Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Hey y’all, has any one that’s already received their top had severe issues with the liner not adhering? I got mine 2 weeks ago. Got installed last week. Day of getting it picked up one of the top panels insulation peeled off. Upon seeing that, I found many more coming off. Some are still on there sinus though. I think the ones directly impacted from the sun are taking the brunt of the heat. I emailed the crew and they said it’s a known issue but some folks had it resolved with Gorilla glue spray adhesive. I tried Loctite 300 with one small panel that peeled off but I took it back to my shop and they used Permatex CTV which is rated up to 400 degrees. They applied the adhesive Monday this week and then it sat out. I picked it up Tuesday and had it since then. Drove it to work today and it sat outside. I went to get in it about 3pm and the big backseat panel has fallen off again.
Anybody else had this severe of an issue?? I live in Midwest GA so summer heat ain’t no joke. We’re going to apply some more Permatex again tomorrow and let it cure longer to see if that bonds it better but if it doesn’t I was thinking of emailing the guys at Armadillo and asking if they could send me some new foam panels to try and see if maybe some of the ones I have just have factory issues. I’ve attached a few photos just for folks to see.
This is my only real issue. This thing is a dream come true add-on otherwise.

Well that is disappointing. A "known issue" and they have no fix for it? My top should ship next week (hopefully) and this has been a concern of mine....knowing it is 100 degrees there and in an even hotter truck. My guess, after adhesion....it needs to "set" but can't do that in high temps. Paying $8K for this top, it should arrive perfect with zero issues.

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[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Everyone with the adhesion issue, please notify the Armadillo Team so that they resolve this issue.
Thank you.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

I got the shipping confirmation today. I ordered mine in December so almost exactly 6mo. Now just need to figure out the exact day it will arrive so I know what to take off and get it installed.

TIMELINE:
Web site says 12 weeks.
Ordered 3-20-25 (had web page ordering snafu too)
Messed up molle order (corrected)
Has been in final production since 5-24-25 ...4 weeks ago.
Still not completed at about 14 weeks and I suspect 1 week for shipping.

Not a complaint, more of a report.
I am sure I will love this top when it arrives and I get it installed.
Armadillo is a growing and expanding company but they need to be careful about over promising on delivery, pay attention to details/special orders and they need to watch their quality control. They are now starting to take international orders....I would suggest they get caught up first. I am sure they hope for the day where they will have ready made tops ready for purchase and shipping.

 

[Pseudoko]

I know most don’t have time to read the topic thoroughly. But to recap.

1. Armadillo’s supplier for the headliner switched glue vendors already after they were made aware of the issues.

2. If a panel happens to fall off, Gorilla Ultimate Spray Adhesive was the solution for a fix in case.

So they have already made changes once they were made aware of the issues. And a solution in case a panel comes loose has already been made.

No matter what, warm surfaces can potentially cause adhesives to lose their bond. So at some point in time you may need to reapply a panel. These panels are about 3/4” thick (without actually measuring) so there is some weight to them. The Small panels take me no more than 15 minutes to reapply and about 10 minutes of it is holding it in place while the glue starts bonding. I’ve reapplied 2 panels in total.

I’ll take this top over any of the oem ford tops. That being said any aftermarket hard top is not a necessity so this should be looked at as an upgrade (yes a pricey one). I was a batch 2 order and I’ve had mine installed since early March. 0 complaints from my end.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

I know most don’t have time to read the topic thoroughly. But to recap.

1. Armadillo’s supplier for the headliner switched glue vendors already after they were made aware of the issues.

2. If a panel happens to fall off, Gorilla Ultimate Spray Adhesive was the solution for a fix in case.

So they have already made changes once they were made aware of the issues. And a solution in case a panel comes loose has already been made.

No matter what, warm surfaces can potentially cause adhesives to lose their bond. So at some point in time you may need to reapply a panel. These panels are about 3/4” thick (without actually measuring) so there is some weight to them. The Small panels take me no more than 15 minutes to reapply and about 10 minutes of it is holding it in place while the glue starts bonding. I’ve reapplied 2 panels in total.

I’ll take this top over any of the oem ford tops. That being said any aftermarket hard top is not a necessity so this should be looked at as an upgrade (yes a pricey one). I was a batch 2 order and I’ve had mine installed since early March. 0 complaints from my end.

