Body shop or is DIY salvage possible for my hardtop?

[bicepsmctouchdown]

Bought a Quadratec knock off vertical storage cart for my brand new hard top, which as you can see is no longer new looking.

The combination of the awkward configuration, the really thin padding at the contact points and the fact that its was the first time I ever removed a hard top and put on a storage cart were to blame.

If this was your top, would you:

A. Attempt to fix with fiberglass and bondo or epoxy?
B. Or just say f it and take it to a body shop to have professionals do it.

Am leaning toward B. Would love some advice.

The areas damaged are on the rear on either side of the window.

Sponsored

 

[Marine2146]

Your probably more than capable to fix it but if the price is right I’d have a body shop do it. Have a shop quote it out first if it’s high you can always try to fix it yourself or if the repair cost are way high or your not happy with your diY fix you could always find another hard or soft top and sell yours.

 

[Andrew2311]

I'd repair it with fiberglass...... what's the worst that can happen? If you are not happy with your repair, you are still in the exact same place you are now, and you can take it to the shop then, but you might be very happy with your repair.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Repairing fiberglass is not that difficult. You need to remove enough paint to be sure that you are at the end of the crack, then grind some material out of the crack and to each side of the crack (about 2" in all directions should do it) so that you get a good bond. Be sure to use a good roller to get as much air out of the mat as you can so that it is a solid patch. Sand it down and paint it with black texture paint and you should be good to go.

 

[bicepsmctouchdown]

i don’t have a work area, horses to put the top on while I worked on it, a power sander, or any experience with fibreglass.

My local body shop that I have been using for years is repairing it for what I thought was a decent price.

am buying a top lift pro to avoid ever having this happen again.

Lesson learned. Don’t buy knock off stuff on Amazon to protect anything valuable ever again.

 

[bicepsmctouchdown]

Update for anyone poking around old threads.

Damage was confined to the back portion of the hard top, which meant that my guy could spray just that tiny back portion behind the side windows.

Total repair for the two spots that required fiberglass and paint was 360. Looks like new.

The real cost was in buying a top lift pro so that no one has to assist me in removing it ever again.

Sponsored