Got My Roof Painted, Need Advice. *PICS*
10-25-2013, 04:19 PM
#62
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No need. We already have a sticky on this:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/paint-bod...e-dummies.html
Guess that goes to show how little the stickies ever get noticed.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/paint-bod...e-dummies.html
Guess that goes to show how little the stickies ever get noticed.
10-25-2013, 10:31 PM
#64
Well one day down and no bubbles so far. I believe they showed up about 4 days after I painted the original roof. I'll keep you all posted.
Even after all the reading I've done I am still not certain what causes these bubbles. I know the sticky mentions the lack of primer on the underside of the panel but honestly I'm not completely convinced that's the cause. I am looking at the GM bulletin as I type and unlike most TSB's it does not include a cause, just a condition and correction. Has anyone else PERSONALLY done a similar repair that I did? The donor car that my roof was taken off of was a '94, known to not have any bubbling issues, and the underside was not painted/primed. In fact, the fiberglass looked to have been different then the one off of my car, an 01. Although appearances can be deceiving the urethane that was used also looked the same(looked like windshield urethane) and the urethane that GM calls out to use is just 3M windshield urethane.
If the true reason why the urethane seeps through and causes bubbles was the lack of primer on the underside of the roof, then why didn't the '94 paint bubble? Different urethane? Different fiberglass?
Even after all the reading I've done I am still not certain what causes these bubbles. I know the sticky mentions the lack of primer on the underside of the panel but honestly I'm not completely convinced that's the cause. I am looking at the GM bulletin as I type and unlike most TSB's it does not include a cause, just a condition and correction. Has anyone else PERSONALLY done a similar repair that I did? The donor car that my roof was taken off of was a '94, known to not have any bubbling issues, and the underside was not painted/primed. In fact, the fiberglass looked to have been different then the one off of my car, an 01. Although appearances can be deceiving the urethane that was used also looked the same(looked like windshield urethane) and the urethane that GM calls out to use is just 3M windshield urethane.
If the true reason why the urethane seeps through and causes bubbles was the lack of primer on the underside of the roof, then why didn't the '94 paint bubble? Different urethane? Different fiberglass?
10-26-2013, 05:49 AM
#66
I also wanted to mention a few weeks back that the body shop repaired and re-sprayed a C4 Corvette, not sure the exact year I'm pretty sure it was late 80's. Anyway, after the re-spray guess what showed up on the rear quarter panels... I tried to get a picture but due to the lighting and color it wouldn't come out. The bubbles were identical, they tried to spray it again(knowing what the outcome would be due to having the same issue with my car) and the bastards came right back.
As long as I never see a bubble again *knock on wood* I'll be happy but with all the work that was put into this roof I'd love to have a solid answer.
10-26-2013, 02:17 PM
#67
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I don't have much personal experience with the hard top panels. I've seen several t-top panels though, I remember one from a '96 specifically, and it had some paint sprayed on the areas where the glue was applied...the "bad" panel on my '02 did not have this from what I saw after it's removal. I'm not sure why your '94 panel was bare.
10-26-2013, 04:20 PM
#68
This is entirely possibile, since there are some late '98s (05/98 or later) that don't have the issue either, which would suggest that old inventory was being depleted as new inventory was being introduced, and thus some overlap of "good" and "bad" panels during that period.
I don't have much personal experience with the hard top panels. I've seen several t-top panels though, I remember one from a '96 specifically, and it had some paint sprayed on the areas where the glue was applied...the "bad" panel on my '02 did not have this from what I saw after it's removal. I'm not sure why your '94 panel was bare.
I don't have much personal experience with the hard top panels. I've seen several t-top panels though, I remember one from a '96 specifically, and it had some paint sprayed on the areas where the glue was applied...the "bad" panel on my '02 did not have this from what I saw after it's removal. I'm not sure why your '94 panel was bare.
10-27-2013, 10:29 PM
#69
As you were setting the roof down on top of the urethane did you need to smack it with your palm to get it to sit down and line up correctly to get the gaps right. Or was it a simple matter of sitting it down and light pressure to make sure the glue stuck to the panel and that was that.
1 Last and final question did you need to clamp it in any spots afterward.
1 Last and final question did you need to clamp it in any spots afterward.
10-28-2013, 02:26 AM
#70
As you were setting the roof down on top of the urethane did you need to smack it with your palm to get it to sit down and line up correctly to get the gaps right. Or was it a simple matter of sitting it down and light pressure to make sure the glue stuck to the panel and that was that.
