Hardtop Painting Part #1

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Hardtop Painting

Part #1

The two hardtops I purchased needed a color change. I picked black for one so it will match any of my Miatas. The other hardtop will be painted Sapphire Blue Mica to go on the 99 AE.

I purchased a pint of black base coat and some clear coat from Single Source Paints in Griffin, GA. These are PPG Shopline products and have been working good for me. The color match has been great. Curt fixed me up this time.

Both tops were in nice shape and only needed a good sanding to be ready for paint. I chose the one with the tinted rear window to paint black. I thought it would look good black.

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I sanded the top.

Next I put a piece of wire under the rubber seal to hold it up while I painted under it.

Then I taped it all off with blue painter's tape. I also taped the rubber seals to keep from painting them.

I waited until a clear calm morning and sprayed the color. I used an airbrush to get the paint under the rubber seal the best I could.

The clear went on well. However, there was some small specs of dust that had landed on the paint. While the clear coat was drying, a couple of bugs found it. One was large enough to leave a small crater. I tried to fill it with some clear. Another bug walked a couple of inches across the clear and must have gotten loose. It left small leg prints.

I decided after it was cured to sand the top with 2000 grit and buff it. It took twice buffing but it cleaned up well. I used the same process as when I buffed the paint on the quarter panel.

There are a couple of small imperfections and the bug spot, but it looks good!

Now it is time to get more paint for the other top.

05/28/2013