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Bubbling Sail Panel Issue for Dummies
01-27-2021, 07:49 AM
#2121
1. Insert key in ignition, start engine
2. Put car in gear
3. Drive it to a body shop
/jk
Seriously though, I read several instructions and I had some confusion, so I'll try to simplify:
First, if you're a perfectionist, I do suggest taking it to a pro, and if you want to save some money, you can do everything but glue the panel in place. The bulk of the work is in removing the panel, so a body shop might cut you a really good deal if you drive in with the old panel already off! If you do it yourself, make sure you have a good place to park the car for a few days without rain - I took 5 days to do mine because I was working around other things going on, and then when I went to put the new panel on I didn't have a good enough caulk gun so I had to order more urethane and wait a few days.
1. You will need: 3 tubes of 3m urethane 08690 (you only need 2, but get a spare just in case), 3M Single Step Primer, 08682, 30 mL, and a 2 part epoxy primer ( I think I linked to the one I got in my posts above), plastic drop cloths, masking tape, a good, high thrust caulk gun with at least a 10.1 thrust ratio, mask and gloves, heat gun, razor blades, nylon / plastic interior trim prybars, a helper for putting the sail panel on
2. Mask off top of sail panel and spray with epoxy primer underneath at least 2 days in advance. Read the instructions for the epoxy primer carefully.
3. Remove T-tops, open hatch
4. Some instructions say to remove the T-Top channel, but I didn't and I don't see a need to. If you decide to though, you will need double sided adhesive and adhesion promoter
5. Put plastic drop cloths over exposed interior areas - the hatch is kind of difficult because of the struts but just do the best you can. You're going to get fiberglass dust inside the car no matter how well you seal it up, but trust me, you'll be very happy that ~90% is kept out of the car. Use masking tape where needed.
6. Getting the existing panel off - Put on mask and gloves: Pop the triangle trim covers behind the doors off with an interior pry bar. Use the heat gun on the areas where the urethane is. pull up and use interior pry bars, basically you just have to work with it to get it off. Probably took me a few hours total time, but I could only work on it a bit at a time. you could also use piano wire, and if possible, I think hot piano wire would really cut through the old urethane.
7. Once the panel is off, use the razor blades to scrape off the urethane. This is very satisfying to do, as you cut the urethan you pull up on it and it comes off in log ropes. I also read or saw not to scrape it off down to the metal as urethane bonds well to urethane, so I scraped it down until there was just a whisper left, and some bare metal showing here and there
8. Clean up all of the fiberglass dust
9. Test fit the panel - put it in place and just see how it fits.
10. Now that you can see where the urethane is, use the 3M Single Step Primer, 08682, 30 mL to prime the metal / urethane on the roof (won't need much here, and start out VERY sparingly as it is like water and will run everywhere) then use the rest to prime the underside of the sail panel where the urethan goes. You will not cover the underside of the sail panel 100%. Also, the bottle seems very small but if you do this correctly you will have plenty as a little goes a long way.
11. Get your helper, and put the sail panel in place. Maybe do it 2 or 3 times for practice - once you put the glue on, you only have a few minutes to get it in place
12. Get 2 urethan tubes, remove the nozzle, cut it for a nice thick bead (a v-cut is recommended, but I didn't), remove the seal from the bottom, pierce the seal at the top, screw nozzle back on, install in caulk gun
13. Put a thick bead of urethane on the roof, not the sail panel, over the old, primed urethane, and the 3 spots in the middle. You'll have to switch tubes about 2/3 of the way through
14. You and your helper put the panel in place immediately, press down hard and work it into place - don't hesitate here is the glue sets up QUICKLY. Put the t-tops back on to check fitment and alignment, then remove them again if you're satisfied.
15. Inspect the sail panel for any urethane that may have gotten on your gloves, its easy to get off when fresh but impossible later.
