alkinga

I just bought an 2002 convertible for my son, nothing too fancy just the best I could find on a budget. I want to fix it up real nice before I give it to him! There aren't any major problems I've found, just a couple cosmetic things here and there.

1) The top is a little aged, I wanted to know what I needed to do to make it look new again when he first gets it. I was looking at some black dyes but didn't know what was the best.

2) The paint has been scratched up pretty good in some spots. Whats a good place to get it painted and what kind of paint job do I need. Is Maaco a good deal, and which package would you recommend on a budget.

3) The top of the back tail light is extremely worn down, is there a way to refinish it, or would it need to be replaced?

4) The top seems to leak a bit, behind the rear seats fills up with water after heavy rains. Is there a quick fix?

Thanks

Mares Motorsports

I wouldn't dye the top unless you plan on removing it and doing the whole thing. If the window is glass I don't think the dye will stick. However if it's plastic, I would NOT attempt the dye the top. The best thing is obviously to replace it.

I'm not sure how bad the scratches are, but I would try color sanding and buffing before paint. My girlfriends Mach 1 had a lot of scratches all over the car, I just wet sanded with 1500, then 3000 on a DA and buffed the car. If you don't have a DA, you can buy a set of DuraBlocks from any auto paint supply store along with the sandpaper. Make sure you wet sand with durablocks though. If you decide to have the car repainted, I would deffinately not take it to Maaco. I work in a shop and we fix Maaco and Miracle screwups. I'm not sure where you are in Florida, but go around and find the best quote from REPUTABLE shops. A lot of places will compete with other's quotes as well.

Once again on the tail light, sand it with 800, then 1000, 1500, 3000 and then buff it. I've removed some DEEP scratches out of the tail lights on my girlfriends Mach. Even if the scratches are still there after buffing, I gurantee they will not be as noticble. If it's just on the top of the light, another thing you can think about about is painting the top of the light. Tape off the light itself, any auto paint supply store car mix up your car color and put it in a spray can. just make sure you tape off the trunk itself, if you get any overspray a little 1500 wet will remove it, then buff.

For the leaky top I would have sombody spray the car in that general area with a hose on high pressure, find the leak, then if it's not the actual top and just the seam, you could try silicone from the inside. If it still leaks, silicone from the outside will work too, it's just hard to clean up and look good.

hope this helps, and good luck.

justag6969

i used a tent repair kit for my leak for a few weeks

justag6969

but i had to get a new top

sycamaro67

Well I haven't been able to use this product on my top yet so I don't know how well it will work so here is the website http://www.superiorcarcare.net/conve...-top-care.html

Now how is the paint, can you wetsand and buff the whole thing? I need to see pics. Don't dare take it to Maaco you will have paint runs and dirt under the paint.

Why don't you just black out your tail lights with a tint kit from AM?

I don't know what to do about the top leaking maybe replace whether striping.