Painting see-through top?

[Vettelt193]

JT,

I am very confused as to why you wouldn't want to trade your top out with a different one. You could get a painted top (probably with a few extra bucks to help pay for the piant job), and have a top with a headliner. The headliner makes the car quieter, and the painted top doesn't make any funky noises like the clear top does (my clear top gives me some strange popping noises and twangy sounding noises when the car goes over certain bumps). The painted top is also stiffer.

Because of the flex that the clear top has, even if you get the paint to stick it probably won't stick for long. Try to push a bit on the center of it, you will see it flex when you push it.... the stock painted top does not do that.

 

[Vette_Newb2]

Yes you can paint it, and Yes thats the worst way to go about it. And yes, something about painting a clear top brings to mind rattling paint cans and a front yard with 3 other cars on blocks.

 

[larry bud]

JT,

I am very confused as to why you wouldn't want to trade your top out with a different one. You could get a painted top (probably with a few extra bucks to help pay for the piant job), and have a top with a headliner. The headliner makes the car quieter, and the painted top doesn't make any funky noises like the clear top does (my clear top gives me some strange popping noises and twangy sounding noises when the car goes over certain bumps). The painted top is also stiffer.

Because of the flex that the clear top has, even if you get the paint to stick it probably won't stick for long. Try to push a bit on the center of it, you will see it flex when you push it.... the stock painted top does not do that.

a flex agent can easily be added to commercial paint. Look at your eurethan bumper. That thing flexes all over the place.

I don't think sticking would be a problem either. He'll have to sand the top, prime it, then paint, then clear. The real question is what kind of paint is compatible with the acrylic top, but I doubt there would be any chemical reaction.

But as others have pointed out, I think you'd be better off selling it, then buying a solid top. Probably make enough money off the clear to cover the paint job.

 

[larry bud]

JT,

Well i am going to give you the answer you are looking for, but you are going to have to do soem reserch. First some chemicals you DONT MIX, my personal opinion is that the paint will not stick. Glass can be made up in sevral diff. composits, paint is made up in sevral diff. composits. So you see there are sevral diff mixtures you could get and REALLY screw up the corvette that you obviously dont care about.

The top is not glass, it's acrylic.

 

[Rain]

After the first few posts, I honestly quit reading this thread.
Seems everyone has a very valid and solid opinion.
Is there a fear of people putting their own 2 cents in?
Hey man, its your car. Do what you want! Enjoy it, go get a can of Krylon and go to town.

(You probably do not want to know what I'd do.) I would simply buy a used top off of ebay and have THAT painted to match my car. I have both tops for my Vette and enjoy the solid top 100 times more than the acrylic one.

Advice is free here on the CAC.. but ya gotta take the personalities and opinions that come with it!
hahaha

seriously, good luck whichever route ya go

Rain

 

[JTaft]

"Advice is free here on the CAC.. but ya gotta take the personalities and opinions that come with it!
hahaha"

Fair enough.

I didn't ask for advice.
I didn't ask for opinion.

I asked if it could be done.

Let it go.

JT

 

[78SilvAnniv]

I didn't ask for advice.
I didn't ask for opinion.

I asked if it could be done.

You asked a bunch of Corvette enthusiasts who hang out together on the internet, and the answers you received are what a group of Corvette enthusiasts would answer, even if you asked a physical group of Corvette people.

If you truly wanted only a yes or no answer, it should have been asked of a reputable paint shop. It is their job to give yes or no answers, not opinions.

I think your question has been answered, since another member stated they had seen a painted clear-top and thought it looked sharp, so yes, it can be done.
All that is left is to discuss it with your paint shop.


I am closing this thread.
If you would like it reopened for any reason, please Private Message me or another Mod/Admin.
Overall, I don't want this thread to continue because I don't see it serving any useful purpose while it is headed in its' current 'advice-giving' direction.
Heidi

 

[Rob]

"Painting will destroy any value this has, and IMHO, a real sacrilige to the car."

The value of my top is not an important issue to me. The fact that I dislike it is.

I already have a diety to whom I show respect. The Corvette is just my car.

"I wouldn't expect many Corvette people to jump up and down and yell "Yeah, paint it!" as encouragement."

What I expected was an answer to my question based on tech or experience.

I already know about horsetrading, paint shops, junkyards, and Ford dealers.

JT

Ok....I'm sorry, but JT, your smug attitude is not appreciated here. You asked a question, and just because you didn't get the answers you expected, or felt that the quality of the responses were not up to par with your expectations, doesn't give you the right to start acting like a jerk...so here's my answer to you....