16. Tape the sail panel in place using long strips of masking tape at least overnight and preferably 24 hours.
That's how I did it and I'm happy with the results. However, I don't think my panel is on PERFECTLY - my wife says it looks great and she can't see a difference from stock, but I think it might be a few MMs high, and the t-tops aren't quite flush, but the problem is that if I pushed the panel towards the front of the car so the tops were more flush, then the bottom would be out of alignment and over the trim. I'm not sure if a body shop could have done better, or, like aftermarket hoods, the aftermarket sail panel just isn't going to line up 100%. But, it doesn't leak water and I'm happy, but if this sounds scary to you, then have a pro do it. Some day (as in several years in the future) I might try to remove it and redo it as a winter project, but I'm good with it for now.
EDIT: For step #10, you will need a small paintbrush, like for a model car. I thought the primer had one included under the lid, like nail polish, but it didn't. Luckily I had one around, but wanted to point this out.
2. Put car in gear
3. Drive it to a body shop
/jk
Seriously though, I read several instructions and I had some confusion, so I'll try to simplify:
First, if you're a perfectionist, I do suggest taking it to a pro, and if you want to save some money, you can do everything but glue the panel in place. The bulk of the work is in removing the panel, so a body shop might cut you a really good deal if you drive in with the old panel already off! If you do it yourself, make sure you have a good place to park the car for a few days without rain - I took 5 days to do mine because I was working around other things going on, and then when I went to put the new panel on I didn't have a good enough caulk gun so I had to order more urethane and wait a few days.
1. You will need: 3 tubes of 3m urethane 08690 (you only need 2, but get a spare just in case), 3M Single Step Primer, 08682, 30 mL, and a 2 part epoxy primer ( I think I linked to the one I got in my posts above), plastic drop cloths, masking tape, a good, high thrust caulk gun with at least a 10.1 thrust ratio, mask and gloves, heat gun, razor blades, nylon / plastic interior trim prybars, a helper for putting the sail panel on
2. Mask off top of sail panel and spray with epoxy primer underneath at least 2 days in advance. Read the instructions for the epoxy primer carefully.
3. Remove T-tops, open hatch
4. Some instructions say to remove the T-Top channel, but I didn't and I don't see a need to. If you decide to though, you will need double sided adhesive and adhesion promoter
5. Put plastic drop cloths over exposed interior areas - the hatch is kind of difficult because of the struts but just do the best you can. You're going to get fiberglass dust inside the car no matter how well you seal it up, but trust me, you'll be very happy that ~90% is kept out of the car. Use masking tape where needed.
6. Getting the existing panel off - Put on mask and gloves: Pop the triangle trim covers behind the doors off with an interior pry bar. Use the heat gun on the areas where the urethane is. pull up and use interior pry bars, basically you just have to work with it to get it off. Probably took me a few hours total time, but I could only work on it a bit at a time. you could also use piano wire, and if possible, I think hot piano wire would really cut through the old urethane.
7. Once the panel is off, use the razor blades to scrape off the urethane. This is very satisfying to do, as you cut the urethan you pull up on it and it comes off in log ropes. I also read or saw not to scrape it off down to the metal as urethane bonds well to urethane, so I scraped it down until there was just a whisper left, and some bare metal showing here and there
8. Clean up all of the fiberglass dust
9. Test fit the panel - put it in place and just see how it fits.
10. Now that you can see where the urethane is, use the 3M Single Step Primer, 08682, 30 mL to prime the metal / urethane on the roof (won't need much here, and start out VERY sparingly as it is like water and will run everywhere) then use the rest to prime the underside of the sail panel where the urethan goes. You will not cover the underside of the sail panel 100%. Also, the bottle seems very small but if you do this correctly you will have plenty as a little goes a long way.
11. Get your helper, and put the sail panel in place. Maybe do it 2 or 3 times for practice - once you put the glue on, you only have a few minutes to get it in place
12. Get 2 urethan tubes, remove the nozzle, cut it for a nice thick bead (a v-cut is recommended, but I didn't), remove the seal from the bottom, pierce the seal at the top, screw nozzle back on, install in caulk gun
13. Put a thick bead of urethane on the roof, not the sail panel, over the old, primed urethane, and the 3 spots in the middle. You'll have to switch tubes about 2/3 of the way through
14. You and your helper put the panel in place immediately, press down hard and work it into place - don't hesitate here is the glue sets up QUICKLY. Put the t-tops back on to check fitment and alignment, then remove them again if you're satisfied.
