so i bought this great looking 1994 Mustang GT convert with only 90K miles on it. only problem was it had about 6-8 inches of the saddle colored top pulling away from the rear glass window i searched around found out how to fix it and to use rhino glue (20.00)

though out all this i was looking for a mustang club (i used to be in a Panther platform club and i liked it) so i go to the clubs car show buy talking to people i found out about an upholstery shop just so happens owner was there at the show. so i end up going to the upholstery shop was told 50.00 and he could glue it down .. i thought hes a professional (i talked to someone at the show that said they same thing and this upholstery shop fixed theres ... it looked great except for 1 small dip in a 2 inch space the you saw a hairline of the black in the window) went back 2 days later and had it done as they said it would take like 30 min me and my ride went to lunch i get back and see the top .... TWF! .... (i was ready to see a great looking job) what i do see is glue all on the convert top under the window and globs of glue making it all wavey .. big huge glob of glue in the corner raising the top id say almost 1/4 inch

the owner had left for a job by the time i got back so i asked for him to call me (i had to pay for it so i could take my car i only have 1 )the next day i waited till about 3 PM and i ended up calling him i do have a bit og a hot head but i stayed totaly calm -- theres glue all over my top bla bla he got glue on his hand wile he was doing it .. you ruiened my top.... he didnt fix it he repaired it (???) anyways at one point he said something of i dont know what the _____ you expected -- WO! i asked why are you swearing at me (still claim as can be) ends up i started out with a car that needed 6-8 inches of cover fixed to now im going to have to have a whole new top ..... yes its the original top from 1994 but remember it only has 90K miles and was stored/garage kept

im not saying who or what company did this ... but i will tell you they are withing Boone County ,IL

 

So this guy didn't refund your money or anything??? Pictures of the crappy repair job??

 

well get them

 

dont know how to post other then this way

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps6fd3a240.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...psef94f404.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps0ba54a41.jpg

 

My God! I've never messed with repairing a convertible top, but I *do* have extensive auto body experience because I used to work for a Ford Dealer in my youth right after High School, and I'm sitting here in shock.

I saw the pics, and like I said, I don't have experience with vert tops, but that white "whatever it is" I don't think is what was supposed to ever be near that. Also, it's a MESS! It almost looks like white household silicone caulk to me! Is that what it is? Is it spongy?

Maybe somebody that has actual experience could chime in here, but I would think there is a special vinyl top cement for that made specificly for that application, and I doubt seriously it's made for making freakin' fillets with it! He made a fillet with that stuff. He also should've been using tools made to spread stuff and should've never got that mess on his hands and I see like a thumb and what looks like index and middle finger print.

I know you are mad, and not trying to make you madder. I feel bad for you and that car, but that is terrible workmanship. In fact it makes me wanna do research now and look up the type of cement used for that top, and I'm going to and am gonna report back here.

It might still be possible to save the original top depending on what he used there. Maybe a type of reducer or spirits or thinner ***might take it off*** without damaging the tops finish, but I'd have to look that up too. A lot of these vinyl trim pieces are colored with Vinyl Dyes at the factory and you have to take care not to damage the finish.

Lemme do some studying up. I'll see what I can find out.

 

That's what I thought...contact cement was supposed to be used. Contact cement is a product that is spread relatively thin (most of the time on both mating surfaces but not always) and when placed together and squeegeed out bonds the surfaces together, and it's fairly aggressive too so care has to be taken to make sure the material is laid down smooth and done right the first time.

That white stuff does not look like any contact cement I have ever seen. I've seen 3 different kinds of the stuff- one had a bright yellow color to it, and the other 2 had a brownish cream color to it...kinda like some polishes and waxes have...that kind of color.

Also after doing a quick less than 5 minute search I found out that a heat gun (kinda like a commercial blow dyer only a lot hotter) is used to make the material more pliable and also to work it and keep from puckering and to help it adhere to rounded surfaces better.

 

ya .. i dont know what to do now ...

 

go back to that guy and tell him you want that stuff removed. Did you get a reciept? I would at least try to get my money back..... call a lawyer?

 

Unless you only paid him a case of beer, he owes you a new top. That's not professional at all.

 

Right now let's take our time and think about this. I'm not sure I would risk taking that car back there and letting this guy near it to be honest with you. I know it might be hard to believe but if he does anything else wrong he could still make it even worse...yes I know it's hard to believe one could do worse, but I've seen some real doosies before I was painting these things in the past. There are some people in this world who should never touch a car or do anything to it and unfortunately we now know another one of them...the same one who did that to this man's top. I'd set on this for a few days and think about it. Maybe some others will chime in with some suggestions too.

 

One big issue is getting all the crap off so the proper adhesive can adhere properly. Once done and clean, it should not be that difficult to fix using the proper items. One issue is being able to park the car long enough to clean and fix it.

I would only go back to the screw up shop to ask for my money back....

 

If this were my Mustang I'd kinda want to try to keep the original top if at all possible. It's always best to keep the parts that came on them from factory if possible and only replace if the damage is severe enough it cannot be fixed. One never knows when one of these cars will peak in value. This car is nice enough and hasn't been molested that I think he should try to save the top if possible. Aw, and BTW by "molested" I do not mean that in a dirty way. It's just a term we use in the South here to mean the car has not been taken apart and had things done to it unnecessarily.

Personally, I'd look to take this one to a highly rated, trustworthy professional body shop...maybe the Ford Dealer in your area. Let them look at this and see what they can do. It's hard for me to figure out what to do with this, because I would need to see what that white stuff is, and what can break it down and clean it up without damaging the color of the top. If it is just silicone some gentle rubbing with a finger might just take it off and get it to "ball up". A pro or somebody that has done this kind of thing before would be the wise choice though.

Also, if you go back to that club or weekend car show or whatever it was take the Mustang and show them the "professional job (NOT)" that was done here. Car enthusiasts want things done right, and those folks that told you about that guy do not need to be spreading that around causing damage to people's cars. The word needs to get out about this guy before he really ruins a very expensive car.

I really hope this top can be saved. Every time I log on to TMS here I think about this car and Brian, and feel really bad about this.

 

all original except for battery only 90 K miles on it it was owned by a 75 year old


ford said we have to replace the top ( i dont think you do) i have heard enough of people fixing them in there own drive ways and it looks great

what ever he used its hard as a rock he said it was some kind of mix of 2 things and you push the plunger down it goes into a zig zag tube to mix it i used to work in a body shop and we used something like this to attach body panels before welding

as for going back to the club i dont think i should since hes (the one who did this) is in it

as for tops --- IF i do have to replace it i dont even see this color all i see is black and if i have to go to a dif color can i go one step more and put a differant type of top on it ?? like a cloth one??


i dont even wana go into this place alone .. im 34 years old and im still thinking of calling my pops to go with me .. as a witness IF anything goes south

 

I wish I knew what that stuff was. It's obviously got a hardener, and in this case that's bad. I wish I knew somebody I could talk to that does upholstery work. I used to know a guy that was one of the best I've ever seen. He worked on 2 of my Dad's show cars, but the guy closed down a few years ago and is gone now.

Like I said, I did a lot of Painting cars after high school, but this gets into the upholstery type stuff more.

The question this brings up is if this top has to be replaced, will they have to order a Black one and Vinyl Dye it? I don't know how the factory did those. That 2 part catalyzed stuff is gonna be very hard to get off IF it can be taken off.