hardtop is getting painted- need spinlocks

[Kirk]

Take a friend with you to the body shop. Put the top on. Roll your windows down. Then drive home with you and your friend both extending one arm out the window and holding the top down.

Kirk

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by Kirk

Take a friend with you to the body shop. Put the top on. Roll your windows down. Then drive home with you and your friend both extending one arm out the window and holding the top down.

Kirk

+1.

Plus I would also bring a super super soft thick blanket and put it between the car and hardtop along where it would normally be held down by the spinlocks....just in case it bounces any. Heck maybe stack'em 2-3 blankets deep just to be extra cautious.

And yes watch out for those big sharp metal parts of the hardtop that drop and lock into the spinlocks.

I ditched my hard top for $1k when I got my car. It was helpful in super crappy weather and my old lady liked it cause she knew if the hardtop was on I would mess up her hair with the top down but other then that I found that thing a pain to store and put on and off.

I'm top down 12 months a year. :dance:

[DANMKII]

ok so after waiting 1 whole week for the hardtop toget painted.

my friend and I went to pick it up. We jsut put it on drove a few blocks while holding on to the hardtop with our arms out the window (this was VERY late at night)

the hardtop was VERY dusty, but I didnt pay any mind at the time, until we got home. To our SURPRISE the hardtop is painted SO POORLY, runs on paint, rough patches and bumps everywhere, underlying previous paint still showing alone the rubbing trimmings... We washed it down, clay barred it, polished it, waxed it and it still very bumpy everywhere. (chipped paint here and there)

$250 for a worst than maaco paint job...I'm going to take it back over the weekend to have him repaint it, but even so I dont trust that guy anymore.. anybody have similar horror stories when painting their hardtops? this is ridiculous.

I rather write this off as a lost and paint it myself than allow him to "repaint" it again..
ARGHH...

only good news is suncoast is sending me the spinlocks in 3 days.

Note, apologies for the bad grammar- I'm on my blackberry.

[sd_boxster]

That sucks, man.

[KevinH1990]

Originally Posted by DANMKII

anybody have similar horror stories when painting their hardtops? this is ridiculous.

I rather write this off as a lost and paint it myself than allow him to "repaint" it again..
ARGHH...

Sorry you had a bad experience.

On my Boxster I was fortunate to find a top in the same color as my car. I had a red Miata hardtop painted Montego Blue about five years ago. I "interviewed" several paint shops and asked for opinions from my friends before I settled on a shop. I found a guy who was fairly inexpensive and did good quality work. He was just very slow to complete the job. My friends warned me about that and it didn't bug me too much. (Of course, I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas while the job was being completed.)

You might consider obtaining some references before you start over. If your friends can't point you in the right direction, call the service departments at some high end car dealers. Ask who does their painting on trade ins. You may have to talk to several folks before someone gives you some good leads. Ask to see some of their work to determine if it meets your standards.

$250 seems like a very low price for the NYC area. You might need to pay $400 or more for a good job.

Good luck.

[Kirk]

I'd take it back and have the painter re-do it. Who knows, maybe they'll do a good job the second time. It shouldn't cost you anything. It shouldn't come out any worse. So what's the harm? Give him another "shot" and see if it doesn't come out better.

Kirk

[Pirate50]

I bought a used hardtop that is black but my car is Basalt Black Metallic. When I checked with the body shop that does all the Porsche work in town about painting it, they said I would need to have 2 of the seals that are attached, removed, which would destroy them. Those would cost about 200 bucks @ Sunset Imports. Body shop says it won't paint it without there removal. Anyone had this experience?

[KevinH1990]

Originally Posted by Pirate50

I bought a used hardtop that is black but my car is Basalt Black Metallic. When I checked with the body shop that does all the Porsche work in town about painting it, they said I would need to have 2 of the seals that are attached, removed, which would destroy them. Those would cost about 200 bucks @ Sunset Imports. Body shop says it won't paint it without there removal. Anyone had this experience?

If you want a "perfect" job, I think that would be necessary.

If the shop did a good job masking the seals, and you aren't an absolute perfectionist I don't think it is necessary.

When I had my Miata top painted, one shop refused to do the work unless I agreed to let them remove the rear window. That would have required replacement of the weather strip and a possible broken window. As they explained it, they had a reputation for quality work to maintain and they were unwilling to compromise.

The shop that did the work told me that they used fishing line to hold the weather strip out of the way while they were painting. I didn't see them do it, but I've heard it is one of the auto body "tricks of the trade."