15. Inspect the sail panel for any urethane that may have gotten on your gloves, its easy to get off when fresh but impossible later.
16. Tape the sail panel in place using long strips of masking tape at least overnight and preferably 24 hours.
That's how I did it and I'm happy with the results. However, I don't think my panel is on PERFECTLY - my wife says it looks great and she can't see a difference from stock, but I think it might be a few MMs high, and the t-tops aren't quite flush, but the problem is that if I pushed the panel towards the front of the car so the tops were more flush, then the bottom would be out of alignment and over the trim. I'm not sure if a body shop could have done better, or, like aftermarket hoods, the aftermarket sail panel just isn't going to line up 100%. But, it doesn't leak water and I'm happy, but if this sounds scary to you, then have a pro do it. Some day (as in several years in the future) I might try to remove it and redo it as a winter project, but I'm good with it for now.
EDIT: For step #10, you will need a small paintbrush, like for a model car. I thought the primer had one included under the lid, like nail polish, but it didn't. Luckily I had one around, but wanted to point this out.
Last edited by cbrenthus; 01-29-2021 at 05:50 AM.
The following users liked this post:
pcardinal42 (01-27-2021)
01-27-2021, 08:40 AM
#2122
1. Insert key in ignition, start engine
2. Put car in gear
3. Drive it to a body shop
/jk
Seriously though, I read several instructions and I had some confusion, so I'll try to simplify:
First, if you're a perfectionist, I do suggest taking it to a pro, and if you want to save some money, you can do everything but glue the panel in place. The bulk of the work is in removing the panel, so a body shop might cut you a really good deal if you drive in with the old panel already off! If you do it yourself, make sure you have a good place to park the car for a few days without rain - I took 5 days to do mine because I was working around other things going on, and then when I went to put the new panel on I didn't have a good enough caulk gun so I had to order more urethane and wait a few days.
1. You will need: 3 tubes of 3m urethane 08690 (you only need 2, but get a spare just in case), 3M Single Step Primer, 08682, 30 mL, and a 2 part epoxy primer ( I think I linked to the one I got in my posts above), plastic drop cloths, masking tape, a good, high thrust caulk gun with at least a 10.1 thrust ratio, mask and gloves, heat gun, razor blades, nylon / plastic interior trim prybars, a helper for putting the sail panel on
2. Mask off top of sail panel and spray with epoxy primer underneath at least 2 days in advance. Read the instructions for the epoxy primer carefully.
3. Remove T-tops, open hatch
4. Some instructions say to remove the T-Top channel, but I didn't and I don't see a need to. If you decide to though, you will need double sided adhesive and adhesion promoter
5. Put plastic drop cloths over exposed interior areas - the hatch is kind of difficult because of the struts but just do the best you can. You're going to get fiberglass dust inside the car no matter how well you seal it up, but trust me, you'll be very happy that ~90% is kept out of the car. Use masking tape where needed.
6. Getting the existing panel off - Put on mask and gloves: Pop the triangle trim covers behind the doors off with an interior pry bar. Use the heat gun on the areas where the urethane is. pull up and use interior pry bars, basically you just have to work with it to get it off. Probably took me a few hours total time, but I could only work on it a bit at a time. you could also use piano wire, and if possible, I think hot piano wire would really cut through the old urethane.
7. Once the panel is off, use the razor blades to scrape off the urethane. This is very satisfying to do, as you cut the urethan you pull up on it and it comes off in log ropes. I also read or saw not to scrape it off down to the metal as urethane bonds well to urethane, so I scraped it down until there was just a whisper left, and some bare metal showing here and there
8. Clean up all of the fiberglass dust
9. Test fit the panel - put it in place and just see how it fits.
10. Now that you can see where the urethane is, use the 3M Single Step Primer, 08682, 30 mL to prime the metal / urethane on the roof (won't need much here, and start out VERY sparingly as it is like water and will run everywhere) then use the rest to prime the underside of the sail panel where the urethan goes. You will not cover the underside of the sail panel 100%. Also, the bottle seems very small but if you do this correctly you will have plenty as a little goes a long way.
