Pop-top gel coat maintenance
- Thread starter hunta
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- fibreglass pop top
Depending on the colour of your pop-top, you will need to regularly maintain it. By 'regular' twice a year should be sufficient.
You won't need any special tools, and there are several products that protect fibreglass, but we've used Autoglym Super Resin as a product to protect and it's proven very effective both in performance and longevity. Bare in mind that fibreglass is a major part of my business, so my conclusions are from 17 years of experience.
Saying that, providing you get a coat of wax on the surface a couple of times a year, most good quality products should work.
So would you recommend getting a pop top painted? Would it them be easier to maintain?
I have a caterham seven and the 4 wings and nosecone are fibreglass with gelcoat finish.
I just apply Autoglym Super Resin Polish (after a wash) with a foam pad and buff off with a microfibre cloth. The SRP has an extremely fine abrasive that will remove any blooming and will leave a protective finish that will cause water to bead on the surface of the gelcoat. A second coat of SRP will add protection IMHO.
I just apply Autoglym Super Resin Polish (after a wash) with a foam pad and buff off with a microfibre cloth. The SRP has an extremely fine abrasive that will remove any blooming and will leave a protective finish that will cause water to bead on the surface of the gelcoat. A second coat of SRP will add protection IMHO.
I’d say gelcoat is easier to maintain than paint. It has a lot more depth than paint but is quite hard so can be prone to chipping. Not so much of an issue on a roof.
It will be much more resistant to UV if it's painted yes, but the issue with pop-tops is the finish isn't always that nice and painting can look a little DIY, hence why they gel-coat them and even a gel-coated finish isn't perfect on a roof from what I've seen.
This is 22 years old and garaged…
UV issue a good point…this is with nosecone badge removed…
If that's been garaged all its life, I cannot see how a drastic change like that is down to UV.
@Tourershine @Paynewright
Excellent, thank you for your help. Even better, I've already got some Autoglym Super Resin Polish so £0 for once!
Excellent, thank you for your help. Even better, I've already got some Autoglym Super Resin Polish so £0 for once!
That's always the issue. Once they go dull, we can get the finish back, but it is a constant job maintaining it. That's just the nature of fibreglass once it goes beyond a certain point.
For many years the car was parked in front of a glazed door when in the garage. We’ve had an extension now so less direct light. Also, when we are home the garage lights are generally left on (flourescents) as its a thoroughfare to other parts of the house.
It is a strong discolouration / difference behind the badge! I wonder if its like the effect you get on house woodwork, where gloss paint behind furniture discolours?
It is a strong discolouration / difference behind the badge! I wonder if its like the effect you get on house woodwork, where gloss paint behind furniture discolours?
That's an interesting idea. More generally I am a bit worried about keeping the pop-top tip-top... We have a lot of trees round here and it's a bit of an art finding a corner of the drive that doesn't get too much fall-out (leaves, pine needles, sap, bird droppings).
I have a Reimo bathtub which was painted from new in Reflex Silver at additional cost.
The paint job is good quality and no signs of deterioration, I wax it and silicone grease the seal once a year.
One weakness I spotted was the rubber seal is not bonded to the roof, this is a bonus when it comes to changing the seal but the channel fills with water which contacts the exposed edge of the GRP roof.
Does anybody know if the edge of the Reimo roof is sealed during manufacturing?
The paint job is good quality and no signs of deterioration, I wax it and silicone grease the seal once a year.
One weakness I spotted was the rubber seal is not bonded to the roof, this is a bonus when it comes to changing the seal but the channel fills with water which contacts the exposed edge of the GRP roof.
Does anybody know if the edge of the Reimo roof is sealed during manufacturing?
All the edges of my fibreglass are unfinished ie you can see the transition between gelcoat and fibreglass. Usually its all layed up wet so all bonds together. I’ve owned it (built it) from new and do not recall any de-lamination issues being highlighted on the forums apart from dry lay up where not enough resin has been used to wet the fibreglass. It does get used in the wet but not often.
The same products are used to make boat hulls which are obviously in constant contact with water. I recall a friends parents having to have their sea going boat out of the water for a long time as they had patches where water had got inbetween the layers of fibreglass compromising its integrity.
The same products are used to make boat hulls which are obviously in constant contact with water. I recall a friends parents having to have their sea going boat out of the water for a long time as they had patches where water had got inbetween the layers of fibreglass compromising its integrity.
Never heard that one. All mine needs is good working over with a broom and pressure washer to remove the sticky muck that drops off the street trees. We had to regularly clean, polish and anti foul the gelcoat on boats to keep it smooth. Otherwise the weed and barnacle build up would slow it down.
Nigeljarvis
Member
Hi, my gloss pop top roof has lost its gloss lustre. I have tried t cutting it with no luck. Any suggestions/ products on how I can restore the gloss look please? Thanks
Nigeljarvis
Member
Thanks for the advice. Don’t mind the hard work if it’ll work!
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