What is tinted targa top made out of?

[Bluemill]

I have been trying to refinish my 2000 tinted top and the process is unbelievably slow. If I knew what the top was made out of maybe I can figure a way to finish it easier. I spent 15-20 hours of my vacation on it and only got about 20% done on the first pass, i.e. 80% is still very hard, black and shiny. After a dozen passes, the wet or dry paper seems to do nothing. There has to be a secret to this, or my top was in too good a condition to do this job, meaning it wasn't cooked by the sun and ready to come off.....
Is it Lexan, Plexi-glass, or polycarbonate? Or, are there any other methods to do this job easier? I've tried all the way down to 600 paper.

Help, and thanks,
Bluemill
:cheers:

 

[jrose7004]

It's made of Lexan.

 

[njlouc]

The question I have is what can be applied to prevent UV damage.
I have seen some real serious damage to the tops to the point that you can no longer see through it.
The answer will apply when you finally restore your top.

 

[Vettelt193]

The question I have is what can be applied to prevent UV damage.
I have seen some real serious damage to the tops to the point that you can no longer see through it.
The answer will apply when you finally restore your top.

The best thing I found to keep the top 'like new' is Zymol. the real stuff, not the fake crap from wal mart. When I ran my clear top I applied it at least once per month. You can use "detail", which is a very small container or you can use one of the paint products, like "creame" or "carbon" or any of the better ones.

do not use Rain X on it. The combination of rain X plus UV seems to nuke them in short order.

 

[TheNextAZN]

What I did to repair my top was.. as follows:

Took 800grit sand paper.. wet sand to remove all the flakey clear coat protectant, that's not doing a good job in protecting anymore.. lol.

Sand it down untill it is nice and smooth and you can't see or feel any left over residue from old clear coat protectant.

Clean it off and let it dry.. Then hit it with a coat or 2 of new clear coat. I used a paint gun, and heat lamp to apply this on. Some friends of mine swear that a heat lamp, and the Rattle can clear coats work as well.

once the clear coat is applied and dried (i waited 2-days) I went back and took 2000grit sand paper to the clear coat(wet-sanded)

After wet sanding it evenly, i buffed it out with Meguiars Medium cut Cleaner, applied and buffed with a orbital buffer.

you can probably stop after this step. but i opted to continue with Meguairs Deep Crystal polish and Gold Class Wax.

 

[Pete W]

What I did to repair my top was.. as follows:

Took 800grit sand paper.. wet sand to remove all the flakey clear coat protectant, that's not doing a good job in protecting anymore.. lol.

Sand it down untill it is nice and smooth and you can't see or feel any left over residue from old clear coat protectant.

Clean it off and let it dry.. Then hit it with a coat or 2 of new clear coat. I used a paint gun, and heat lamp to apply this on. Some friends of mine swear that a heat lamp, and the Rattle can clear coats work as well.

once the clear coat is applied and dried (i waited 2-days) I went back and took 2000grit sand paper to the clear coat(wet-sanded)

After wet sanding it evenly, i buffed it out with Meguiars Medium cut Cleaner, applied and buffed with a orbital buffer.

you can probably stop after this step. but i opted to continue with Meguairs Deep Crystal polish and Gold Class Wax.

You wouldn't happen to have any before and after pics, would you. I would really like to see how it works for the time spent. My top looks like crap inside, but that sounds like a bit of work. Thanks.