I will back up Elijah on the Armstorng product. I have used it on the vinyl roofs of a couple of cars I've had in the past, and the stuff works better than any vynil top product on the market. As for prepping the metal beneath during a restoration, when I had mine done (It was a Cadillac) I used zinc chromate primer on the bare metal after it was repaired and prepped.
Chris Middlebrook 1962 Custom Southampton
--- On Sat 04/29, Elijah Scott < imperial1971@xxxxxxxxx > wrote:
From: Elijah Scott [mailto: imperial1971@xxxxxxxxx] To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2006 14:29:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: IML: Vinyl Tops; was re: Question of the Day
Peter Thielman wrote:
So what treatments to the vinyl top should one use. My vinyl top is in excellent condition. After all it was parked in a barn for 30 years covered up. So what does the group use/recommend to preserve the top??
The first step to preserve the top is to keep the car garaged. :o)
For the past several years, I've been using Armstrong Vinyl Floor Polish (http://www.armstrong.com/resflram/na/tile/en/us/fc_detail.asp?productId=18.0). I always clean the top well (using a stiff nylon brush and a good cleaner) before applying the polish. The Armstrong product lasts a long time and gives a nice, deep luster without being sticky or running when the car gets rained on.
When I got my '70 Imperial, the vinyl top on it was very discolored. It looked like Armor All had been sprayed on it repeatedly over the years, leaving it looking a sort of gooey, milky white color, with a little blue peeping out from beneath. I used Castrol Super Clean (CAREFULLY! This
product WILL harm the paint on the car!) to get all of the old residue off, and then used the Armstrong Vinyl Floor Polish after the top was totally cleaned. This is the original vinyl top for the car, and it looks fantastic.
Good luck!
Elijah
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