Can you remove the vinyl from a car hardtop?

[Rook3]

I was drooling over at eBay.AU again, and there's an XB Sedan with the vinyl covered hardtop.

Can you remove that stuff and repaint, or are there other concerns with doing that?

I recall seeing similar cars in the US with worn/cracked/torn vinyl, but people just seem to
let it go and never remove it completely.

Russ

[blowngetsmegoing]

any car with ripped and torn vinyl would indicate a hard life out in the sun and most probably rain. this would mean a 100percent chance that under all that stuffed vinyl is equally stuffed steel full o rust. it all depends on what you plan to do with it? there is nothing wrong with replacing the vinyl and going for the orginal look, but if not, the best thing to do is to ripp it off and fix whats underneath.

[batmax5]

There will always be some rust under a vinyl top. They trap moisture. Best case scenario is there will be spots of surface rust and also glue that needs to be sanded off. My car had a vinyl top on it for 30 years. I removed it and now have a hard top, but I got lucky and there was minumal rust underneath.

[aussie muscle]

Yes, vinyl covers rust very well

[TNC Replica]

The replica Big Bopper we built which Brownie now owns had a vinyl top before the build. Its a hard task getting the glue off, but its worth it. Usually there is a few rust spots around the corners of the windshield etc. Go for it its not that hard to remove, just elbow grease and some yard yakka.

Cheers

[MadMatt]

Well hey on my moms 69 mustang she redid the vinal top on it. What your supposed to do with vinal tops is keep special vinal conditioner on it so the moister cant seep past the vinal and rust the roof. It makes the water beed off like car wax does. Also when you remove the old vinal if the roof is only surface rusted you can POR-15 the roof since it wont be painted and yes the Glue sticks good to it too. Just the paint doesent like to stick to the POR-15 when dried.

[Rook3]

Assuming I could afford said car (I can't right now... ), I'd be stripping the vinyl and converting it to
an MFP Interceptor (the yellow version).

Interesting tips on refurbishing the vinyl though.

Russ

[batmax5]

Rook3 from Minnesota and MadMatt from Kansas City...

Two potential participants in Roadwar gathering, Spring 2009, in the MidWest?

[Rook3]

LOL. I'd bring down my '85 Honda Interceptor, but that's about all that I have that's
"Roadwar" worthy.

Russ

[MadMatt]

Lets have a get together in KC, then i wont have to feed the 460 under the hood so much! LOL At least gas has gone down around here its $3.09 here in my small town south of the KC area.