Hard top - painted after market question or...trade?
11-23-2013 | 08:04 PM
#1
Thread Starter
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 263
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From: Dallas, TX
Hard top - painted after market question or...trade?
I've changed my mind on this topic and decided I like the look of the painted tops. Does anyone have experience having theirs painted to match paint? Bedliner does not count.
Second, if anyone's willing to trade I'm in Dallas (willing to drive anywhere between DFW, down to San Antonio and over to Houston. Looking for 2011-2014 in Bright a White.
Mine is 2012 with Hot Head headliners permanently installed (including rear window panels)--$315 value uninstalled as of today on their website. Would consider adding cash too.
Second, if anyone's willing to trade I'm in Dallas (willing to drive anywhere between DFW, down to San Antonio and over to Houston. Looking for 2011-2014 in Bright a White.
Mine is 2012 with Hot Head headliners permanently installed (including rear window panels)--$315 value uninstalled as of today on their website. Would consider adding cash too.
Last edited by Sazerac_TX; 11-23-2013 at 08:50 PM.
11-23-2013 | 08:47 PM
#2
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 415
Likes: 0
From: Pioneer, CA
I'm a painter and I can tell you a few things to look for.
The first consideration is the black hard tops are textured while the painted tops are smooth. So you would have to decide if you wanted it painted textured, which looks bad IMO, or have it sanded smooth, at which point it will probably be wavy, considering about all one could do is sand it with a DA and 180 grit paper and at that, would take a lot of work. Probably 4-6 hours of sanding. That's a lot of labor to pay for. Then it's prep, prime and sand again.
If you wanted to ensure it wasn't wavy, at least on the sides, you would need to insist on having it spray filled and blocked out. Probably not worth doing the ribbed top, you don't see it anyway and would be extremely tedious, and thus time consuming...expensive.
Second consideration is quality. You would need to have the side glass removed to do an adequate job of prep for adhesion. The window gap is a little too small to do a good job prepping. So there's another consideration. If it already had paint it probably wouldn't be necessary, but raw plastic can be difficult to get paint to adhere to. It requires adequate scuffing, cleaning and a plastic prep chemical as well. Personally, I wouldn't warranty the job if I did it with the glass installed.
Sooooo, I think a trade, maybe trade plus cash might be your best route.
The first consideration is the black hard tops are textured while the painted tops are smooth. So you would have to decide if you wanted it painted textured, which looks bad IMO, or have it sanded smooth, at which point it will probably be wavy, considering about all one could do is sand it with a DA and 180 grit paper and at that, would take a lot of work. Probably 4-6 hours of sanding. That's a lot of labor to pay for. Then it's prep, prime and sand again.
If you wanted to ensure it wasn't wavy, at least on the sides, you would need to insist on having it spray filled and blocked out. Probably not worth doing the ribbed top, you don't see it anyway and would be extremely tedious, and thus time consuming...expensive.
Second consideration is quality. You would need to have the side glass removed to do an adequate job of prep for adhesion. The window gap is a little too small to do a good job prepping. So there's another consideration. If it already had paint it probably wouldn't be necessary, but raw plastic can be difficult to get paint to adhere to. It requires adequate scuffing, cleaning and a plastic prep chemical as well. Personally, I wouldn't warranty the job if I did it with the glass installed.
Sooooo, I think a trade, maybe trade plus cash might be your best route.
