Instead of starting a new thread for what is becoming a pretty common DIY project I'm going to revive and contribute to this one. "Monstaliner for penthouse" is as accurate as it gets to what I did and is easily searchable.
The back story is that my penthouse top has always been in a bit of decay since I bought the van used in 2010. Back then the clear was pealing some, a few small cracks had formed and the ubiquitous hump at the front was already there. I've never garaged it and the paint and glass has been in a kind of slow constant deterioration since I bought it in 2010. Preserving the penthouse has been on my mind for years now as we all know how difficult and expensive it is to replace.
The preparation of the project started two years ago when I had the opportunity to purchase some of Member Gooseberry's updated hardware. Then last summer I was ready to go forward, purchased all the monstaliner materials but, then started a year job commitment I hadn't planned on. Project was on hold. Now that commitment is completed, the fiberglass isn't getting any better, and the Monstaliner is at the end of it's year shelf life I needed to complete this.
The plan was I wanted to "repair" the deteriorating fiberglass. Replace the hardware/bolts. And improve the thermal performance with a white top. The original burgundy paint that matched the van color was similar to black in absorbing heat. In direct sun it was normal to burn your hand if touched.
However, my preference is that I didn't want to see a white top from the ground. On a dark colored van the all white top screams old ice cream van to me. I apologize to anyone who likes this look, it's just my opinion.
This is where the actual project started. The white you see around the vent was one of my first experiences with Monstaliner from a few years ago. It was the test if I liked the performance and look of Monstliner. I have done several projects with Monstaliner since then which is why I was using it on this project. I'm pretty comfortable using it.
Here is Goosebarry's penthouse bolts compared to the old. My old hardware wasn't difficult to remove but it isn't in as bad of shape as some I've seen here on the Forum. However, the rusting though was in full swing on most of the bolts though.
Once everything was removed it was time to sand. Most of my top had lost the clear coating and was just exposed pigment. I wanted to remove all of the flaking clear and then sand enough to give the Monstaliner the best adhesion to the glass. It was at this point that I realized I should have wrapped the van in plastic before sanding. It was a lot of cleanup.