11. Get your helper, and put the sail panel in place. Maybe do it 2 or 3 times for practice - once you put the glue on, you only have a few minutes to get it in place
12. Get 2 urethan tubes, remove the nozzle, cut it for a nice thick bead (a v-cut is recommended, but I didn't), remove the seal from the bottom, pierce the seal at the top, screw nozzle back on, install in caulk gun
13. Put a thick bead of urethane on the roof, not the sail panel, over the old, primed urethane, and the 3 spots in the middle. You'll have to switch tubes about 2/3 of the way through
14. You and your helper put the panel in place immediately, press down hard and work it into place - don't hesitate here is the glue sets up QUICKLY. Put the t-tops back on to check fitment and alignment, then remove them again if you're satisfied.
15. Inspect the sail panel for any urethane that may have gotten on your gloves, its easy to get off when fresh but impossible later.
16. Tape the sail panel in place using long strips of masking tape at least overnight and preferably 24 hours.
That's how I did it and I'm happy with the results. However, I don't think my panel is on PERFECTLY - my wife says it looks great and she can't see a difference from stock, but I think it might be a few MMs high, and the t-tops aren't quite flush, but the problem is that if I pushed the panel towards the front of the car so the tops were more flush, then the bottom would be out of alignment and over the trim. I'm not sure if a body shop could have done better, or, like aftermarket hoods, the aftermarket sail panel just isn't going to line up 100%. But, it doesn't leak water and I'm happy, but if this sounds scary to you, then have a pro do it. Some day (as in several years in the future) I might try to remove it and redo it as a winter project, but I'm good with it for now.
2. Put car in gear
3. Drive it to a body shop
/jk
Seriously though, I read several instructions and I had some confusion, so I'll try to simplify:
First, if you're a perfectionist, I do suggest taking it to a pro, and if you want to save some money, you can do everything but glue the panel in place. The bulk of the work is in removing the panel, so a body shop might cut you a really good deal if you drive in with the old panel already off! If you do it yourself, make sure you have a good place to park the car for a few days without rain - I took 5 days to do mine because I was working around other things going on, and then when I went to put the new panel on I didn't have a good enough caulk gun so I had to order more urethane and wait a few days.
1. You will need: 3 tubes of 3m urethane 08690 (you only need 2, but get a spare just in case), 3M Single Step Primer, 08682, 30 mL, and a 2 part epoxy primer ( I think I linked to the one I got in my posts above), plastic drop cloths, masking tape, a good, high thrust caulk gun with at least a 10.1 thrust ratio, mask and gloves, heat gun, razor blades, nylon / plastic interior trim prybars, a helper for putting the sail panel on
2. Mask off top of sail panel and spray with epoxy primer underneath at least 2 days in advance. Read the instructions for the epoxy primer carefully.
3. Remove T-tops, open hatch
4. Some instructions say to remove the T-Top channel, but I didn't and I don't see a need to. If you decide to though, you will need double sided adhesive and adhesion promoter
5. Put plastic drop cloths over exposed interior areas - the hatch is kind of difficult because of the struts but just do the best you can. You're going to get fiberglass dust inside the car no matter how well you seal it up, but trust me, you'll be very happy that ~90% is kept out of the car. Use masking tape where needed.
6. Getting the existing panel off - Put on mask and gloves: Pop the triangle trim covers behind the doors off with an interior pry bar. Use the heat gun on the areas where the urethane is. pull up and use interior pry bars, basically you just have to work with it to get it off. Probably took me a few hours total time, but I could only work on it a bit at a time. you could also use piano wire, and if possible, I think hot piano wire would really cut through the old urethane.
