MY vinyl top was torn up, so I peeled off the rest. Does anyone have an easy way to remove the glue that is left on the roof? Thanks
You mean that your roof didn't come off with the vinyl??? Mine did! At least I don't have to worry about scraping glue off. Just weld a new roof on the car and I will be set... Seriously, I would look at some tough adhesive remover or 'aircraft' remover if you don't mind your paint coming off too. If you want to save the paint, stick with adhesive remover and a plastic razor blade in a scraper. It takes a while that way though if that glue is anything like other body adhesives. Sorry I couldn't be more help. I am just jealous that someone's roof didn't rot out under their vinyl top. Dave Btw: What color was your roof? Do you plan to replace it? If it was black for example, and you didn't want to put the vinyl back (I wouldn't), you could use the aircraft paint remover and then just paint it back the color of the vinyl with all the trim in place. That will keep it looking like original, but without the risk of rotting your roof.
my buddy had some stuff called acitone laying around. accordind to him "it will take off anything". so we grabed some paint brushes and spread it around then wiped the glue right off, it was no match. wouldnt recomend using it if you like the paint underneath even though it didnt really seem to hurt it. under my vinyl top the metal was yellow while the rest of the car was black so we wernt too worried about hurting it any.
I tried everthing (except the WD-40 trick). Even tried to section off the roof and use different chemicals in different sections as an "experiment" to see what would work best...all I ended up with is a very impressive shelf full of different chemicals. The glue didn't budge. I ended up just sanding to the metal and primering over it.
Try a good grade of wax and grease remover or paint pre-cleaner. They will soften the glue and not evaporate as quickly as the adhesive removers. Soak the glue and wait for the chemicals to do the work. Usually you can remove the softened glue with a plastic scraper. They shouldn't harm the paint either. I've been doing upholstery and tops for 30 years and found this to be the easiest and safest method. If you are looking to replace it I just found some original grain vinyl in both blue and green. These have not been available for years but a local shop here contacted me about buying there entire inventory of obsolete vinyls and cloths. I noticed the vinyl top material right away. Fred
I agree with fmc, most of my adhesive removers evaporated before they softened the glue. I might get just the top little bit off, then more hard glue. I never found one that stayed liquid long enough to get all the way down.
To prevent the removers from evaporating quickly cover the area with a piece of heavy plastic sheeting. When it is ready, place the plastic on the floor and use it to place the removed goo. When done fold up the plastic and dispose.
there are rotary tools that can be used made by 3M.... it is a flapper wheel made of rubber... guys who do the vinyl graphics on cars use them and we used them in the military... i have used them on a chevy van when i voluntered at Cordova race way this spring... to remove the decals off their van it will NOT hurt the paint... it takes th vinyl decals off and the glue and then you can use an orange cleaner to remove the rest of the glue residue.. they work awesome on an electric drill, not so sure on a cordless drill, but it will take the glue off and wont hurt the paint just make sure you dont let the paint get too hot, it it can blister it... and the removal tool gets very hot.. i have a scar to prove that
Finally got most of the glue off. What grit of sandpaper do use before I attempt to paint? A local shop said $350 just to paint the top, so I might try myself.
