Back Glass Re-Seal Abort!

The whole story? I told you. It was a California built, California sold, California registered car its entire life with the original issue blue plates and even the license plate frame from the original dealer. It had a factory vinyl top, with whatever the factory did to prep for vinyl underneath (not much). It didn't even see any time in coastal areas, it lived in the Sacramento valley and foothills. Did the vinyl top degrade? Sure it did. They ALL do if they stay outside, it's only a matter of time. But I could buff the paint on the rest of that car and have it look pretty decent, it did not live a hard life other than being outside. Yes, the factory top degraded because that's what happens if a vinyl top sits outside. But there's rust everywhere. You can see the holes, but the entire roof skin is paper thin. The white looking sections in the picture are the fabric backing leftovers from the original top, which were left behind when I peeled off the remaining original top. Yes, the worse section of rust shows where the top separated. But that kind of rust here in California takes decades. Decades. That rust was doing damage years before the top fell apart.

Think you can do better? Knock yourself out. Vinyl tops trap moisture, period. Even brand new ones. If you like 'em, great. Vinyl tops were just a cheap way for the factory to deal with the roof/quarter seam, to save money on bodywork on cars that had lousy seams. The rest was just marketing. Park it outside, the vinyl will trap moisture. Cover, car port, doesn't matter. Treating the metal underneath will delay the inevitable rust, but it's just a delay. Vinyl top cars have to be kept indoor and dry, otherwise they rust. Just how it works.