7. Once the panel is off, use the razor blades to scrape off the urethane. This is very satisfying to do, as you cut the urethan you pull up on it and it comes off in log ropes. I also read or saw not to scrape it off down to the metal as urethane bonds well to urethane, so I scraped it down until there was just a whisper left, and some bare metal showing here and there
8. Clean up all of the fiberglass dust
9. Test fit the panel - put it in place and just see how it fits.
10. Now that you can see where the urethane is, use the 3M Single Step Primer, 08682, 30 mL to prime the metal / urethane on the roof (won't need much here, and start out VERY sparingly as it is like water and will run everywhere) then use the rest to prime the underside of the sail panel where the urethan goes. You will not cover the underside of the sail panel 100%. Also, the bottle seems very small but if you do this correctly you will have plenty as a little goes a long way.
11. Get your helper, and put the sail panel in place. Maybe do it 2 or 3 times for practice - once you put the glue on, you only have a few minutes to get it in place
12. Get 2 urethan tubes, remove the nozzle, cut it for a nice thick bead (a v-cut is recommended, but I didn't), remove the seal from the bottom, pierce the seal at the top, screw nozzle back on, install in caulk gun
13. Put a thick bead of urethane on the roof, not the sail panel, over the old, primed urethane, and the 3 spots in the middle. You'll have to switch tubes about 2/3 of the way through
14. You and your helper put the panel in place immediately, press down hard and work it into place - don't hesitate here is the glue sets up QUICKLY. Put the t-tops back on to check fitment and alignment, then remove them again if you're satisfied.
15. Inspect the sail panel for any urethane that may have gotten on your gloves, its easy to get off when fresh but impossible later.
16. Tape the sail panel in place using long strips of masking tape at least overnight and preferably 24 hours.
That's how I did it and I'm happy with the results. However, I don't think my panel is on PERFECTLY - my wife says it looks great and she can't see a difference from stock, but I think it might be a few MMs high, and the t-tops aren't quite flush, but the problem is that if I pushed the panel towards the front of the car so the tops were more flush, then the bottom would be out of alignment and over the trim. I'm not sure if a body shop could have done better, or, like aftermarket hoods, the aftermarket sail panel just isn't going to line up 100%. But, it doesn't leak water and I'm happy, but if this sounds scary to you, then have a pro do it. Some day (as in several years in the future) I might try to remove it and redo it as a winter project, but I'm good with it for now.
Again, thank you for the step by step.
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CEE#10 (11-05-2021)
01-27-2021, 02:57 PM
#2123
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cbrenthus,
That was a great write-up, thanks for taking the time to put that together. I'm going to link your post directly to the first post of this thread along with the other write-ups already contained there.
Also...
...just for the record, I had a body shop do the install on my '02 Z28. This was actually a local Chevy dealer as mine was done under warranty many years ago, so it was a brand new GM panel that they installed. And they were well aware of this issue and had done several of these prior to doing mine (so they had experience). Even still, mine was also just a tad too high on one side and also not perfectly flush with the t-tops. I couldn't really complain as the work was done for free, but it wasn't perfect. Thing is, after looking it over closely myself, I'm not really sure what they could have done to line it up better (as you stated, to push it further forward would have resulted in the bottom being out of alignment). I think it would have sat in better relation to all points (alignment) had they gotten the panel pushed down a bit more (compressed), closer to the metal roof. But, ultimately, they did seem to make sure that the most critical (noticeable) points appeared to be aligned correctly.
Moral of the story; even if you have a "pro" do it, it may not come out perfect - even using an OEM panel like mine. With that said, I have seen a couple of other local cars that were done by better pros and those were truly as perfect as stock, so it can be done but, if you're going to pay someone to redo it, just make sure they have a history of doing this sort of job to assembly line standards. Probably a shop that specializes in custom and restoration work would be a better choice than a standard collision repair type shop, assuming you want "perfect".
That was a great write-up, thanks for taking the time to put that together. I'm going to link your post directly to the first post of this thread along with the other write-ups already contained there.
Also...
First, if you're a perfectionist, I do suggest taking it to a pro,...
