Vinyl top help

[Bob Warfield]

I want to add a vinyl top to a 53 Ford. I cut styrene to .010 X .020 for the seems. My question is, how would you go about gluing down such small strips? I'm sure it'll have to be CA glue as the top has been primed with Testers flat black. Any ideas?

Thanks...Bob  

[Plowboy]

You should have glued your strips on before primer. Just sand back down to bare styrene where your strips will be and glue them on. .010 is a little thick for a vinyl top seam. So, I would sand them them down to a more proper thickness before primer.

[MrObsessive]

Ooooh...........If it were me doing this, I would add those strips before putting down any paint.

Please do NOT use super glue. That'll make more of a mess than it's worth. Frankly, I'd strip the roof of the paint, put down your strips using a liquid cement (Tenax, or some other MEK equivalent) and then paint afterwards once I was satisfied with the roof.

Here's a project I was working on (and will get back to within this year hopefully), where I added strips to simulate the seams for a vinyl roof. Note that there's no paint on the roof as of yet......that will come MUCH later after all is said and done with anymore bodywork and interior done. 



BTW, you mention cutting strips. Out there in the aftermarket there are those size strips made by Evergreen which will save you a LOT of work. The ones I used were a tad smaller and I did sand them down a bit as on the 1:1, they are not overly intrusive to the eye as far as seams.

Hope this helps!

[Paul Payne]

Bill, just had to ask- will the 1/8 Mustang have the working windshield defrosters?!?!?!? Seriously, the pictures for the vinyl roof show beautifully separated vent windows and really tight panel lines- immaculate work as usual!

[MrObsessive]

Thanks Paul! As time moves on and my eyesight is not as good as it was even four years ago, the Mustang you see may be one of the last superdetailed ones I do from here on out. I had lost a bit of interest in it, but definitely want to get back to it and see it done.

Right now I recently finished repainting the '55 Ford Victoria project which had its own issues with bodywork a while back. Now clearcoating is the next step in a little bit. I'll be shortly putting pics up of the SECOND time I've had to paint the Ford. Hopefully it's the last.

[NOBLNG]

Roger and Bill are right about the bare plastic requirement. I laid down parallel strips of masking tape on the roof and used them as a guide to butt my seam strips up against. It keeps them completely straight and parallel. Then tack your strips down with very tiny dabs of liquid cement...like Tamiya extra thin in a few places. Once they are tacked you can remove the masking tape and flow a tiny bead of cement along the entire seam.

Edited January 16, 2021 by NOBLNG

[bisc63]

My favorite way to simulate those seams is to not fight gluing down any strips, but use masking tape to define the edges of the seam or seams. You will have to take your time to get a nice, thin opening between the  parallel strips of tape, then take a spatula or finger and lay your favorite putty down the entire exposed strip, raking it off flush to the surface of the tape. Immediately remove the tape, leaving a nice raised strip that you can easily sand and contour when dry, then prime and paint! I prefer a catalyzed automotive putty, for speed, but any will do.

[Plowboy]

The easiest way to simulate the seams for a vinyl top if it's going to be a dark color (doesn't work well for light colors) is to simply lap the paint. Mask off the center, paint the sides and allow to dry. Then mask off the sides leaving the width of the seams exposed, paint and unmask. It makes perfectly in scale laps with no strips or sanding. The paint makes the seams.