probably this weekend.

I made the mistake of sanding off all my texture and having it painted the same color as the body. It really showed all the waves that were either in the factory glass or waves that I created while sanding. I wish I had painted it with a gloss OVER the factory texture. I'd love to see the finished pics.... so be sure to PUT THEM UP as you proceed with this project.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

I made the mistake of sanding off all my texture and having it painted the same color as the body. It really showed all the waves that were either in the factory glass or waves that I created while sanding. I wish I had painted it with a gloss OVER the factory texture. I'd love to see the finished pics.... so be sure to PUT THEM UP as you proceed with this project.

That’s why the walls in your house have texture, it hides the defects. Bed liner sounds like a misstate to me but that is only my opinion. Kylon “Fusion” works good to freshen up a top. Just apply in light coats.

 

[jeepboy45]

That’s why the walls in your house have texture, it hides the defects. Bed liner sounds like a misstate to me but that is only my opinion. Kylon “Fusion” works good to freshen up a top. Just apply in light coats.

Yes, but I figured I could get it as smooth as the body... I've seen it done, but it must take more prep and skilled body work than I put into it. Should have shot it with black between every "finish" sanding to see the high spots...

I'd love to put a texture back on it, but dont know what direction to go.

 

[yellow85cj]

I had thought about some of this to get the texture back. Hammerite

Hammerite Rust Cap

They all look to be gloss, but there are a lot of clear satin and flat paints out now to use as a top coat to tone the gloss down.

 

[CJim7]

Rhino Liner or an equivalent bedliner will restore the texture...
When I painted my hardtop, I simply cleaned it up good and wiped it down with denatured alcohol. Then rolled on a can of Rustoleum. It's held great for several years now.

 

[jeepboy45]

With the texture of the hardtop have any of yall painted a hard top with bed liner paint? I have some chassis 2k that I'm gonna use. I'll post pics. Probably this weekend.

dont forget the pics!!!
----sorry your thread sort of got hijacked----
it wasnt my intention

brian

 

[Niedhogg]

I have been wondering about how you go about re-painting one as well, what is the propper way to remove the paint, without destroying the texture. Someone had painted the current color over the original tan on mine... paint remover or soda blasting? I have a very small sand blaster that I could run the soda through, might be the quickest way.. any suggestions?

By the way, the top I replaced was completely smooth already.. not sure how or why, but it looked original, did they all have texture?

 

[CJim7]

I have been wondering about how you go about re-painting one as well, what is the propper way to remove the paint, without destroying the texture. Someone had painted the current color over the original tan on mine... paint remover or soda blasting? I have a very small sand blaster that I could run the soda through, might be the quickest way.. any suggestions?

See my post above

By the way, the top I replaced was completely smooth already.. not sure how or why, but it looked original, did they all have texture?
Im not sure if CJ tops ever came smooth from the factory, but I know a lot if not all YJ tops did.

 

[Niedhogg]

Thanks CJim7, I missed that earlier, and I had been wondering if I had done the right thing replacing that top, that's a bit of reasurrance, and I got a great top from GoldenEagle on this site!

 

[cboyd1]

Not all bed liner paint is UV resistant. Some will crack after being exposed to sun over time.

 

[jeepboy45]

Not all bed liner paint is UV resistant. Some will crack after being exposed to sun over time.

If its topped with a good auto paint, would it matter if its UV resistant?
Or is it paintable? Just curious as I was considering going this route

 

[YJason]

I just repaired a hole in my original top and painted as well. Because of the sanding required I knew I would lose the texture, so the whole thing got sanded smooth for the repaint. I painted with a black epoxy and used a matte clear coat like the are using those matte finish bikes. Turned out pretty good, IMO.

 

[YJason]

Fyi, I used the epoxy black for better adhesion. I also had them to put an additative in both that should aid in flexibility ...to keep thing from popping loose.

 

[rescue5051]

use a stone guard spray first, you can get it from NAPA or 3M makes a same type product, after just paint it like normal

 

[Shadow]

I put a steel Meyers Supercab on my 79 CJ5 . Look tuff and nice and warm in the snow

I have another one for sale if anyone is interested.
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[Renegade]

I wanted to strip and repaint my hardtop. I checked all these threads, I even stopped by my local Jeep dealer for information on how to go about it. I was afraid to strip it after reading this post but I decided to try, I had big bare spots and big air pockets and bubbles. I had to do something. The PO's had painted over it twice Black, Yellow, Black. I wanted to post pictures of how it came out, I am so happy with it it looks like a brand new top. I did spend about 8-10 hours sanding it with a palm hand sander, I went through about 4 packs of sand paper, the top layer of paint was rubberized, so it was quite a pain. After I rough sanded it, I lightly wet it down and this showed where a bunch of the swirls and showed the high and low spots. I also used my shop light it helped to identify the imperfections. I also fixed a couple of small cracks and chunks that were missing due to the top being 30 years old. I taped it off and then used a can of primer from Walmart. I then used 5 cans of the Rust-oleum Truck Bed Coating, they were $7.50 each at Walmart. I would estimate it cost me about $75-$80 to redo my top. Top is now hanging in the garage ready for next fall. Next week I start the frame off restoration!

 

[Renegade]

Here are some more pics!

I took the pics when the top was still wet. When it dried it dried evenly, so it looks better than these pictures show. I hope this helps you all out!