...That's how I did it and I'm happy with the results. However, I don't think my panel is on PERFECTLY - my wife says it looks great and she can't see a difference from stock, but I think it might be a few MMs high, and the t-tops aren't quite flush, but the problem is that if I pushed the panel towards the front of the car so the tops were more flush, then the bottom would be out of alignment and over the trim. I'm not sure if a body shop could have done better, or, like aftermarket hoods, the aftermarket sail panel just isn't going to line up 100%. But, it doesn't leak water and I'm happy, but if this sounds scary to you, then have a pro do it. Some day (as in several years in the future) I might try to remove it and redo it as a winter project, but I'm good with it for now.
...That's how I did it and I'm happy with the results. However, I don't think my panel is on PERFECTLY - my wife says it looks great and she can't see a difference from stock, but I think it might be a few MMs high, and the t-tops aren't quite flush, but the problem is that if I pushed the panel towards the front of the car so the tops were more flush, then the bottom would be out of alignment and over the trim. I'm not sure if a body shop could have done better, or, like aftermarket hoods, the aftermarket sail panel just isn't going to line up 100%. But, it doesn't leak water and I'm happy, but if this sounds scary to you, then have a pro do it. Some day (as in several years in the future) I might try to remove it and redo it as a winter project, but I'm good with it for now.
Moral of the story; even if you have a "pro" do it, it may not come out perfect - even using an OEM panel like mine. With that said, I have seen a couple of other local cars that were done by better pros and those were truly as perfect as stock, so it can be done but, if you're going to pay someone to redo it, just make sure they have a history of doing this sort of job to assembly line standards. Probably a shop that specializes in custom and restoration work would be a better choice than a standard collision repair type shop, assuming you want "perfect".
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cbrenthus (01-29-2021)
01-27-2021, 06:59 PM
#2124
TECH Regular
When I finally really looked at the original roof panel before the shop started working on replacing it, I realized GM did a horrible job aligning it. The driver's side at the quarterpanel seam was like 1/8" too high, and it sat back past the quarterpanel where the hatch is also like 1/8" I wish I had a picture it was so bad, but perfect is not easy to achieve! Will post a picture of the area I mean when the job's done, and we'll see how it came out!
01-27-2021, 11:14 PM
#2125
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When I finally really looked at the original roof panel before the shop started working on replacing it, I realized GM did a horrible job aligning it. The driver's side at the quarterpanel seam was like 1/8" too high, and it sat back past the quarterpanel where the hatch is also like 1/8" I wish I had a picture it was so bad, but perfect is not easy to achieve! Will post a picture of the area I mean when the job's done, and we'll see how it came out!
I only say this because none of my roof panels were poorly aligned from the factory, at least not any worse than any other body panels on these or other cars of this era. The factory panel on my '98 is an excellent fit (relative to the platform), and I recall my '02 being much better, as well, before it was replaced. Odd that yours was so noticeably bad if it was original.
The following 2 users liked this post by RPM WS6:
k3000 (01-28-2021), Tyler Dietzenbach (02-09-2022)
01-28-2021, 12:44 AM
#2126
TECH Regular
Interesting thought.
I'm the 2nd owner.
I asked him about the roof issues and he claimed he didn't know anything about it!
As I previously stated, I was suspicious because it's kind of rare to have any roof issues, except for GM failed clear coats!
It's at least possible the roof issue was part of the reason he wanted to sell! Who knows!
It was bad enough one would hope if would have failed a QA inspection, but again who knows!
I'm the 2nd owner.
I asked him about the roof issues and he claimed he didn't know anything about it!
As I previously stated, I was suspicious because it's kind of rare to have any roof issues, except for GM failed clear coats!
It's at least possible the roof issue was part of the reason he wanted to sell! Who knows!
It was bad enough one would hope if would have failed a QA inspection, but again who knows!
02-02-2021, 10:13 AM
#2127
Has anyone had an issue with painting a panel from 6 liter designs? The body shop I dropped the panel off at is saying after they sanded it down and put primer on it that it is all wavy and is going to look terrible painted. I know nothing of paint but seems that if you just sand it down smooth, prime it, then the paint should come out just fine. I need some info/ammo to go talk with these guys please.
