Freedom Top Repair / Repaint (Bedlined)
08-01-2010, 09:33 PM
#1
JK Junkie
Thread Starter
Freedom Top Repair / Repaint (Bedlined)
Hey guys, I just wanted to show you what i've been up to this weekend. I scored a hardtop and picked it up the other day.
Beginning details:
- delaminating fiberglass on rear corners
- rear structure damage
- many scratches (mainly on back and sides)
- rear glass broken/busted out
- hardtop corners by door-jam broken on both sides
First brought it home
Scratches
Broken Corners;
Passenger:
Driver:
(No pics of the delaminated glass or rear structure damage)
Repair
First thing i did was wash the top and wipe it all down. After i removed the top and managed to flip it over onto a moving cart, i sanded down the broken corners to clean them up, and i also sanded the inside and outside of the driver and passenger doorjam corner. To repair these corners i used a fiberglass repair kit from West Marine for less then $20. It came with everything i needed to fix these and the rest of the top.
I made a cardboard template of what the corners should* look like and then got my fiberglass ready.
put more on then you need, because after it cures and fully dries you can cut and sand off everything you don't need.
Driver Side:
Passenger Side:
- After i got these set how i needed them to dry, i began to tape off the windowsinside and outside.
Within in a few hours i was able to use a hack saw and cut the formed fiberglass to the specs of my cardboard template. I then let it dry for a few more hours and came back that night and was able to sand down the glass to a relatively smooth surface. (I did this by hand and our disk sander would've made life alot easier..)
after getting the corners to where i wanted them, i added one more generous coat of fiberglass resin, and also removed the sealing foam on the rear where it rests on the Jeep body, and also glassed that together to give it more strength.
Cut fiberglass corners:
When i got the corners as thick and strong as i needed them, i wiped down the whole top again, scuffed up the scratches with sand paper, wiped it down a second time, and then masked off everything i wasn't going to bedline. Thats right folks, Duplicolor Spray on Bedliner. I sprayed the inside lip of the hardtop for a bit more strength, and after i let that dry for a few minutes we flipped the top over and continued masking off the top section of the top, and the front and rear openings, trying to prevent over-spray.
Begin spraying the bedliner away from the top, and move into the area that needs bedlined, and proceed to over shoot it, and bring it back in. Do not start and stop on the top itself. Doing this prevents the build-up of too much paint in one place, which makes it really blotchy and screwed up looking. Keep applying evenly sprayed coats of bedliner until you get the top (or what ever you are painting) where you want it. If you take your time and do it right, you will end up with a very very nice finish. why should i keep explaining crap, you're ready for more pics right?
Post Bedliner:
Difference in finish between duplicolor spray on bedliner and mopar freedom top finish:
Last but not least, here is the hardtop on my Jeep, and pics of my repaired corners, with comparison pictures:
Driver Broken:
Driver side Fixed:
Passenger Broken:
Passenger side Fixed:
Thoughts and Reviews:
The fiberglass was a bit of a pain at first, but after it starts curing you can still form it, but remember you're on a time constraint and need to do get it done, so be careful yet patient. Have it all prepped and ready to go before you go slopping fiberglass on stuff that could've had a second going over. Gloves would also be a big help, but if you don't have any/didn't grab a set just have some acetone and harsh thinner to clean your hands off with.
Duplicolor... Fantastic. I was very pleased with the quality and finished product that came from that rattle can. I am impressed. I am so happy with what came of the sides and back of the top, that i am going to proceed and do the top of the rear section, as well as the freedom panels. The interior will be done in regular black eventually, not bedlined. As i said in the body of the thread about spraying the bedliner, start off the top and bring the spray into where you're painting and over spray continuing your arch. Press down on the can tip hard in order to get the full pressure of the can and a good solid texture and finish. These tops should come this way from the factory, it's that great.
Other then that.. i think i covered everything, feel free to ask questions and post up comments.
More pictures will be posted as i'm getting the rear glass installed tomorrow morning, and i'll eventually finished bedlining the whole hardtop. Picked the top up thursday night, worked on it friday, saturday and sunday little by little and now it's better then new. Minus rear glass, but thats tomorrow
EDIT:
Finished bedlining the top on sunday morning, but i went and screwed up the top of the rear section, so monday i woke up and fixed my screw up by masking it all off again, sanding the top of the rear section and then hitting it again with the last of my bedliner. Now i am finished messing with my top for now, it looks great and i can't wait to get it back on the Jeep somehow. Pics of the finished product:
Freedom panels also came out great, i'll post pics of those eventually too
All Done!
