Convertible Top Window

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HolyCat

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Maybe someone has some ideas that I can use to correct a problem with the rear window in my convertible top.

I had last put up my fairly new soft top last year in June for Tigers United, placing a cotton towel under the metal bow of the top when I folded the top away last year. When preparing for the drive up to Monterey last weekend, I put it up again. However, the rear plastic window had some areas imprinted with the fabric pattern of the soft top itself! This caused some distortion, making it harder for me to recognize things in my rear view window. I have tried rubbing Maguiar's PlastX "Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish". The product states that it "Removes cloudiness, yellowing, oxidation & fine scratches", and it seems to do that. I can feel with my fingertips the pattern that was imprinted onto the window, and after three or so attempts with rubbing the PlastX on the window, it is still there.

Is there a better product? Should I use something more aggressive. Should I be using a buffing wheel? If there is nothing I can do, is there some way of replacing the window without taking the soft top off the car? I am reluctant to do that, since it fits very well.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!
David
 
window

Hi David, those windows can be polished (so can the tail light lenses and the bakelite steering wheel cowlings) using a buffer and really fine polishing compound.

These guys are polishing jeep windows here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC848-F_IWY

If you go that route you will either fix the problem or make it worse.

Bob J.
 
It sounds like you have actualy squashed a pattern into the plastic as in those areas are now thinner than the parts around it.. Polishing would only help I think if you reduce the areas that are the original thickness down to the imprinted height. The only thing I can think of is maybe carefully heat the window with a hairdryer to try and expand the plastic .
 
Voila - It's Gone!

Getting ready for a car show, I had to pull the soft top out of the well for the first time in years. After I had put it down the last time, I had placed a cotton towel over the plastic window (the one with an imprint of the fabric in it). After stretching out the soft top, I could not find the imprint in the window any more! I guess the plastic "relaxed" and the imprint went away. My rear window no longer suffers from having a fine waffle pattern to part of it.

Of course, I will continue to use the towel to protect the plastic window when I stow the soft top once again.
 
just goes to show you...

...if you ignore a problem long enough it will go away;)
 
Good to know the plastic filled back out.. Make sure the towel is not beimg pressured onto the window by the bows but resting.

It may have been warm when you put it down and the soft warm plastic took the imprint.
 
LRXFE

R, being Roadster. I hope it got hot enough yesterday to soothe the other wrinkles but I guess I'll see soon.
 
Convertible top window

Does anybody have ideas or solutions to removing small dents in a soft top rear window. I stored mine as carefully as I could but when it came time to put it up for the off season I have not a flat window anymore. Looking forward to trying anything as this was a new top. :(
Brian
 
Brian.. Per my suggestion to david.. Use a hairdryer.. Just normal household one... Not a paint stripper.
 
Latitude

Tough to park in the sun, but that's the best. But there's always the UV light that ages the clear window rapidly. One of the big reasons and complaints about convertibles was the 2 year life of the plastic windows.

Too bad Robbins does not make a zip in style like on many other cars.
 
Soft top

Warren that would be a great idea, I had a TR6 that had that same zip out rear window. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cloth envelope to slide your window in and store it in the trunk, and then stow your soft top with ease. That window would stay very nice, and the soft top up with out the window would allow protection from the sun on those hot days while allowing additional ventilation. Kind of win-win.
Brian
 
zipper

One of my fellow horseman works for Robbins and actually designed the soft top for the Tiger, working in conjunction with Rick at SS. I'll ask him if a zipper is a possibility...Kirk
 
Tops

I've had a running convertible since 1977, and sometimes more than one running ;)

The plastic windows were held captive by the equal of the aluminum strip, so it'd be difficult to have it completely removable. It'd be a bigger issue for me if I used the soft top. Fox body Mustangs had a small rectangular two piece window I wanted to put in the Falcon but got involved with other projects.
 
One man's solution:
 

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window

Over the years (since the 60's) the local upholstery shop has replaced several ( sunbeams, Fiats , Chevy impala SS, etc) of the windows for me. I once had them replace the series 4 window with one that zipped in.
 
Great idea

hottigr said:
One of my fellow horseman works for Robbins and actually designed the soft top for the Tiger, working in conjunction with Rick at SS. I'll ask him if a zipper is a possibility...Kirk
Click to expand...




Those guys build the majority tops for everybody including Rick. Be interesting to see how they could remove water running down the back window. Maybe they could use the side drains just aft of the B pillar I mean post :)


Like R. Hulse's Commodore Blue pictured earlier but that is not the size of the Fox Body Mustangs. It's much bigger and is two piece which with some creative redesign fit in the top well or be made completely removable.


I was thinking on a redesign on the tonneau cover made by Robbins and a refit adding battens and stiffeners and anti chafe padding with Chris Sarris interiors. Even with my driver car the tonneau I had on for several months was hard on the paint. The car is a much improved roadster with a tonneau and the wicked good heater that's standard equipment.


Sorry we've drifted into Personalized CATegory :rolleyes:
 
Warren,

It was one of those 'small world' moments when I mentioned to Doug that I had a Sunbeam Tiger. He said, "Oh, I designed the soft top for those; I worked with Rick at SS to get the fit right."

Wasn't really expecting to have that conversation at the barn...Kirk
 
As we were leaving the barn tonight, Doug was just getting there. I asked him about the zipper window. He said Rick at SS has been asking him that for 30 years LOL! Doug said it's a little complicated, but the framework that currently holds the soft top wouldn't allow for a zipper back window. It would need to me modified or the top would have wrinkles with the zipper window. As far as the tonneau cover fit, he said to send the company an email, ATTENTION DOUG, and he'll look at any ill fitting covers and hopefully have a solution. Kirk
 
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