I've always thought about a black top for my car but the costs have always kept me away. Thanks to this site I saw one of our members had a cheaper alternative! SPRAY paint! lol.

So I basically copied TimberWolf and did the exact same thing. If it looks even close to this after 4 years (he says his looked alright) I'll be happy!

Did 1 complete coat of Duplicolor flat black and 2 of gloss black I think it came out pretty good!

Thanks TW!

Before


After!!

 

not bad!

 

Yeah, thats actually not that bad for a rattle can job.

 

Looks like I know what I will be doing this weekend

 

Could you post up a little write up real quick of what you did? just taped it off, cleaned it with what?, and used what brand paint, coats, etc. please. I'm looking to do it this weekend for sure.

 

Can you believe a bird **** allllll over it this morning!

I was out there with a hose at 7 am cleaning it up!

I'll post what I did in a bit, lil crazy at work.

 

lol damn.. alright, thanks man!

 

So what I did was......

Rinsed it off with JUST water, got rid of anything I could see on the top that might have looked like dirt with a sponge (read no soap).

The night before I did this there was a HUGE *** rain storm so maybe that helped.

I basically just sprayed the sides being careful not to stay in one spot for more than a millisecond. Everything I did was EVEN nice and fluid like.

What I noticed was that when doing the top part of the top I was seeing lines.

Originally i was doing Front to back on one side and then front to back on the other, it was looking shitty. I could see lines all over the place.

So after doing the front to back a few times and seeing the lines, I went side to side for the rest of the application. I would do a coat, then leave for 5 mins then go back and do another.

I would recommend doing this pattern maybe every other time if I did it again. Once front to back once side to side once front to back once side to side.

The MAIN thing I think to watch out for is keeping the can still in ANY one place. There were a few times when I was too slow and it started to "puddle" up. Luckily I had a rag with me and I just "dapped" it up, no harm no foul.

I just taped it up using painters tape and plastic drop cloths.

Here's what I used:



Like I said the first coat was Flat black - I used three cans.

Then the second and third coat were glossy and it was sooooooo worth it. The glossy aspect of it really didn't make it very glossy, it just added a LITTLE "Shine" to the whole thing. What's funny is my friend was looking at the car as I was driving up to him, the sun was behind me, and he couldn't tell what color it was the way the sun was reflecting off of it.

Needless to say. On Friday of last week NOBODY even looked at my car with it's silver SS rims and tan top.

Today, I got FIVE compliments on it, all from co-workers and strangers. One of them thought I had gotten a new car.

it looks dead sexy with a black top!

 

Looks good. Have you raised and lowered your top several times yet? Just wondering if it creases ok.

I added this to the sticky so I'm adding the link from the other thread on this topic.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/convertible-vehicles/219466-changed-color-my-top-tody-came-out-good.html

 

no I've been scared to! lol

For real though it's been cold and wet since I did it so I'm hoping for a warm dry day to test itout.

 

id like to know also if it shows creases bad when you raise and lower it a few times

 

I would say no, I did the same thing to a top on my old spyder back when a company painting the apartments I lived in managed to get white overspray on the top and the car. So I used SEM vinyl paint to repaint the top, it looked fine till the vinyl died.

It's all in the prep work, you have to use the vinyl prep to clean and remove all the waxes and residue from the vinyl, then the paint will stick and look 100% orginal.

Here is the interior of my olds that I redid from tan to black. Everything other than the seats has been redone with SEM vinyl paint about three years ago now, that includes the seat belts...

Personally the change was a 200% improvement for the car. Now I just need to replace the top, it is shot




Before....

 

anyone find a duplicolor for the tan top?

i've got some spots on the top and it really shows the age of the car.

 

black it out man!

 

could you drop the top and show us some closeups of how the creases look when you put it back up?

you do that and i'll black mine out. hell, if it doesn't turn out right, i'll just buy a new top.

 

so you saying i can use this to change my top from black to red (which is the color i want)

 

Whats the inside look like? I have a black top and the headliner is black, so i assume the inside of a tan top is tan? Did you paint that too, or is the outside black and inside tan? That might not be very cool

I didnt even know they had a rattle can specifically for this purpose, thats pretty nice. My only question is that in most cases vinyl dye and fabric dye are two different formulas and are kept separate. You cant use one on the other with good results. Its strange that this one product would do both.

I have heard of a few people using Renovo dye to restore their top with great results (only comes in black and dark blue however). I see that this is recommended product for Saab and other automakers. I was thinking of trying it on mine but I just cant bring myself to do it. Though at $50 a liter, i'd feel more confident using this then rattle cans for a few bucks each. Im not saying the rattle cans didnt do a nice job, your top looks great, im just throwing out options.

I just wonder about how long it will hold up. Anything that i ever used a rattle can on looked great at first but faded in a year.

Here is the Renovo Product:



" Description: Black, 1 Liter Bottle
Soft Top Reviver will make old, faded, fabric convertible tops, RV and boat covers look like new. A permanent, water based dye that may be applied with either a brush, sponge or air brush and dries in 2-3 hours. Badly faded tops may require a second coat. Clean the surface thoroughly with Renovo Soft Top Dry Cleaner and then allow it to dry completely. Mask off the rear window, the glass and paint. Start the application at the center section of the front of the top. Work from side to side, progressing towards the back, maintaining a "wet edge" as you work towards the rear. (The technique is similar to painting with water based paint). Immediately remove any drips on paint, glass or trim with a wet cloth. If the top is badly faded, apply a second coat after allowing the top to dry for 24 hours. Allow it to dry for 24 hours and then follow with a coat of Renovo Fabric Ultra Proofer to protect and prolong the life of your new looking top. DO NOT use on vinyl or vinyl impregnated fabric tops. When in doubt, consult the manufacturer. The 500 ml bottle will normally cover the average top with one coat."

http://www.renovousa.com/searchresul...?categoryid=10

 

The inside is black on tan cars too.

I dropped it up and down three times today since it was warm and all is fine, nothing happened.

 

well common sense says that this take take some serious paint and multiple coats to override black...and may cause a problem at the creases.

 

All are different, I have tan interior / top