My DIY roof rust repair

[Drooool]

So my windshield was in really rough shape, and I started to notice that the headliner was getting wet when I would wash the truck. I figured I would kill two birds with one stone and try my hands with some rust repair and replace the windshield at the same time.

I forgot to take a picture before I started so there is a tiny bit of sanding started already in these pictures, just to give an idea of the rust I had.


Once I sanded this down I could see a hole through that big rust spot.









Next I just went at it with my air grinder and sanding discs, starting with 80 grit and then 120 grit. Really focusing on the bad rust spots trying to remove all of it.





Got to the point where the windshield was getting in the way, and from what I saw online from other repairs is the rust was usually worse under the seal. SO took the windshield out to see what was dealing with. Luckily for me there was no rust holes, just pitting.











When you get rid of most the rust and the only rust that is left is in the pits, I switched to a wire wheel, it took out the remainder of the rust and just leaves you with alot of pits.

[Drooool]

Once I got rid of all the rust spots and removed all the rust out of the pits I just sprayed a couple coats of rust inhibitor to protect against future rusting.









After I let that dry over night, I got to filling all my rust spots with 3m body filler. If you are going to tackle this on your own make sure you pick the right type of body filler for your application, they have a few different kinds. Mix it properly in little amounts, apply it quick and make sure its set properly.








And remember the thinner you apply it the better, the less sanding you will need to do later.





I let that dry over night, then got to sanding. I did all this sanding by hand so you don't sand too much. I started with a light 320 grit, then a 400 then 500. Just sand till it is all smooth. At the same time you need to feather edge all the bare metal spots from the metal to the primer to the paint to the clear. This will help your final to be nice and smooth.








After your done your sanding, make sure you clean the area really really well. I used a wax covered tack cloth, grabs all the dust. Then mask off the area and spray a couple coats of primer, first layer should be thin.





Followed by some wet sanding after the paint is dry. I used 1500 grit for this to take out any left over dust bits and imperfections. Will also take out any overspray.





Now you get to the painting. I used the colour matching duplicolour paint, but some places can make any manufactures colours in a spray can. After you have good coverage of paint then you can give a couple layers of clear coat.


Pre-clear



After-clear



I let that dry over a couple days then gave it a 3 stage power polish to blend and shine.






Took it down to work and got a new windshield put into it. Washed it and used a clay bar to take out the remaining overspray.

It has been about a month since I did this now so I will try remember to grab a couple pictures of how it has held up so far and the finished job.

BTW I have no idea what I am doing, I learned all I could online and made up the rest (there's very limited resources for stuff like this I find, so hopefully this can help someone else out)... So if I offended anyone that does bodywork then I'm sorry lol.

[thinmyster]

looks good thanks for posting!

[roopi]

I would never even attempt this but nice work and thanks for taking the time to share. Your pedo van looks less pedoish.

[Drooool]

my pedo van lol. this is my exploder!

[Rat Fink]

.

[roopi]

My bad kind of looked like a van from the top view pics.

[amear]

Looks great! question, did you drive down to your work place to have the windshield put in? If so how was it like driving with out a windshield lol?

[spikerS]

Originally posted by roopi
My bad kind of looked like a van from the top view pics.

lol, that makes 2 of us. I thought it was a caravan.

[Drooool]

Originally posted by amear
Looks great! question, did you drive down to your work place to have the windshield put in? If so how was it like driving with out a windshield lol?

Yeah I drove it without. It was only about a 2 minute drive, and it was pretty chilly. I think it was around 0C.




Here is how it sits now. Been about a month since I finished this and its held up so far!

[Cooked Rice]

Looks like it turned out well! But I'm pretty sure body filler in the pinch weld (windshield bonding) surface is a no-no.

[xtreme prelude]

i would think the adheasive from the windshield will pull out all the bondo in the event of a rollover or even when replacing the windshield in the future. may not have been the safest/proper way to fix that part but the roof came out really nice from the pictures.
good job.

[civicrider]

I hope you used an epoxy primer on those bare metal spots or you will be seeing rust again soon

[Cooked Rice]

Originally posted by civicrider
I hope you used an epoxy primer on those bare metal spots or you will be seeing rust again soon

That's a good point. Couple options.

Bare metal, epoxy, bondo, filler/surfacer primer, paint.

or if no bondo needs to be used:

Bare metal, etch primer or epoxy, filler/surfacer primer, paint.

Use epoxy instead of etch when you can. Etch will work for smaller repairs, and saves time.

In old days, it was bondo/body filler right over bare metal, and you can still do that. But the advancements in Epoxy primer now allow you to apply filler over it, and next to OEM E-Coat from the factory, Epoxy primer is the next best thing. So it's added protection from corrosion. Optional, but suggested. The downfall being it's typically a 2K product that requires mixing and a gun, which not everyone has the tools for.

Etch primer can also be applied over bare metal for protection, but typically you cannot bondo over etch primer. It is however commonly available as a 1K product, so you can get a good Etch primer out of a spray can. If you don't have a gun to lay Epoxy, and you're doing a rattle job, then you do: bare metal, bondo, sand down the bondo, spot treat remaining bare metal with etch primer, filler/surfacer primer over the entire repair area, then paint.