I agree with all of that, except on the glue change.
" He mentioned that they had changed vendors for the glue."
It did not say that they changed vendors after the issue was found or if they had changed the glue vendor earlier and this is the cause of the problem. It could be read either way.
All that said, I look forward to getting my top, I just want zero issues with it. For $8K it should be perfect and I should not need to fix anything.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Go to 18:00 on this video. The insulation used at Armadillo is peel and stick. Unless they actually had the foam manufacturer change the glue they use in manufacturing the foam.....we shall see if these is an actual change in "glue" usage.
Armadillo Hardtop Assembly Tutorial

 

[El Diablo]

Haven't logged in to this forum for a few weeks due to work travel. My 2 main panels started coming off in week one when I was in Utah. Armadillo Designs shipped me the Gorilla Ultimate spray adhesive and that stuff works. Definitely tape off the edges and anything that may be exposed to some over spray. This stuff is a challenge to clean up afterwards even with adhesive remover such as goo gone. Since it is a type of contact cement I recommend spraying both the foam and the panel then wait a minute or two before installing. Also you only have 1 shot at aligning it so an extra pair of hands is recommended. For this reason the large panels for the top must be done on the ground upside down to add weight to it (I used heavy books) afterwards for about 1/2 hour. For the smaller panels (and if they haven't completely detached) I would use the Gorilla Super glue with the brush so it's easier to apply. Those don't have too much weight on them so a few of them only came off at the corners. Armadillo was very transparent and responsive when I brought up this issue. Hopefully the foam supplier has changed to a more heat resistant adhesive.

 

[Slei]

All the talk of the foam falling off has me thinking I need to get a can of adhesive before my top shows up this week.

Has anyone tried the 3M 90? It has a higher temp threshold of 250F and in bonding tests with carpet and the like has beat Gorilla glues spray adhesives.

Ill reach out to Fabian too but wondering peoples thoughts.

 

[Pseudoko]

All the talk of the foam falling off has me thinking I need to get a can of adhesive before my top shows up this week.

Has anyone tried the 3M 90? It has a higher temp threshold of 250F and in bonding tests with carpet and the like has beat Gorilla glues spray adhesives.

Ill reach out to Fabian too but wondering peoples thoughts.

I was about to use it but I couldn’t find any product data that says it works with foam. The gorilla ultimate spray adhesive specifically says foam and metal so that’s why I went with Gorilla Ultimate. Plus I never have had the hard top be so hot that I got burned. It does get hot but not burning hot.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

All the talk of the foam falling off has me thinking I need to get a can of adhesive before my top shows up this week.

Has anyone tried the 3M 90? It has a higher temp threshold of 250F and in bonding tests with carpet and the like has beat Gorilla glues spray adhesives.

Ill reach out to Fabian too but wondering peoples thoughts.

Let's hope we don't need it (my top should ship out within a week). Paying over $8K for a top...we should NOT have to be dealing with this issue.

 

[Slei]

I was about to use it but I couldn’t find any product data that says it works with foam. The gorilla ultimate spray adhesive specifically says foam and metal so that’s why I went with Gorilla Ultimate. Plus I never have had the hard top be so hot that I got burned. It does get hot but not burning hot.

Fabian got back to me tonight (seriously I dont think that guy sleeps) and said someone did try 3M 90 and it did not work well.

They have started applying Gorilla Glue for the time being. He was not sure if my top had it applied or not but said he will check tomorrow. All tops going out now have already had it applied so hopefully that is a solid solution.

 

[Pseudoko]

Fabian got back to me tonight (seriously I dont think that guy sleeps) and said someone did try 3M 90 and it did not work well.

They have started applying Gorilla Glue for the time being. He was not sure if my top had it applied or not but said he will check tomorrow. All tops going out now have already had it applied so hopefully that is a solid solution.

haha I’m usually up at nights since I work graveyard. But Fabian should sleep lol. I haven’t done any further research to see if there’s a better product since for me, it’s been working so far based on being up to about 97 degrees so far where I’m at in Southern California. But that’s good to hear they’re using the Gorilla Glue Ultimate Spray Adhesive now which is much better than whatever the panel supplier was using.

 

[CMillBronco]

Have any 2 door tops been delivered yet?

 

[rayofsi]

guess i missed that last batch, ordered 4/17, just got to bending last friday lol.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Have any 2 door tops been delivered yet?

Only that one that they have in their adds. I have one in the current batch and it has been in the final assembly phase since May 24th. They said we would receive them in June....we shall see.

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