02-02-2021, 11:34 AM
#2129
02-02-2021, 07:24 PM
#2130
TECH Regular
VERY frustrating!
From what I understand you're supposed to do several cycles of using a pricey "high volume poly primer" for fiberglass and then block sand it between coats, maybe at least 2-3 times?
And how did you get in contact with 6LE? They never answer any of my emails!
From what I understand you're supposed to do several cycles of using a pricey "high volume poly primer" for fiberglass and then block sand it between coats, maybe at least 2-3 times?
And how did you get in contact with 6LE? They never answer any of my emails!
02-03-2021, 04:34 AM
#2131
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My understanding is that 6LE has been out of business for quite some time. I thought MAGG was the only current supplier of this panel?
02-03-2021, 07:12 AM
#2132
TECH Regular
Sorry, you're right. I meant MAGG.
02-08-2022, 09:13 PM
#2133
how did you have it fixed and what did it cost? I know this a really old thread lol.. is this just cosmetic or will it cause issues ?
02-08-2022, 10:06 PM
#2135
I bought a used one from an older car when they actually used primer on the underside of the sail panel and maybe a different adhesive was used. Anyway, it was shipped to me primed and painted and I took it to a local shop (friend who wanted nothing but finally accepted $50) and had him buff and spray it with a few more coats just to be safe. I used additional primer on the underside of the new/used sail panel myself and glued it down myself. I had already ripped off the old sail panel and cleaned up all the old adhesive still stuck to the metal underneath the panel. I used whatever primer is/was recommended on this thread as well as the recommended adhesive. I just looked up the cost and the panel was $550, primed, painted, and shipped via Greyhound bus because it was the cheapest way to ship a large container. I picked it up at the bus station and did my work in my garage at home. My wife helped me locate the new panel correctly and I used some combination of clamps and weights to keep panel in place until it set. Back to the same friend after it had set and he gave it a final buff for free. Adhesive and primer were relatively inexpensive. It may have been cheaper getting one off a car at a local junkyard but I didn't have any luck finding one locally so went the route I did. I'm not sure any long term damage will happen beyond the bubbling which apparently never stops so I think mostly cosmetic.
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k3000 (02-08-2022)
02-08-2022, 10:27 PM
#2136
TECH Regular
It doesn't matter that this is an old thread, this is an ongoing and very unfortunate issue for anyone that owns a mid-98 to 2002 Camaro or Firebird. It's a major f--- up by GM, along with lots of their interior plastics. My body shop is so good. It cost me 400-500 for the entire roof off a 95 Camaro, with the t-tops, and I hired johnny59 here on this forum to surgically peel the layers of metal off the sail panel. It's quite difficult if you don't know how. The hardest part of the whole job is salvaging a panel from a donor car without breaking it. I would not use Magg personally, I tried twice to contact him to see what the wait time was when you order, and he never got back to me at all. Also some say his panel does not fit as well as a GM panel, but I don't know if that's body shops that are not competent, or the MAGG panel, to be fair. It cost me on the high end, probably about $1100 maybe? They say it can be done for $600-700, if you do some or all of it yourself. Totally a cosmetic issue. When I got my 2000 TA with 68,000 on it you could clearly see the glue line all the way around, it was pretty bad. I was impressed my shop used their windshield guy to attach the newly painted panel because the tops use the same exact urethane glue that windshields use, so the windshield guy knows exactly how long he has to install and adjust the new panel before the glue sets. The GM service bulletin, available on this thread, only gives the GM techs like 2-4 hours I think for the whole job, including paint! So it's not a big job. Hard to find a good shop willing to do it correctly, at least in my area. You anywhere near Philadelphia, PA? Feel free to ask more questions! Others help me here ALL the time, I'm very grateful. Lee
The following 3 users liked this post by k3000:
02-09-2022, 10:35 AM
#2137
I bought a used one from an older car when they actually used primer on the underside of the sail panel and maybe a different adhesive was used. Anyway, it was shipped to me primed and painted and I took it to a local shop (friend who wanted nothing but finally accepted $50) and had him buff and spray it with a few more coats just to be safe. I used additional primer on the underside of the new/used sail panel myself and glued it down myself. I had already ripped off the old sail panel and cleaned up all the old adhesive still stuck to the metal underneath the panel. I used whatever primer is/was recommended on this thread as well as the recommended adhesive. I just looked up the cost and the panel was $550, primed, painted, and shipped via Greyhound bus because it was the cheapest way to ship a large container. I picked it up at the bus station and did my work in my garage at home. My wife helped me locate the new panel correctly and I used some combination of clamps and weights to keep panel in place until it set. Back to the same friend after it had set and he gave it a final buff for free. Adhesive and primer were relatively inexpensive. It may have been cheaper getting one off a car at a local junkyard but I didn't have any luck finding one locally so went the route I did. I'm not sure any long term damage will happen beyond the bubbling which apparently never stops so I think mostly cosmetic.
