what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

[vetterc5]

hello all.

I just finished detailing my black 02 vette with a g110/m105/m205/m21 combo and the results are stunning. However, I am not sure if i can use these products on the transparent blue targa top as it is more of a strong plastic material rather than the fiberglass laminate used on the the colored targa top and the rest of the body.

There are minor scratches/webbing throughout the surface, but nothing deep. I have googled the subject as well as checked out the numerous 'vette forums and nothing comes up. There really isn't a safe area to do a test spot.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Carfire]

Re: what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

I am not 100% sure, but I think it should be okay.
Some one else will add there 2 cents.

[thescreensavers]

Re: what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

Hey, whats M21?

I am a noob. I goggled, and looked at the sticky still dont know

thanks

[Murr1525]

Re: what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

#21 Synthetic Sealant 2.0

[2high2aim]

Re: what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

If your worried about 105 being 2 tough then try the M205 first and if it doesnt get you your wanted result then move on to M105. GL and have fun

[Desertdawg]

Re: what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

We have tried some things out on the clear tops, and found that there is a sort of coating on the outside.
Out here in the desert the tops tend to get dingy and start to look like the headlights do on most older cars. One guy let us test out some products on his peeling faded top.
We tried just wax by hand and it covered/coated some of the cracks, but didn't really do much other than coat it.
We tried some M17 Clear Plastic Cleaner and there was some minor correction, but not enough to spend the time it was going to take to make it look good.
Next we tried some M80 Speed Glaze with a DA and had about the same results in 1/4 the time.
We also tried a very small spot with M02 Fine Cut Cleaner, and all we could tell was that the edges of the clear coat look like they blended in more than before.

Our conclusion is that the outer layer (Clear Coat or Laminated) what ever it is could only be made to look a little better once it had started to show it's age.
We talked about sending it to a painter to see if it would be possible to wet sand and clear coat, but we never heard from that guy again.

Try waxing it with some carnuba to see if that will get you to where you want it to be, if not then pick the worst corner and start out with M105, if you don't see any improvement then try again with M205.
I hope this helps, owning a vert I don't have one to experiment on myself, but next time we have a detailing day with our club I will see if I can wrangle someone into letting me try to screw it up... lol
Please post your results so we can all learn from what you try!

[vetterc5]

Re: what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

Thank you all for your input.

Desertdawg, your response is what I was looking for. Someone who has tried the available products on the blue clear tops and have the experience to determine if they worked or not, and to what extent, with priority given to preventing additional damage. (these things are expensive to replace!)

As an FYI, the top is in very good condition other than the minor scratches. No real fading of whatever the coating is. Fortunately, the previous owners garaged the car most of the time. Along with only 26k miles on the odo when I purchased it last year, the top has survived well. Here in New England, our cruise season is limited and we don't have that nasty desert sun to deal with........just snow!

The M series product line worked so well on the damage on the painted/clear coat surfaces, I was hoping to reproduce that finish on the blue top with help from my fellow detailing enthusiasts here on MOL.

Try waxing it with some carnuba to see if that will get you to where you want it to be, if not then pick the worst corner and start out with M105, if you don't see any improvement then try again with M205.

I don't have Carnuba wax but have some NXT tech wax so will try that. If that doesn't clean it up, I will try the M105/M205 combo.

I'm a bit confused though......I was under the impression that when using the SMAT line, one should start with the less aggressive product (M205) and progress to the most aggressive (M105/ultracut), especially in a test situation (as 2high2aim suggested). Is there a methodology to your suggestion to start with the M105?

FYI. The clear coat on the body panels is so hard, I finally ended up using the cutting pad with the d/a on speed 6 with the m105 with significant pressure. Sounds crazy, but it worked. (See a related thread elsewhere regarding the trouble with gm/vette clear coats and detailing with a d/a. Search my user name if you are interested)

Don't know if the same type of clear coat is used on the clear tops. If thats the case, m105 is the only product that will make the corrections needed in a reasonable amount of time. I just want to work my way to that point slowly to prevent damage.

I will certainly post my results here. I'm surprised it has not been addressed before now anywhere on the web.

Thank you again, Desertdawg.

[Desertdawg]

Re: what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

I was the one confused, at 1:34am my brain is in shut down mode...


Your correct, try the M205 first before trying the M105.
If you only have very minor defects I hope just the NXT will hide them good enough.

Remember, we love pictures here, how about some before and after shots?
.

[vetterc5]

Re: what products do i use on a c5 corvette's clear blue targa top

No problem DesertDawg. Been there, done that.

Will try the NXT first on a test spot. If not good enough, will do the m205/m21 and take it from there. Hopefully this weekend. Weather wet now.

I agree. Pics are good. I will take a few of the clear blue top and complete car and figure out how to post. I tried a long time ago but didn't get it right.

Thanks again for the input.