How to handle damage to a hard top

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barfpony

New Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2021
Messages
3
Location
Clearwater, FL
Hey all,

My mom's (formerly my dad's) low-mileage 2002 took a hit to its roof in a low parking garage. It scraped it up, and took out a rather fat chunk (which very slightly chipped the inside, too, but I don't think it went all the way through). She went through her insurance company, but it's a tough problem to solve. The collision place just wants to replace the top entirely, but the secondhand top they could find wasn't suitable (six silicone-filled holes from a roof rack), and the newly manufactured third-party tops they were looking at don't have a rear defroster or rear wiper.

I've poked around here and on other Wrangler forums, and I know the top is made from SMC and not fiberglass, and the repair work seems beyond my capabilities (the Jeep also lives in a McLean, VA apartment building that frowns upon car work being undertaken).

I've poked around on car-part.com, but for the most part, the tops look even worse than the damaged top that's on the 2002 already. Here are my thoughts:

A new third-party top is out, because of questionable fitment and lack of a defroster (Rally Tops / Extreme Terrain), or lack of a rear wiper (all new tops, including Bulldawg).

I'd love a used top, but they either look like they were wrecked or attacked by a beaver, are too far away and won't ship, or are insanely expensive ($2800+$695 freight for a good condition top coming from Texas on eBay).

I'd be happy to get it repaired, if I knew somebody could do it right, and was in the NoVA area. I'm troubleshooting this from afar; I'm in FL, my mom's up there.

So, what would you do? Any suggestions welcome.

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Its just fiberglass bro. Either take it to a fiberglass repair shop or... personally I would just do it myself.

BUY:
- Wax and grease remover
- Fiberglass resin kit
- a few 1 inch wide paint brushes
- Rubber gloves
- mat black paint (check exact type)... someone please confirm.
- Paint roller (wool type)

HOW TO DO JOB:
- Wipe the whole area as best possible with wax and grease remover (auto store).
- Get a heavy grit sandpaper, sand the area around the chunk through the black paint. Maybe an area 3-4 inches all sides of that chunk.
- Give the rest of the roof where its damaged a light sand (this is so when you paint it, it will stick.
- mix up the fiberglass resin with the catalyst (the stuff that makes it hard)
- Then wearing gloves, paint the fibers that are sticking up and the 3 inch patch around the hole. When you paint the fiberes, they will lay flat with the weight of the resin. If there are some stubborn fibers that keep sticking up, cut them off with scissors.
- As the resin starts to harden, give it a light brush now and then to make sure its all staying flat. You'll be surprised, as soon as you put the resin on, it will just all go flat. Get it as flat as possible with the paint brushes.
- Allow to dry overnight at least, in a garage or shed so no crap blows onto it cause it will be really sticky.
- allow to cure totally for 2 days
- Then use the heavy grit sandpaper to make sure that it has no bits that are sticking up. If there are, cut them off, with scissors or even wire clippers if required.
- give it a second coat of fiberglass resin if you think it needs it.
- When all totally dry, get some paper towels with wax an grease remover, wipe down the whole area of roof that looks chitty.
- Give it a paint with the matt black paint, but before it has time to dry, give it a roll with the roller to give it that same textured look.
- give and hour between coats. Just use spray cans. I say matt black.... check on that, someone can confirm color to use. Make sure to use the roller or it will not look the same.

- Also make sure the paint you buy is the same type (likely acrylic).... if you use acrylic on enamel, or vise versa, it causes bubbling.

It will look better, but if you really want it done right, take it to a fiberglass repair place.

No one sees the roof anyway. But if you do as I mentioned, it will at least be waterproof.
 
Thank you, that's a helpful walkthrough. Why wouldn't a collision place like the one we took it to (which is well-reviewed and frequently used by our insurer) just repair it? I figured that they would specialize in being a "fiberglass repair place", but they just outright said it required replacement.
 
barfpony said:
Thank you, that's a helpful walkthrough. Why wouldn't a collision place like the one we took it to (which is well-reviewed and frequently used by our insurer) just repair it? I figured that they would specialize in being a "fiberglass repair place", but they just outright said it required replacement.
Click to expand...
Because collision shops are mostly insurance driven and the shops know the insurance company isn't going to pay enough to repair your top.
 
Yeah, collision places mainly deal with metal cars. Any fiberglass repair shop will do it, boat repairs, Corvette repairs?

Just drive it like that for the moment, its solid fiberglass so its still waterproof. It looks worse than it is, as soon as its got a coat of fiberglass resin on it, it will be barely noticeable.
 
If my soft top ever actually shows up I'll be repairing my hardtop and I'm going to try to document the process if that helps if you're still considering DYI. Mines at least a tiny bit worse so if I can fix mine yours will be easy...
 
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