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Painting A TJ Hardtop

8K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  Mousejockey 
#1 ·
So, for a long time I've been wanting to get a hardtop. I found one on Craigslist today, that wasn't too far away, so I picked it up.

I wanted a black one, however whenever I've found one, it's in need of work. The one I got today is a greyish olive color. It's in real nice shape. All original tinted glass, rear hatch stays up and the hinges are in excellent shape. The current color doesn't really work with a silver Jeep with black bumpers and fenders.

So, I want to paint it.

I did some searching on previous posts and there seems to be all sorts of recommendations... From paint to process.

It sounds like Krylon Fusion is the way to go. Scuff the paint, clean with alcohol, mask and shoot away.

Here are my questions. I assume, unless I want to cover the entire Jeep, I should remove the top. What about the rubber seals around the two side windows. Should I just mask them very carefully or should I try to remove them? Will it matter? How many cans should I buy. I'm guessing, since it's not a huge surface, one can? Also, how many coats do you recommend?

Anything else I'm missing?
 
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#2 ·
Way easier if you remove the top and it it on stands so the top is just below chest height so it's tall enough to work on but short enough to easily reach over to get to the center.

I'm going to redo mine this summer but I'm not using rattle cans, though I hear fusion is good. I'm actually going to use a very light coat of etching primer followed by actual automotive paint made for flexible surfaces. That may not work for everyone though if you don't have an actual paint gun and proper setup for painting cars. If your not setup for that then the Fusion is supposed to be really good to, but also use a light coat of their Fusion primer that goes with it, and I have found that if you will use their "satin clear" (not gloss), a light coat misted over the top of your final coat will give it a more factory look and also seems to help it look better longer as it acts as kind of a sealer. But like I said be sure to use satin, not gloss, and you only want a very very light (just enough for even coverage) misting of it over the final color coat and applied while the color coat is still tacky (not wet, but tacky, like 10 mins after the final color coat) so they bond together.

~
 
#4 ·
Krylon Fusion is good stuff. Had it on my flares now for about a year and no regrets.

Take everything off the top that you possibly can for the best results.
 
#9 ·
I am going to redo the fading black hard top on mine. I bought monstaliner last fall but didn't get around to doing it before it got colder here. Just scuff it up like I did for the inside of my tub and roll it or spray it. Rolling it makes it easy to do and still look great, spray will give a more even look.


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#12 ·
For best results, especially since it's fiberglass, take it to a quality body shop, explain what you're wanting to do to it, and let them handle it. It should come back looking factory (assuming that's what you're going for). You could even explore other options like color matching it to the Jeep, like some seem to like. Not sure what that would look like on your rig without seeing it, but you know what I mean. You may be surprised to find it's more affordable to have it done professionally than you might think.

Just my advice would be no matter what you do, don't go wheeling in the hard top. Your Jeep's frame and body bends and twists under articulation. You never really notice it, but fiberglass doesn't tolerate bending and twisting very well. I've seen too many cracks in tops from wheeling...
 
#15 ·
Like Deacon I have seen them crack around the holes after hard 'wheeling but (at least when I have seen it) usually it's because someone over-tightened the fasteners in the first place. Some people seem to think they're supposed to tighten their top to their tub so tightly you'd think they was bolting two places of 1/2" steel together on a battleship instead of a piece of Fiberglass/SMC being attached to a thin piece of folded sheet-metal.

~
 
#16 ·
Thanks for all the replies.

I went ahead and painted it myself this morning / afternoon. It was fairly easy. Definitely take time to prep.

I'd like to post some pics, however every time I try, the app crashes.

First I removed the glass and rear seal. Then I masked off the rubber seals around the side windows.

I spent about an hour sanding every inch of the top. Once that was done, I cleaned the top with paper towels and rubbing alcohol. This took about 30min. I must have used half a roll of paper towels. I really wanted it clean.

Then came time to mask everything. I can't stress enough how important this step is. I masked all around the top, so any residue paint spray wouldn't end up on the inside. After I finished masking, I cleaned the top again with alcohol.

Then it was time to spray. I ended up using 4 cans of Krylon Fusion satin black. I'm really happy with the results. There seem to be some slight blotchy spots but I think after a good cleaning, after a week, it should look nearly perfect.

Thanks again to everyone for all the advice. Much appreciated!
 
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