Targa Top refresh?

M. Lawson

M. Lawson

True Classic
I did a search, and didn't really come up with anything specifically about refreshing faded Targa Tops.

A lot have mentioned trim paint, or Back to Black. Is there anyone here who has done a full refresh on the top? Possibly sanding it down to eliminate the texture on top....and what the pros/cons of it was. And how they painted it?

My top is constantly faded, and I have done a simple green clean and trim paint job on it before, and it faded not long after.
Same with using Back to Black...so I am looking for something that will last a little longer.

Oh - has to be pretty cheap unfortunately, I have a very low budget.

Thanks guys!
 
Truck bed liner

I am pretty sure the spray on truck bed liner has been used. Try searching Xweb 1.0 to see if you can find a thread.
 
About a year ago I painted my Targa top and it tuned out very well.
DSC_0005_zps19afaae1.jpg
 
One of my X's has a sanded top. The PO must have done this. The problem with sanding is you to be aggressive and remove all teh dimpling or it will look pretty stupid.

Have you thought of trying Plasti DIp? It sets up easy and if you don't like it, you can peel it right off!

Ed
 
I just did mine

I sanded mine down smooth, painted a nice gloss yellow from a can. Prepping the part is worth its weight in gold. I'll post pictures when the clear has cured.
 
I had mine sanded and repainted with satin black trim paint at a shop. Although it looks great, it scratches very, very easily. Would not recommend if you put and take your top off a lot. Cheers,
 
Plasti dip won't wear very well i don't think. I did my whole car, it's 75% gone from "wear" in the elements.
My Duplicolor Trim paint rattle can targa job is showing where it rubs coming and going from the frunk so it's all relative I guess.
 
I took the texture off with 80 grit and an orbital sander then 220 and 320. I then did some repairs with epoxy fiberglass sanded to feather the edges then primed with gray lacquer primer filler and hand sanded with 400 and 600 paper then shot it with Nason acrylic 2. The same paint I used on the rest of the car. I don't take the top off very often and when I do it doesn't go in the frunk. I take another less pristine one for emergencies and put the yellow one in a special place that in theory is safe.
And added note. The material the top is made of is not like regular fiberglass that I am familiar with. It is a molded compound with what looks like one layer of lite cloth. It can be sanded down easy enough but for repairs polyester resin did not hold to my liking so I used epoxy which seems better.
 
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Saratoga targa top

Not quite the same topic, but I really like the idea of doing a Saratoga top like Ricardo did. I think I'd probably try to figure out a way to not use the screws, but dang... that's beautiful. Again, it's probably not too good on scratches tho - pretty hard to beat the durability of the stock setup.

just my 2 cents.

Matt, if your texture is in good shape, I'd probably recommend just repainting it as mentioned. Seems that getting the texture back correctly is harder than going to smooth.
 
Colltech said:
One of my X's has a sanded top. The PO must have done this. The problem with sanding is you to be aggressive and remove all teh dimpling or it will look pretty stupid.

Have you thought of trying Plasti DIp? It sets up easy and if you don't like it, you can peel it right off!

Ed
Click to expand...

I ended up using stipper to remove the texture and have covered it with Plasti Dip until I choose to do a more appropriate paint job.
I don't expect it to hold up too long. Mostly it cleans up the top for the show, and I can paint it permanent later.

I am leaning towards truck bed liner, as it seems durable and with a more subtle texture than the spackle look the original had....always bugged me.

I would ultimately want a smooth, shiny body color match top....but I would hate to have to worry about it scratching when I put it in the Frunk....so I will stick with texturized durable options.
 
My texture was okay...

darwoodious said:
Not quite the same topic, but I really like the idea of doing a Saratoga top like Ricardo did. I think I'd probably try to figure out a way to not use the screws, but dang... that's beautiful. Again, it's probably not too good on scratches tho - pretty hard to beat the durability of the stock setup.

just my 2 cents.

Matt, if your texture is in good shape, I'd probably recommend just repainting it as mentioned. Seems that getting the texture back correctly is harder than going to smooth.
Click to expand...

Ricarado's lexan tops look amazing! Wish I had that much talent for fabrication.

My texture was fine, but I have always disliked it. Too much like spackle on a house or something.
I have smoothed mine out and will likely use some truck bed liner as the new "paint". More subtle texture, but still durable, and hopefully will hold up to the sun better.
 
Getting a second top to play with - I'm thinking I should do a sunroof panel version - maybe like Henk's. Did a search and came up with a few related thread, but nothing that outlines how to work with Lexan, what thickness to use, etc...

His thread

Another on a Saratoga

RB's version

I like the way Henk's looks the best. Don't want a full lexan panel & have to worry about it.

Anyone got advice on working with Lexan?
 
Truck bed liner would look faded and gray after about a year. There is nothing wrong with the stock texture. JUst use a short bristle brush and some vinyl prep spray (Eastwood carries something that would work). Clean the existing top and spray with trim black. I did these a couple of decades ago and I just realized that it is the only thing I ever painted that I have not had the need to paint again. Must work well.
 
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