rickso84

The acrylic (tinted) roof for my '91 got broken. Friend raised the stowed roof too high and broke a 1" x 2" piece off where it slides into the holder. I have the piece and could glue it back in with acrylic cement but likely wouldn't handle the stress of being put in the storage rack where the force would be right on the broken off piece. Anyone have experience with this?

Re-cores are available. My roof's got a lot of crazing (fine, fine internal cracks) anyway. Are the re-cores any good? I've seen links to http://www.astrotops.com/ and http://www.sunroofdoctor.com/, both are about the same price. Any experience with either?

Finally, what color is the original acrylic roof? It's not quite gray but not quite blue either.

oldalaskaman

you can get the lense for bout $200

wcvette

Could you post or pm the info on those?
Thanks, Bill

rickso84

Yes, where can I get just the "lens" for the acrylic roof? How is it attached to the frame and is it a task that a mere mortal can master?

oldalaskaman

call melrose, they dont list it on their site but will sell it if you call them.

vetteman42

The color is either Bronze or Blue....sounds like your color is "Blue"...I can not put my hands on the my BLACK BOOK.....but I don't think the roof color was "matched" to your body color.......but rather optional.

SAVE THE WAVE

wheelhorse

I got both fiberglass and blue tint from Melrose. No regrets.

rickso84

Just called Melrose and they DO NOT sell the acrlyic "lens" top separately. They won't sell it because they won't be responsible for its installation since it's a complex process of primers and bonding agents. Their "exchange" roof (new acrylic bonded to a reconditioned frame) is $645.

Going to try solvent-welding the broken pieces with MDC (Methylene Di-Chloride) which is the proper "glue" for acrylic. I don't have any cracks in the roof, just two broken pieces that fit back together cleanly. The solvent is thin and seeps into the gap, melting and welding the pieces together. The fellow I talked with at a local plastics house said the bond is equal to or greater than the strength of the original acrylic. Supposed to be almose invisible. We'll see (or hopefully not!).

oldalaskaman

well they used to sell them, wonder why they changed, probably havin trouble getting that 'big' dollar

HlhnEast

FYI Astro tops have a very bad rep here. Many members posted about inferior products and terrible customer service.

c4sailor

The MDC weld will be tough as nails.

darrylg

I did exactly the same thing to my acrylic roof. The acrylic bonding fluid, I don't recollect what it's called, creates a chemical weld and it's really strong, much more than an adhesive. I looked up a couple of local shops that do acrylic work and they gave me a syringe of the chemical for only a couple bucks. Once fixed, it was still visible, looking like a crack. I concealed it by covering the back edge with a 2" wide strip of carbon fiber, purchased from an automotive graphics shop. It looks great, and I actually get compliments on the look of the carbon fiber from people who don't know it's actually there to cover the crack.

rickso84

The repair came out well using MDC (Methylene Di-Chloride). It's the same stuff, in a bottle with a long, needle application tube. I was surprised when I applied it because it beaded and flowed all over the place, unlike the acrylic samples I practiced on. Luckily the roof has some kind of laminate coating that's totally resistant to the acrylic solvent, but the broken edges bond just fine.

I like the carbon fiber strip idea. I assume it's a self-adhesive print that looks like the carbon?

darrylg

Yep, the repair is really strong. I got some carbon sheet at a shop that specializes in auto graphics and cut it to size and wrapped it about 1/2" around the underside. I'm not sure whether the material's really carbon or not - it sure looks like it. Like I said, I actually get compliments on it from people who don't know it's covering a repair, which is on the passenger-side corner.

wcvette

Anyone used MDC to repair a crack from the windshield back about half-way? The crack is passenger side and comes from front frame back about a foot. It would only be a backup to the painted one.

motor city dave

Thanks rickso84 and darrylg.I have the same problem. I will use the carbon sheet also,nice touch.

rickso84

MDC should work on a crack it the crack extends to the surface of the acrylic (i.e. you can feel it with your fingernail). An interesting thing with the arcylic, at least the stuff on my car. It appears to be laminated between two coatings of MDC-resistant material. I didn't know this and was very cautious to not get any solvent on the area around the crack. That caution caused me to do not as good a job aligning the brkoen pieces. The top and bottom surfaces of the acrylic weren't affected by the MDC at all, but the broken edges bonded very well. Test an area first though. Aftermarket roofs may be different.

LT4 F45

Did he still your friend???

occupa

My friend did not raise it too much; I did

Small chip, about quarter size, popped out

I used Weld-On 3 and looks like it will make a permanent repair