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Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop

DUSTYcazOREGON

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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
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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.
 

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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.
 

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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

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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.
 

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Slei

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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

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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.
 

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

DUSTYcazOREGON

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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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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.
I get it. It is significantly more expensive then other tops but then again its a significantly more expensive and time consuming product to produce.

Verification and Validation of your product is tricky and Quality control is a massive undertaking to do right. That something went wrong does not worry me too much. Adhesive on the foam is an annoyance. How they handle issues
can anyone with the top, take some pics of how the high mount stop light is mounted and what kind of connections? Thanks!
Ill grab some pics this Wednesday when I get the top while its still off and easy to document.
 

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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.
Fabian got back to me and my top did not have the new glue applied and it may have the issue. Sounds like not all tops have had the issue. He asks that if you have an issue you let them know. They are going though the process of refining the Quality control to keep it from happening going forward.
 

Slei

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can anyone with the top, take some pics of how the high mount stop light is mounted and what kind of connections? Thanks!
It looks to just be a fairly standard aftermarket break light bar nothing fancy. Two screws at each end. and the wire goes through a hole in the back that was filled with what looks like black silicon. There is a cutout in the back roof with a plug in it that could be used to run things through. Have the question into Armadillo as to its intended purpose as its clearly ment for something.
Ford Bronco Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop 20250626_121947
Ford Bronco Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop 20250625_185332
Ford Bronco Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop 20250625_190318
Ford Bronco Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop 20250625_190322
 

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Fabian got back to me and my top did not have the new glue applied and it may have the issue. Sounds like not all tops have had the issue. He asks that if you have an issue you let them know. They are going though the process of refining the Quality control to keep it from happening going forward.
Had a couple of issues with the foam attachment but only on the two back panels and the thin trim so far. One fell off while we were installing and of course fell face down on the street and now is packed with dirt and will be a pain to clean. Otherwise the install went really well the fit and finish of everything else as perfect.
If anyone is going to do this on a OEM hardtop conversion instead of the soft top hit me up there are a few things the video does not show you will need to be aware of.
Ford Bronco Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop 20250625_095903
Ford Bronco Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop 20250625_181924
Ford Bronco Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop 20250625_222410
Ford Bronco Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop 20250625_220035
 

Pseudoko

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It looks to just be a fairly standard aftermarket break light bar nothing fancy. Two screws at each end. and the wire goes through a hole in the back that was filled with what looks like black silicon. There is a cutout in the back roof with a plug in it that could be used to run things through. Have the question into Armadillo as to its intended purpose as its clearly ment for something.
20250626_121947.jpg
20250625_185332.jpg
20250625_190318.jpg
20250625_190322.jpg
that hole and plug if it’s towards the back is to relocate the gps/xm antenna. The aluminum body of the hard top blocks the signal.
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