02-09-2022, 10:56 AM
#2139
It doesn't matter that this is an old thread, this is an ongoing and very unfortunate issue for anyone that owns a mid-98 to 2002 Camaro or Firebird. It's a major f--- up by GM, along with lots of their interior plastics. My body shop is so good. It cost me 400-500 for the entire roof off a 95 Camaro, with the t-tops, and I hired johnny59 here on this forum to surgically peel the layers of metal off the sail panel. It's quite difficult if you don't know how. The hardest part of the whole job is salvaging a panel from a donor car without breaking it. I would not use Magg personally, I tried twice to contact him to see what the wait time was when you order, and he never got back to me at all. Also some say his panel does not fit as well as a GM panel, but I don't know if that's body shops that are not competent, or the MAGG panel, to be fair. It cost me on the high end, probably about $1100 maybe? They say it can be done for $600-700, if you do some or all of it yourself. Totally a cosmetic issue. When I got my 2000 TA with 68,000 on it you could clearly see the glue line all the way around, it was pretty bad. I was impressed my shop used their windshield guy to attach the newly painted panel because the tops use the same exact urethane glue that windshields use, so the windshield guy knows exactly how long he has to install and adjust the new panel before the glue sets. The GM service bulletin, available on this thread, only gives the GM techs like 2-4 hours I think for the whole job, including paint! So it's not a big job. Hard to find a good shop willing to do it correctly, at least in my area. You anywhere near Philadelphia, PA? Feel free to ask more questions! Others help me here ALL the time, I'm very grateful. Lee
02-09-2022, 11:02 AM
#2140
It doesn't matter that this is an old thread, this is an ongoing and very unfortunate issue for anyone that owns a mid-98 to 2002 Camaro or Firebird. It's a major f--- up by GM, along with lots of their interior plastics. My body shop is so good. It cost me 400-500 for the entire roof off a 95 Camaro, with the t-tops, and I hired johnny59 here on this forum to surgically peel the layers of metal off the sail panel. It's quite difficult if you don't know how. The hardest part of the whole job is salvaging a panel from a donor car without breaking it. I would not use Magg personally, I tried twice to contact him to see what the wait time was when you order, and he never got back to me at all. Also some say his panel does not fit as well as a GM panel, but I don't know if that's body shops that are not competent, or the MAGG panel, to be fair. It cost me on the high end, probably about $1100 maybe? They say it can be done for $600-700, if you do some or all of it yourself. Totally a cosmetic issue. When I got my 2000 TA with 68,000 on it you could clearly see the glue line all the way around, it was pretty bad. I was impressed my shop used their windshield guy to attach the newly painted panel because the tops use the same exact urethane glue that windshields use, so the windshield guy knows exactly how long he has to install and adjust the new panel before the glue sets. The GM service bulletin, available on this thread, only gives the GM techs like 2-4 hours I think for the whole job, including paint! So it's not a big job. Hard to find a good shop willing to do it correctly, at least in my area. You anywhere near Philadelphia, PA? Feel free to ask more questions! Others help me here ALL the time, I'm very grateful. Lee