1 Last and final question did you need to clamp it in any spots afterward.
1 Last and final question did you need to clamp it in any spots afterward.
We didn't clamp anything but it is very important to note that we lowered the front of the headliner and wedged little rubber pieces in between the roof frame and roof panel to push the front edge up and make it flush with the windshield molding. If we didn't do that there would of been a decent sized gap between te panel and molding. We also put wedges at the right and left front corners.
10-28-2013, 08:09 AM
#71
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No need. We already have a sticky on this:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/paint-bod...e-dummies.html
Guess that goes to show how little the stickies ever get noticed.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/paint-bod...e-dummies.html
Guess that goes to show how little the stickies ever get noticed.
10-28-2013, 08:29 AM
#72
I've read through that thread and even posted in it. This thread has more technical questions being asked and a person actually removing and replacing his roof which was no where to be seen in that thread. The best thing about that thread that was posted actually by you I believe, and it was the TSB. I'm a hardtop guy and I feel this thread is invaluable to for me since I will have to do this eventually since I have the bubbling problem.
Last edited by Grifter; 10-28-2013 at 11:31 AM.
10-28-2013, 09:55 AM
#73
Yes, we needed to make slight adjustments to the roof, including giving it some nice smacks on the top, to help it settle. It moved pretty easily though and the urethane takes a few hours to begin to harden.
We didn't clamp anything but it is very important to note that we lowered the front of the headliner and wedged little rubber pieces in between the roof frame and roof panel to push the front edge up and make it flush with the windshield molding. If we didn't do that there would of been a decent sized gap between te panel and molding. We also put wedges at the right and left front corners.
We didn't clamp anything but it is very important to note that we lowered the front of the headliner and wedged little rubber pieces in between the roof frame and roof panel to push the front edge up and make it flush with the windshield molding. If we didn't do that there would of been a decent sized gap between te panel and molding. We also put wedges at the right and left front corners.
) - TEST FIT FIRST
10-28-2013, 07:16 PM
#74
Not sure about the top, however I can tell you a few unique things about 1998 fbodies compared to 99 or newer which pertain to using old pieces from 93-97 fbodies
-only year trans am door panels did not develop cracks on
-only year with jack braces under front fenders
- my 98 firebirds trans ams had heat covers on the underside of the hood, my 99's and newer didn't
I believe gm switched suppliers for plastics and fiberglass however I do not know. They could have just been going with a cheaper blend in 1999
-only year trans am door panels did not develop cracks on
-only year with jack braces under front fenders
- my 98 firebirds trans ams had heat covers on the underside of the hood, my 99's and newer didn't
I believe gm switched suppliers for plastics and fiberglass however I do not know. They could have just been going with a cheaper blend in 1999
10-29-2013, 12:18 PM
#76
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I think you had a June built '98, correct? This seems to be another one of those things that was hit or miss on the last 2-3 months of '98 production.
10-29-2013, 12:23 PM
#77
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I've read through that thread and even posted in it. This thread has more technical questions being asked and a person actually removing and replacing his roof which was no where to be seen in that thread. The best thing about that thread that was posted actually by you I believe, and it was the TSB. I'm a hardtop guy and I feel this thread is invaluable to for me since I will have to do this eventually since I have the bubbling problem.
Not trying to toot my own horn but I agree. That sticky doesn't have much info except what happens. No pictures, technical info, etc. People love pictures and write ups. Problem with most online forums is people talk not from experience but from what other people say. I am in no way knocking anyone, but doing this for a living it's one thing to type about it on a computer and another thing to actually put the work into doing it.
What makes sense to me is to add a link to this thread in the first post of the current sticky. I think this is a better option than merging these two threads; since the sticky is so big already, doing a merge would just cause this thread to get lost in the crowd.
So I will add a link.
10-29-2013, 08:46 PM
#78
I won't create a second sticky, but I do agree that this thread has some good information as well as pictures/write-up regarding the hard top replacement - something not seen nearly as often as the t-top examples.
What makes sense to me is to add a link to this thread in the first post of the current sticky. I think this is a better option than merging these two threads; since the sticky is so big already, doing a merge would just cause this thread to get lost in the crowd.
So I will add a link.
What makes sense to me is to add a link to this thread in the first post of the current sticky. I think this is a better option than merging these two threads; since the sticky is so big already, doing a merge would just cause this thread to get lost in the crowd.
So I will add a link.