Phase VIII - Install a Customer Headliner and Repainting the Hardtop

So the past couple of weeks we’ve made some really good progress on coming close to getting our Jeep on the road. We’ve repainted the Hardtop and Carpet Lined the inside to get rid of the factory white interior roof.

Here’s what the inside of a Jeep Hardtop looks like.  It’s plain, white & boring looking. Just about every Jeep out there with a Hardtop looks like this and when we’re finished carpeting this, you’d wonder why Jeep didn’t offer this as a standard option. Especially with the ever so popular Jeep JK’s now.

To do this we took the rear glass off, removed any hinges and interior lighting to make the job easier. Then flipped it upside down on some moving blankets to not scratch it up.

The style of headliner we’re using is called Foss Lining in Charcoal color. It’s a material that is marine grade that doesn’t collect water and create mildew. In our industry its widely used in the Leer Canopy’s to cut down moisture. So this is really going to help in regards to fogging of windows, help with insulation and also cut down on interior noise.

If you’ve never done upholstery work of any sort, leave this job to the Cap-it guys. It takes a lot of experience to make this job look like it was done at the factory.

First we mask off all the area’s we don’t want to have glue sprayed on, then we start from the middle and work our way out. The glue we’re using is moisture resistant and will ensure that the liner stays up for many years.

Then carefully wrap it up the side and contour it to the groves in the fiberglass.

Once both sides are done, I then go with a new blade and carefully trim off the access material.

Then we start re-installing all the hardware/wiring plugs and the window rubber.

Here’s the finished look on our Hardtop Interior. As you can see this really cleans up the inside.

To make this job look like a million bucks you have to take your time and be patient. For having over 15 years of experience, this job took me around 4 hours from prep work to reinstalling the hardware. Call your local Cap-it Store to get a quote on getting your Hardtop carpeted, as this adds a great look and cleans up the interior to a factory finish.

Now for the repainting the exterior.

The top has a textured finish that I wanted to keep sanding it down is out of the question. So I gave it a very good wash and towel dried it to make sure I removed all the dirt and grime. I then turned up the heat in the shop to get the hard top nice and warm. As for prepping, the only thing to do is to mask off the windows and door openings for over spray not to ruin the carpet.

I used about 2½ cans of Duplicolor semi gloss black and gave it about 4 coats of paint. I was a little surprised how much the hardtop absorb the paint.

Now that the Hardtop is looking like brand new, its time to put it back on the Jeep and take it outside and have a look.

Check back shortly as we’re on a mission to finish up the Project

Some of the items to finish up our Cap-it/ARB Project are:

ARB's Roof Top Tent

ARB’s Safari Snorkel

ARB’s IPF Off Road Lighting

Rampage Products