It's your car, paint the top if you want. Don't paint it if you don't want to. If you want to paint the top pink with black dots, go for it. It's your car, and since it's your car, you can paint it, play with it, or drive it off a cliff...do anything you damn well choose to do with it.:eyerole

 

[Rob]

Reefdiver-

Thank you. I was beginning to think I had lost the ability to communicate.

JT

If you continue with that attitude, you will.

 

[The Car Whisperer]

Thanks for the intervention Rob! This thread was getting a little to tense for the atmosphere that I and so many others enjoy in this forum.

 

[brock71]

My semi transparent blue top has a bunch of "crows feet" cracks in it. I was considering painting it. Wondering if the cracks would reappear.

John
'88 35th

 

[78SilvAnniv]

..."crows feet" cracks...
Wondering if the cracks would reappear.

Do the cracks appear to go through the entire layer of the top, or are they just in a top layer of color?
I'd think if the cracks go all the way through they would eventually reappear under the paint after a short amount of road vibration.
If they don't go all the way through, maybe they could be sanded down to solid material and then be painted?
Whatever is underneath the paint will influence how the finish of the paint will look. Maybe a paint shop would be your best bet for a proper opinion.
Good luck!
Heidi

 

[NevadaJim]

Yes you can paint it, or have it painted. If done right, it looks fine. From the outside, it will look just like a normal, solid top. If the right primer is used (black) it will look fine from the inside. The top I've seen has been painted for over 4 years and still looks great -- no chipping or peeling. Hope this helps.

 

[The Car Whisperer]

One thing to consider is that the factory tops and some aftermarket tops have a scratch resistant hard-coat applied to the surface. This is just a very thin layer but virtually no solvent base paint will bond to this properly without the correct preparation. You usually have to remove this coating completely to get paint to stick to the Acrylic below. You can sand this off carefully. First you can remove the black metel trim that goes around the front and sides of the top. Ths leaves an unobstructed surface to prepare. Sand carefully using a DA sander and fine grit paper. Start with maybe someting around 180 grit to break through the hardcoat and then work up to maybe 400 grit. Be careful not to overheat the plastic in any one area as you sand as this can cause a distortion in the surface and can also cause the plastic toi craze. Crazing produces small hairline cracks that go deep into the plastic and cannot be repaired. Next, call your local auto body paint supplier and ask them what they recomend for painting Acrylic. You usually need a plastic primer or tie coat first, then a primer, a colr basecoat and a clearcoat. After the primer is hard sand it out with a block to remove and smooth out the surface. A sealer is usually recomended to be applied over the sanded primer, I usually just apply a thin coat of the same primer and do not sand it. After the primer is allowed to dry properly then apply your color coats and clearcoat to finish it off. You need a clean dust free area for the color coat and especially for the clearcoat. Clear coat takes a bit of time to dry so dust in the air can be a real problem. After the clearcoat drys you can wet sand it and polish it up like a mirror. Follow all instructions for the paint system you choose and most importantly allow all the correct drying times before applying the next coat. This is a process that is not generally done by an ameteur, but if you have some painting skills you can do a decent job. Just follow all instructions and safety procedures to the letter. Use the correct filter mask and use proper ventilation, catalyzed paints are especially dangerous to your health since you breath in the vapors and then thay catalyze inside you, definitely not a good thing for you!
Good luck with your project!

 

[MoeJr]

My clear top was in very bad shape. With a new one costing 1200 bucks that I don't have I painted mine. Now I did this only temporary. I just did the rattle cans for now as I am going to save up for a solid top. I just sanded lightly,primed,painted and cleared. It looks good from 20 feet an seeings I don't show the car it makes the car look better till I can get another top.

 

[The Car Whisperer]

My clear top was in very bad shape. With a new one costing 1200 bucks that I don't have I painted mine. Now I did this only temporary. I just did the rattle cans for now as I am going to save up for a solid top. I just sanded lightly,primed,painted and cleared. It looks good from 20 feet an seeings I don't show the car it makes the car look better till I can get another top.

That will work, but it won't look as good as the OEM finish on the rest of the car. It all depends on your needs. Rattle cans have various qualities. What brand did you use? If it looks good after being left out in the weather and direct sunlight for more than a few years then you definitely found an inexpensive way to do it.

 

[MoeJr]

I used dupli color touch up spary paintand clear. I used a white sandable primer. Like I said this is only temporary. I am hoping to save money to get another top. I have the car also advertised for sale so if it sells it goes as is. I got the bug for another C3.