Hi there! Anyone have any experience re-finishing the outside part of a glass top? The one I have is in good condition but, it needs some cleaning up. Can I wet sand? Compound and polish? I was looking for some advice if anyone has worked on these before... Thanks!

 

Hi,
The top material is plastic/acrylic and actually forms a structural member of your car when in place.
I noticed wax buildup after running through an automatic carwash.
Maybe someone else will chime in on acceptable cleaning products.

 

I did this to my roof. Here.......


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...with-pics.html

 

It all looks great but there is another solution for when the clear coat that is on top of the top starts to crack. When this happens no amount of polishing will help and some members will have this issue. When this happens you simply wet sand the entire clearcoat off with 600 then you go over that with 1000 to get those 600 marks out then go with 1200. This whole process should take no more than 1.5 hours after you have done that simply get some medium cut polishing compound and a high speed polisher at 1500 to 2000 rpms and you will start to see what looks like a brand new glass finish. Last you finish that off with a mirror glaze and a soft polishing pad and man it looks like brand new. I did htis with mine and it was amazing looking and long lasting also. Its the clearcoat that gets distorted and to maintain it simply wax it twice a year

 

And sand in one direction not circular motion - that way you'll eliminate tiny scratches. To remove all schratches you might need to start with dry sand 600 then wetsand 600 and then 800, 1000, 1200 and if you want to get rid of all tiny scratches then 1500-2000 ( but it's not necessary ). If you have air sander you can use air-sander (HUTCHINSON is good) with hook-it soft pad and start with 800 then.
With RUBBING Compound start off with 1000 or less applying pressure to it and as soon as it'll haze.. then you can do 1500 lightly.. And after rubbing use Foam Polishing Pad Glaze - Dark with 1600-2200 do not apply pressure to it. Start off with slower rpm with pressure though. And if you want it to look like a mirror to remove all tiny-tiny spider webs from polishing you can use Swirl Mark Remover without pressure and higher rpm, but don't STOP you'll burn the finish. Move along sand lines.. And use only foam pads! Better to use good compounds like 3M brand. They don't sell them at AutoZone or other parts stores. Check out ebay or something like terrysautosupply.com.

After WAX it with good natural wax no synthetic crap!
If you have buffer then aplly some wax with the towel let it dry a little and then lay down a towel on it and buff over a towel, you'll get better mirror looking finish.

Then it will last for a long time.
Hope it helps. If you have any question - ask.

 

WHY, WHY automatic carwash?

It will ruin your paint! It is very hard to restore nice look after couple of automatic washes.

 

dr_cranii,
We have a little thing up here in the Midwest called winter with snow, sleet, ice, below freezing temps and salted roads.
That's why I take my car to the car wash sometimes. When it is nice out I treat my baby to S100 and an extra fine bristle paint brush and a wax job.
The clear coat still looks decent for a 18year old car.