rodneyyar

Hi everyone,

Basically over the last month or so I have been looking for an OEM hardtop for my S and I came across a couple of available options. I found one in my GPW color, but with the asking price being close to $5,000 USD I couldn't really justify it. I was able to find a couple more at a relatively more affordable price with all the hardware, but they are all a different color. I spoke to my body shop who said they would be able to repaint it GPW for $500. While I know painting is pretty dependent on the shop as well, I was hoping to get some of the community's experiences, recommendations and input on painting a hardtop as I know certain colors are difficult to match (sebring silver) and texture of the top is a bit different from the body as well. Thanks for your time guys!

Pimpo

You can easily plastidip it black yourself for cheap. I like black tops on white but if you prefer white go ahead and paint. I think whites are the easiest to match.

b_ron

I'd recommend them not just painting it factory GPW. Your GPW will be a slightly different shade than someone else's, and from factory when it was new.
It is common to give them your gas door cap to paint match a closer shade GPW that you have on your car. Or you can leave your whole car there.

Orjinal

Since GPW is a solid color it will not be difficult to color match compared to metallic/pearl colors.

On my previous s2000, I had the hardtop painted GPW from Sebring Silver and the painter had no difficulty paint matching. The car was a 2002 with +60k miles. The cost was $400. I'll attach pics below,


DSC_9028 by Orjinal, on Flickr


DSC_9027 by Orjinal, on Flickr

Jah2000

Sweet Ap1. I want a hardtop + front spoiler someday.

rodneyyar

Thanks for all the responses guys! Makes me a lot more confident going with one of the "wrong" color hardtops available!

Manga_Spawn

Another option is having it wrapped black which would be pretty easy. If you do have it painted I would take the car to them and have them paint match your car. White is one of the easier colors as mentioned but it is a big piece and will be noticeable if the color is slightly different. Not to mention the better job they do means it'll have better resale value.

Lo Mein

Wrapping is a good cost effective option. I did that to mine.

I wanted get mine painted initially, but every paint shop told me that it would be hard to paint it properly around the rubber moulding. You may still see the original colour around the trim area.

Orjinal

For properly painting around rubber moldings, bodyshops with common sense use 3M™ Trim Masking Tape, 10 mm width (.39 inches), 06349

b_ron

True. I just saw this one from the marketplace where it was clearly visible of the GPW not matching that closely.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/member-s...overs-1165176/