My most recent work, the roll-bar vinyl and trim. I'm doing a short summary write-up on this for those out there that also have this on their 'to-do' list, as it is not necessarily 'difficult', though it can go wrong in a hurry, be very frustrating, cost-time, and be demoralizing. If you're interested or planning to do the same; Before you go any further read this write-up done by Eric Shea
Sail Panel Vinyl Installation. Have you read it? Good, now read it again. After reading, you'll be familiar with the general process and have an idea of all the supplies needed. As a note, 914Rubber stocks the vinyl material and I recommend using 3M-90 spray adhesive. It's forgiving and easy to use.
This project, like so many others, is ALL about prep. This was actually my second-time applying the vinyl as my first went very-wrong at the end and resulted in about 1/4" of the paint showing. When I tried to correct, I was able to 'reset' one side, however the driver-side cursed, and I had dry-adhesive under the vinyl.
Shout out to the whole 914Rubber team for sending me a replacement piece!
Before even starting, I layed out the vinyl overnight so that it will 'lay flat'. I suppose you could also let it sit in the sun, though I would make sure to let it cool as it might expand. Then, I prepped my roll-bar by using a bit of scotch-brite and wiped it down with 'Odorless Mineral Spirits' to eliminate any residue. After that, I masked off the area (I'm only doing the top of the roll-bar) and used tape to 'mark' where my vinyl should end-up.
Pro-tip: Before you start spraying adhesive on the car or vinyl, take a few 'test passes' on any extra paper. This will help you anticipate the width of the spray and how you'll lay it down. After that, it's the fun part - spaying. Spray 2-3 coats on the body and 2-3 coats on the vinyl and let it 'sit' until you can touch it with your knuckle and the adhesive doesn't transfer. I did notice that mine went faster than expected, so take the 2-3 minute warning for what it is, a suggestion.
Before applying the vinyl to the car, remove the masking. Reminder, it's easy to forget about the marks made on the masking so be sure to not remove those until you're done.... I made that mistake and suddenly realized I was flying solo and risked another wasted piece. Luckily, everything lined up, and I only needed the smallest amount of glue to 'reset' the Drivers side. If you catch it fast enough, when you spay more adhesive, the existing glue will 'reactivate'. You can see this in photo number 5.
With the vinyl down make sure there are no creases/bubbles and the trim and roll-bar pads will cover the edges, I suggest massaging the piece for the first 5-10 min. After, give everything at least a good 60-min (longer is better) to set before trimming. Trimming is pretty straight forward as the sail-panel aluminum sits flush with the top of the roll-bar, as does the interior pad. Once everything is trimmed, you can then re-apply or apply your new trim. I struggled with this a bit, as I didn't remember exactly how everything went together, so I've included various photos of the brackets and trim to show their orientation.
Note here: The zinc-plated brackets you see in the picture with the Drill? Those actually slide into the long trim piece, I just had them on the car to test fit on the body-trim and measure out where I wanted them to go (4-inches in on each side, the center bracket sits in the middle at 23" from either side).
Another Note: The satin-black trim pieces that you see on either-side of the vinyl are purchased from 914 rubber. THEY ARE side specific. It's pretty obvious which-is-which once you see that the 'squared' side is the rear, and the 'angled' side is the front.
Another Note: The zinc plated brackets that you see next to the engine grille? Tighten these down BEFORE you secure the 'swooped' pieces. If you have a 914/6 or 6-conversion with an oil tank.... Make sure you put that in BEFORE the oil tank.... ask me how I know.
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