Body Guy's Help
- Thread starter gl4787
- Start date
Sandblast,prep,paint.do it all the time at work and there is no other way to fix this one.depending on where it is the glass might have to come out as well.If the metal isn't pitted to bad from rust you might be able to skip the sandblast part but if it is use a speedblast, (a small sandblaster not to warp the metal)Good luck with the fix.
Either that or you get a kit from an auto parts store that goes on your drill. Has little 2" circles of different grits and comes with easy to use directions. Then get the touch up paint. It is on your roof, who cares what it looks like as long as it stops the rust!
You absolutely CAN fix rust.
If it's rusted through, you have to cut it out and replace with new metal. If it's compromised the primer only, you can strip that area down and refinish it.
If it's rusted through, the little bit you see, there's 5 times that hidden underneath.
Take a grinder and grind the area down to bare metal, see if it's just spot rust or larger, then take a DA sander and feather it out. Prime with a good etching primer. Pretty much you're going to need to refinish the entire roof.
If it's rusted through, you have to cut it out and replace with new metal. If it's compromised the primer only, you can strip that area down and refinish it.
If it's rusted through, the little bit you see, there's 5 times that hidden underneath.
Take a grinder and grind the area down to bare metal, see if it's just spot rust or larger, then take a DA sander and feather it out. Prime with a good etching primer. Pretty much you're going to need to refinish the entire roof.
I'm not one to argue on these forums but if the panel is already impregnated with rust it'll happen again even if you take all the right steps to prevent it.
Welding in a new panel, in a previously rusted area will yield a longer fix but will eventually rust out again due to the heating and cooling of when you welded the new panel in.
Using fusor to glue in a new panel is always the best shot to making it last as long as possible.
I'm no chemical engineer so I could be wrong. Just speaking from previous experience. I Would like to hear more about how you guys prevent it from reoccurring.
Welding in a new panel, in a previously rusted area will yield a longer fix but will eventually rust out again due to the heating and cooling of when you welded the new panel in.
Using fusor to glue in a new panel is always the best shot to making it last as long as possible.
I'm no chemical engineer so I could be wrong. Just speaking from previous experience. I Would like to hear more about how you guys prevent it from reoccurring.
Would just sand it down and touch it up. Ya it will come back, but you will slow it down considerably.
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To stop rust on a Wisconsin or Michigan vehicle, take it apart down to its smallest piece, sand blast to clean bare metal, POWDERCOAT it, paint exterior painted surfaces to color choice, reassemble, and use for the next 200 years plus without worry. There are a few of us who are doing classic cars who powdercoat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING metal (undersides, insides, outside, frames, bodies, - you name it) prior to final paint to avoid metal contact with the elements. Seems to work. Wisconsin cars I have done (doing one right now) are the worst we ever see. The Patron Saint of Rust must call Wisconsin home.
Where is the rust? I'm guessing either around the marker lights, around the windshield, or the channels that hold water.
All of these are moisture retention areas. Somewhere the paint and primer was compromised, thus you got rust. Ultimately to fix it and ensure it doesn't come back, you need to strip the entire roof, cut out the rusted-through portion, and see how much of the structure is rusted. Rust is like an iceberg, you only see a portion of what is really there.
If you don't fix the underlying rust, it's going to eat from the inside and reoccur. Guaranteed. Also, if you have moisture retention in that adhesive foam that OEMs use to separate panels and reduce noise transfer (and I'm pretty sure GM uses it under the roof skin, been years since I did a roof skin or anyone in the shop did one on a GM truck), it's all got to be removed, and the source of moisture removed.
All of these are moisture retention areas. Somewhere the paint and primer was compromised, thus you got rust. Ultimately to fix it and ensure it doesn't come back, you need to strip the entire roof, cut out the rusted-through portion, and see how much of the structure is rusted. Rust is like an iceberg, you only see a portion of what is really there.
If you don't fix the underlying rust, it's going to eat from the inside and reoccur. Guaranteed. Also, if you have moisture retention in that adhesive foam that OEMs use to separate panels and reduce noise transfer (and I'm pretty sure GM uses it under the roof skin, been years since I did a roof skin or anyone in the shop did one on a GM truck), it's all got to be removed, and the source of moisture removed.