I just brought home a barn fresh 1967 Cougar at last (see THE EAGLE HAS LANDED in General Discussion for details).  One of the things the Cougar came with (probably the only option) was a vinyl roof.  Needless to say that years of neglect have left it hanging in tatters, and there is a little rust starting to settle in on some of the exposed metal.  Treating the rust will be easy, but I honestly don't know what to use to bring the adhesive and the remainder of the cloth off of the top. 

I thought about a wire wheel or sander, but the glue is just going to cause a gooy mess.  The other thing I thought about was paint stripper, but I really would rather leave what good paint is on there intact.  If I have to strip it bare, I will - but any advice on this would be great.

Thanks,  Bowser

if you have the williness to spend the cash, go buy a cheapy electric grinder/buffer from Harbor freight, one of their 8" soft pads meant for sanding discs (the stick on style ones) and get some 40 or 80 grit discs to strip it. glue or not it will come off in a hurry. so will everything else though so get some primer while you are at it. an epoxy would be best if you are going to leave it alone for a while and seeing as it will be bare metal, its my choice.  

I don't remember the brand name but there is a product that fits in your drill and is basically a big rubber wheel. It's used for removing decals and adhesive, I used it on my van and it took everything off and didn't hurt the paint. I think it would work just as well on top adhesive. I picked mine up at a paint shop for 15 bucks.  

My friend and I have stripped two vynal tops off of two of his Oldsmobiles (first his '76 Olds 98 then his '69 442) using nothing but sandpaper with an air powered rotary sander.  Used some water once the thick stuff was through.  On the '98 we tried some Aircraft paint remover and a scraper, but as you mentioned it got gooey.  In both cases we dealt with the rust (wire wheel, navel jelly then some body filler) then primered it flat black which looks quite good until the car is painted and a new top can be put on it.  As mentioned the epoxy primer is the way to go since after the new top is on it will help prevent another rust convention.  Also remember, assuming a new top is going on it, the primer does not have to be glass smooth for paint.  Congrats on the aquisition.  

I have had very good luck having items stripped at an industrial stripping company that uses Baking soda.  They can concentrate the blast and with simple covering the rest of the car with plastic saves it from any damage. Just wash the Baking soda out of the crevices when they are done.  If you are planning on adding another top, I would let the shop that does it remove the old top, that way they get a surface they prefer to work with.