EDIT AGAIN!!!
8-30-2011
I bedlined the interior and did a little something extra*
(see page 6-7 for details)
------NEW PROJECT------
Pictures of Badpunkin's wrecked hardtop, and the process of it's repair.
Cracks are all cleaned and sanded down, and the smaller cracks along with the cracked window frame are fiberglassed. Currently curing, tomorrow i will sand those down and begin working on that big hole..
Please Do Not quote the entire post, It's Massive! Count the pictures and image codes in order to get the right picture you have a question about. Thanks!
Beginning details:
- delaminating fiberglass on rear corners
- rear structure damage
- many scratches (mainly on back and sides)
- rear glass broken/busted out
- hardtop corners by door-jam broken on both sides
First brought it home
Scratches
Broken Corners;
Passenger:
Driver:
(No pics of the delaminated glass or rear structure damage)
Repair
First thing i did was wash the top and wipe it all down. After i removed the top and managed to flip it over onto a moving cart, i sanded down the broken corners to clean them up, and i also sanded the inside and outside of the driver and passenger doorjam corner. To repair these corners i used a fiberglass repair kit from West Marine for less then $20. It came with everything i needed to fix these and the rest of the top.
I made a cardboard template of what the corners should* look like and then got my fiberglass ready.
put more on then you need, because after it cures and fully dries you can cut and sand off everything you don't need.
Driver Side:
Passenger Side:
- After i got these set how i needed them to dry, i began to tape off the windowsinside and outside.
Within in a few hours i was able to use a hack saw and cut the formed fiberglass to the specs of my cardboard template. I then let it dry for a few more hours and came back that night and was able to sand down the glass to a relatively smooth surface. (I did this by hand and our disk sander would've made life alot easier..)
after getting the corners to where i wanted them, i added one more generous coat of fiberglass resin, and also removed the sealing foam on the rear where it rests on the Jeep body, and also glassed that together to give it more strength.
Cut fiberglass corners:
When i got the corners as thick and strong as i needed them, i wiped down the whole top again, scuffed up the scratches with sand paper, wiped it down a second time, and then masked off everything i wasn't going to bedline. Thats right folks, Duplicolor Spray on Bedliner. I sprayed the inside lip of the hardtop for a bit more strength, and after i let that dry for a few minutes we flipped the top over and continued masking off the top section of the top, and the front and rear openings, trying to prevent over-spray.
Begin spraying the bedliner away from the top, and move into the area that needs bedlined, and proceed to over shoot it, and bring it back in. Do not start and stop on the top itself. Doing this prevents the build-up of too much paint in one place, which makes it really blotchy and screwed up looking. Keep applying evenly sprayed coats of bedliner until you get the top (or what ever you are painting) where you want it. If you take your time and do it right, you will end up with a very very nice finish. why should i keep explaining crap, you're ready for more pics right?
Post Bedliner:
Difference in finish between duplicolor spray on bedliner and mopar freedom top finish:
Last but not least, here is the hardtop on my Jeep, and pics of my repaired corners, with comparison pictures:
Driver Broken:
Driver side Fixed:
Passenger Broken:
Passenger side Fixed:
Thoughts and Reviews:
The fiberglass was a bit of a pain at first, but after it starts curing you can still form it, but remember you're on a time constraint and need to do get it done, so be careful yet patient. Have it all prepped and ready to go before you go slopping fiberglass on stuff that could've had a second going over. Gloves would also be a big help, but if you don't have any/didn't grab a set just have some acetone and harsh thinner to clean your hands off with.
Duplicolor... Fantastic. I was very pleased with the quality and finished product that came from that rattle can. I am impressed. I am so happy with what came of the sides and back of the top, that i am going to proceed and do the top of the rear section, as well as the freedom panels. The interior will be done in regular black eventually, not bedlined. As i said in the body of the thread about spraying the bedliner, start off the top and bring the spray into where you're painting and over spray continuing your arch. Press down on the can tip hard in order to get the full pressure of the can and a good solid texture and finish. These tops should come this way from the factory, it's that great.
Other then that.. i think i covered everything, feel free to ask questions and post up comments.
