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Old 04-11-2021, 11:15 PM   #1
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Any body and paint people...

I have a 97 e350 with a SMB pop top. I’m interested in getting a fiberglass high top to replace it.
The roof in the area where the pop top seal rests has worn away the paint and rusted a few areas. I am in the process of cleaning all of that up and preparing to repaint the roof in preparation for the high top.
I have got down to the metal and tried to grind away what rust I can and chemically treated it as well.
I am wondering what type of finish I may need in order for the fiberglass top to be installed and have a solid and long lasting seal.
Do I need to do a full repaint up to clear coat and fully finish sanded and buffed?
Can I get by with a top coat and no clear?
I will get to bare metal and use epoxy primer as a foundation and then I will reseal the gutters with seam sealer. After that a bit of primer filler above the gutters and sand it smooth.
What should the next step be?
It only needs to be well sealed and solid to glue a top on I think....
I do not know what type of adhesive is used for the high top.
If it does not require a clear or even a base coat after primer I would love to save
the money and time in not continuing further painting and finishing.
I have never done any real body work or painting and this is a pretty unusual job so there doesn’t seem to be a lot of info out there according to my research.
Thank you In advance for any information or guidance from the experienced!
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Old 04-12-2021, 03:23 AM   #2
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Sounds like you are proceeding properly, although I don’t have experience prepping for a high top. Have you asked the company installing the high top?

Maybe @JWA will provide comment.
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Old 04-12-2021, 09:26 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marret View Post
Maybe @JWA will provide comment.
His user name is just JWA and he's a former body shop owner. He helped me immensely with a rusted cab floor pan repair. You can always shoot him a PM:

https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo.../jwa-3007.html
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Old 04-12-2021, 03:42 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BCam View Post
His user name is just JWA and he's a former body shop owner. He helped me immensely with a rusted cab floor pan repair. You can always shoot him a PM:

https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo.../jwa-3007.html
Right, the @ before denotes what follows is member’s user name. On some forums, it also notifies the person.
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Old 04-26-2021, 10:30 AM   #5
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Well I got it finished up. I ended up painting 3 base coats and 4 coats of clear.
Used 4.5 cartridges of self leveling sealer in the gutters.
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Old 04-26-2021, 11:17 AM   #6
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Nice paint booth! What fixed top are you installing and where? I hope my fixed top build was a catalyst!


Lyall
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Old 04-26-2021, 11:42 AM   #7
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Haha yeah! Wasn’t ideal but all I could come up with!
Looking at the Tufport tops. They are in BC.
Your van is the only one I’ve been in with a high top. So I guess it is your fault!
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Old 04-26-2021, 12:23 PM   #8
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Happy I helped! I looked at Tufport as well and got pricing thru Kanopy Kingdom in Federal Way, WA. They sell their truck canopy's, nice top for the taller folks. Keep us updated.
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