Vinyl Roof Rust Repair

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Mark73mach1

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 29, 2013
Messages
84
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9
Location
Colorado
My Car
1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 351C-4V, Ram Air, FMX, Wimbledon White
1969 Ford Mustang Sportsroof, 445-4V, T-5, Black Jade
1973 Ford Mustang Convertible
Hi Everyone,

I finally decided to fix my rusting vinyl roof on my 73 Mach 1 after waiting for my body/paint guy to have time which never happened.  After I fix the rust does anyone know what material/paint the factory would have put on the metal?  The previous owner replaced the vinyl top around 30 years ago.  I has a real smooth matte black coating or paint of it.  It seems to be thicker then paint.  Thanks

 
I would sure Make you can get 3 coats of paint to help to sure no moisture get in.

If your paint is the 2 stage pai

I did this on my 1972 coupe.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 
When a car with a vinyl roof went down the paint line they sprayed minimal paint where the vinyl would be. That is why they rust so bad. Get all the rust off for sure and like stated get good coverage of paint.

Not many have vinyl roof cars for sure. My 73 Mach on is a one of one due to the Ginger vinyl roof. Mine is original not replaced. They do not make a good vinyl roof dressing anymore. I used a leather cleaner and actual Kiwi shoe polish on mine and it looks brand new. It is in the MOM, Mustang Owner's Museum. 

I did some polishing on the trim for the vinyl roof. You have to strip the anodize off then sand and polish and put clear on to protect. 

I never washed the car with running water so my top was not rusty under the vinyl. I just wipe with wet microfiber when washing. 

Be sure to use 3-M strip caulk to seal where the roof rail goes both on the vinyl and also on the underside where it screws to the roof. The foam tape sucks and leaked when new. 









 
Mine was not that rusty underneath when I've removed it long ago, only bits where it was damaged (had 2 cuts).

I wasn't planning to set vinyl back. if I would, these days, while some quality paint would be fine, I'd use epoxy primer instead. It's then totally isolated and gives a solid foundation may you'd use some kind of glue as Ford did on mine. You could also roll it vs spray, nobody will see.

 
A big agree on epoxy primer, epoxy seals out moisture better than urethane or etch primer. Axalta (DuPont) 2580cr has zinc chromate in it also. For maximum corrosion resistance put on one coat, let it dry about 2hr. Then put on 2 more coats. Letting the first coat dry will give a better "bite" to the steel.

 
Not many have vinyl roof cars for sure. My 73 Mach on is a one of one due to the Ginger vinyl roof.
David, I think your car is a one of one because you threw the option book at it.   :D
As you know or maybe do not know Marti can make any Mustang a one of one. He chose to say mine was the only one of the 12 with the forged aluminum wheels that had a Ginger roof but he called it another name I forget. Oh yes KIWI just like the shoe polish I used on it. Ford never called it KIWI so where did he get that one?

 
Not many have vinyl roof cars for sure. My 73 Mach on is a one of one due to the Ginger vinyl roof.
David, I think your car is a one of one because you threw the option book at it.   :D
As you know or maybe do not know Marti can make any Mustang a one of one. He chose to say mine was the only one of the 12 with the forged aluminum wheels that had a Ginger roof but he called it another name I forget. Oh yes KIWI just like the shoe polish I used on it. Ford never called it KIWI so where did he get that one?
Yes, I know about how Marti can produce a 1 of 1 out of just about anything. I like to needle the guys that point out there car is a one of one, simply because of the way Marti changes the sorting breakdown. You know, like when it's some dumb option like bumper guards or a map light.

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