It will suddenly turn your car into a GTB because you will almost completely stop taking it out. At least that is what happened to me
Congrats! I can now officially say Welcom to the club! And just for that, I’m going to put my Saratoga on for our local 308 meet this Sunday.
Thanks guys! Been wanting in the club for quite some time. This thing is in really good condition. I did refinish the drip rails but the rest was brought back with a thorough cleaning. A couple of questions. 1. This unit has the pins with a clear plastic sheath on them. Is that correct as the normal top pins are rubber coated? 2. No scratches in the lexan on this one but a couple of rub areas do exist where it looks to have been stored behind the seats without protection. What do you use to polish the lexan (if that is what it's made from)?
Answer to #1 question is yes, mine also has the metal pins with clear tubes on the pins not clear plastic sheath, not sure about the others Saratoga. #2 question not really sure how or what to polish it with.
Mike Thanks for the reply! Clear tubes = clear sheath. Looks like overflow line off the expansion tank. I think we have the same. So I think I'm good there. I will wait to hear from Jim and the other fellas on the polishing. Jim has seen a lot of these.
Polishing is really tough. The Lexan has a protective scratch resistant coating. Polishing can actually hollow out large scratches and make them worse. You can try soapy water to clean or Meguiars PlastX for light cleaning and polish. But tread lightly, the coating doesn’t behave like other plastics. If the pads on the bottom are coming loose they can be reattached easily with silicone adhesive. I like to replace the latch hardware (black oxide hex socket cap screws) with new. Red loctite keeps them in place.
Thanks for the reply James. I will proceed carefully on my marks. I don't think I have any marks that would go beyond the protective coating. Nothing that can be felt with a finger nail. Just rub marks where it was leaning behind the seats. Wondering where you get your new black hex screws? Mine are actually 'regular' black screws. Single slot. Was it suppose to have little hex screws? On the loctite, did you mean blue? I thought that red you cannot remove without heat.
I have no experience with these tops but has anyone tried to polish them with a plastic headlight restoration product? I've found the 3M system to work excellently on plastic surfaces.
A detail guy polished mine this past spring and I couldn't believe how well it turned out. I didn't really think it needed it until he did it. The improvement was amazing. Don't know how he did it but just wanted you to know it CAN be done
John... Yes, meant to write “blue” Loctite. I have seen both slotted cap screws and internal hex socket type. If your slotted screws are in good shape I would keep them. Replacements for the hex type can be found at any local or online hardware store.
Took the foam pad buffer and finesse it 3 stages at it and it helped but didn't fully remove the rub. I have the novus in house and I may try it by hand as its specific for the application. Pictures attached inside and out. Love it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
John if you look at the thread “308 Gathering at Huntington Beach” you’ll see that I did have my Saratoga top on. I’m sure you can guess which one is my car.
