Joe is correct. I hate vinyl tops myself as here
with all the humidity (hey it is 23% today, sort of a record!) the humidity is
over 60% year round. And we are about to bust a Texas rainfall record going back
to 1876 too, so been like Seattle this year, lots of rain. But vinyl tops are
nothing more than sponges. It does not matter whether your car is garaged or
not, sometimes you have to wash it. And the moisture stays there even after you
think the car is dry.
The biggest areas of rust are arond the lower
pillar posts either side of the windshield, the sill panel, which is the area
between the trunk and back glass, and also on the roof rail behind the drip rail
molding. If it gets there you will have to replace the top. If you remove the
vinyl top, sand all the glue off throughly. Some have faux vinyl tops and paint
it black to offset the color, sort of like 71-72 Javelins with split t-top, that
looks nice. Have seen a number of Concords painted like this as Concords are
really prone (due to crappy quality control from 76-78/9) with vinyl tops to
rust below the 1/4 window where the stainless trim holds the vinyl. If you ever
remove one, there was no undercoating behind the sheetmetal there (mostly due to
a strike) and once it starts, kiss it goodbye.
I have also seen several people use POR-15 on their
tops after fiberglassing over the holes. It dries hard as a black rock and looks
nice if done correctly.
Eddie Stakes'
Planet Houston AMX 713.464.8825 eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.planethoustonamx.com volume of email is currently heavy 9-20 day replies, call if important
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