More pictures will be posted as i'm getting the rear glass installed tomorrow morning, and i'll eventually finished bedlining the whole hardtop. Picked the top up thursday night, worked on it friday, saturday and sunday little by little and now it's better then new. Minus rear glass, but thats tomorrow
EDIT:
Finished bedlining the top on sunday morning, but i went and screwed up the top of the rear section, so monday i woke up and fixed my screw up by masking it all off again, sanding the top of the rear section and then hitting it again with the last of my bedliner. Now i am finished messing with my top for now, it looks great and i can't wait to get it back on the Jeep somehow. Pics of the finished product:
Freedom panels also came out great, i'll post pics of those eventually too
All Done!
EDIT AGAIN!!!
8-30-2011
I bedlined the interior and did a little something extra*
(see page 6-7 for details)
------NEW PROJECT------
Pictures of Badpunkin's wrecked hardtop, and the process of it's repair.
Cracks are all cleaned and sanded down, and the smaller cracks along with the cracked window frame are fiberglassed. Currently curing, tomorrow i will sand those down and begin working on that big hole..
Please Do Not quote the entire post, It's Massive! Count the pictures and image codes in order to get the right picture you have a question about. Thanks!
Last edited by Yamaha90; 08-30-2011 at 04:18 PM. Reason: New Project!
08-02-2010, 05:57 AM
#6
JK Enthusiast
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Atlanta, GA
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Greatjob man! Is there a reason you didn't spray the top of the top? In the pics, it looks like you left it the smooth mopar finish.
@Greyrider, i think most autoparts stores have the Duplicolor...
@Greyrider, i think most autoparts stores have the Duplicolor...
08-02-2010, 10:15 AM
#7
JK Junkie
Thread Starter
8/24/11 Update
Here are updated pics from today, got those glassed areas sanded down and i added some more glass to the big crack/hole area. That will dry tonight and i'll test fit the window tomorrow, add more fiberglass and matting, sand more and get dirty. I think i'm going to spray this rear section when it's all done so BP won't have to get it Line-X'd ASAP.
_____________________________________________
Hey thanks for the compliments guys.
I got the Duplicolor at advanced auto / Autozone
The reason i didn't spray the top of the hardtop is because the top was not scratched up at all, and i planned to blend the bedliner in and then spray the whole thing with a semi-flat black krylon paint, but after seeing the duplicolor bedlienr's finish, i want to spray everything with it. Eventually i will get around to painting the interior of the top black and finishing the hardtop exterior with the duplicolor.
Here are updated pics from today, got those glassed areas sanded down and i added some more glass to the big crack/hole area. That will dry tonight and i'll test fit the window tomorrow, add more fiberglass and matting, sand more and get dirty. I think i'm going to spray this rear section when it's all done so BP won't have to get it Line-X'd ASAP.
_____________________________________________
Hey thanks for the compliments guys.
I got the Duplicolor at advanced auto / Autozone
The reason i didn't spray the top of the hardtop is because the top was not scratched up at all, and i planned to blend the bedliner in and then spray the whole thing with a semi-flat black krylon paint, but after seeing the duplicolor bedlienr's finish, i want to spray everything with it. Eventually i will get around to painting the interior of the top black and finishing the hardtop exterior with the duplicolor.
Last edited by Yamaha90; 08-24-2011 at 06:36 PM.
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08-02-2010, 10:39 AM
#8
JK Junkie
Thread Starter
Glass was installed this morning 
Looks great!
For $350 i got a whole new rear window, it came with everything needed to install. New hinges, new botton window channel, shock knobs, plastic hinge covers.. had everything, i was very pleased.
Pics:
That's all, until i get around to spraying the interior and the rest of the exterior.
Looks great!
For $350 i got a whole new rear window, it came with everything needed to install. New hinges, new botton window channel, shock knobs, plastic hinge covers.. had everything, i was very pleased.
Pics:
That's all, until i get around to spraying the interior and the rest of the exterior.
08-02-2010, 11:36 AM
#10
JK Junkie
Thread Starter
It really makes a huge huge difference, and i believe it looks 10X better. When washing you should use a brush instead of a sponge or something because it does have some grip to it.
when you do bedline your top make sure you use the tip provided in the painting part in the write up, it yields a great finish. I also bedlined the plastic cover for the rear wiper motor, looks great
when you do bedline your top make sure you use the tip provided in the painting part in the write up, it yields a great finish. I also bedlined the plastic cover for the rear wiper motor, looks great