Once upon a time the Maverick I purchased had a vinyl roof. Someone, in their infinite wisdom, tore it off then didn't bother covering it with a waterproof paint. This is in San Diego mind you, an oceanfront town - I think we can see where this is going. Staring at my ceiling in it's current incarnation is like stargazing, and I haven't even taken all the paint off yet. I'll chip away at a cracked bubble and make myself yet another hole. Oh, joy. Anyway, what would you suggest to patch these up? My idea was to weld bits of sheetmetal underneath the holes, then grind out the rust and weld the sheetmetal below to the edges. Thing is, I don't know yet how pervasive this damage is - what if I find huge holes of cancer across the top? I guess what I'm asking is for advice on other ways to fix the cancer spots. I read a post a while back of someone who had a trunk w similar damage - he ground out the rust, POR-15'd both top and bottom, then fiberglassed it to reinforce everything? I'm planning on slapping up a vinyl roof again anyway but was hoping for an easier fix than welding as I don't have a machine or immediate access to one.
if there is alot of rust holes then replaceing the roof will be less work than trying to patch it up. sence you going to cover it up with vinyl again then you could just band aid up all the holes with plate like you said. just nutrualize the rust so it doesnt come back. make the roof smooth with filler, paint so it wont rust again, then put the new vinyl on. if you do the patch method i wouldnt weld them on. i would use body panel adhisive. that way you dont need to deal with heat warpage.
If I use the adhesive should I grind out any bad rust before or after I stick on the repair panels? First time I've heard of the panel adhesive, how long does it last? I'd love to do it right the first time but the whole roof is beyond me and my little circle of local car nuts. Perhaps I can have it professionally repaired sometime in the future but for now a minor fix will have to suffice. Any threads on the forums showing how this is done?
Do you have any pictures of the rust on your roof?? The only "real" way to fix it, is cut out the rust, and weld new pieces in. If the roof is too far gone, and the rest of the car is rough..it might be time to move on to another car.
ive only hear that the adhisive works really well. its susposed to last forever. you will definitly want to get rid of as much rust as possible. you can wire wheel the surface rust off. there are chemical rust nutrilizers out there. get the adhisive from a autobody paint store and read the instructions. here in san diego is a chain called tri city paint. check it out.
Most advisable if a lot of rust damage or weakened metal would probably be to weld in a new one as the factory did and replace the entire roof with a good one. Although you can turn a low crown panel like a roof or hood into a warped mess quickly if you try to weld in patches and get the panel hot. You really would have to dig in and remove paint to access the true extent of the damage. Repair procedures using panel adhesives. Other brands should use similar procedures, and should have instructions. http://lord.com/Home/ProductsServic...oducts/MetalAdhesives/tabid/3400/Default.aspx You said you will have a new vinyl roof but to note, too lessen the likely hood of mapping of the bond line (like where a roof meets the sail or a exterior patch panel that will be in a well visable area) through visable paint due to different expansion and contraction of the adhesive and metal., its usually advisable to bevel the patch area and allow for some thickness of fiberglass (duraglass, kitty hair) filler over the bond seam and then do any final finishing/smoothing with regular bodyfiller or a 2 part spot filler. Its important to follow the instructions of your adhesive manufacturer. For instance, some recommend epoxy priming over the adhesive before applying any bodyfiller over it, like in the case of the norton adhesive we use at work. I believe this may be mainly the urethane based adhesives. Clamping-tight fitting panels, helps gives the adhesive bond strength so you must clamp, screw, weight down ect the replacement in several areas while the adhesive cures. The downfall of adhesives is they are a bit pricey, and especially if you have to purchase an applicator gun to apply them that you wouldn't end up using often. Rust ecapsulator, por 15, ect, and just filling holes with fiberglass or filler, I won't comment much on, other then wouldn't expect it to last long or the repair to be very strong. Pretty shade tree way of doing things, and been in it long enough to see the kind of results they give. But I understand a lack of equiptment, money, and experience, I was there once too, and still don't have a ton of equiptment and there is always more to learn. I just learned a lot of what kind of things are kind of a waste of time and money. Rust never sleeps and will come back with a vengance at the slightest opportunity., rust convertors do nothing to most of the rust still lying underneath the very thin layer converted to a stable iron tannate. There are chemical ways to remove rust (navel jelly, ect). There could be a risk ofadhesion problems with other products, or adhesion problems of the paint in the future if the acid is not properly neautralized (or it gets caught up in a seam), which is why I generally recommend and prefer mechanical removing rust for the safest method with least chance of future problems showing up. But here is a good thread on how to properly use navel jelly. http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/secrets-surface-rust-removal-revealed-55679.html But whenever metal is weakened or there are holes, it should be cut out and replaced with new metal.
If the roof is rusting in spots its already weak and your not gonna have a very strong roof unless you replace it just my 2 cents.
I was just reading this tech article on rust bullit and fiberglass. could this work for a roof that will be covered w/vinyl? http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=35513
Fiberglass is not a fix its a cheap patch. Its usually used as a patch method when someone doesnt have access to a welder, or doing to quick and fast paint job. The correct way and the only way it should be done in my opinion is with metal. I live in Florida and had a car once that was patched with fiberglass. Everytime it got hot the entire inside of the car would smell like fiberglass, it made it smell like a chris craft boat.
