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My DIY roof rust repair

Exploder-99

Member
Joined
January 15, 2012
Messages
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City, State
Canada EH!
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 Explorer Sport
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.
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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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


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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.


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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.


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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.


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


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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.
 






Nice ..good job!
 












i think it came out great. its not very often i see spray paint match up that well lol. very nice!


Yeah the paint matched great. I was worried I would have to repaint the whole roof so it wouldnt be noticeable.

Here is how it sits today, a little bit dirty but it has been about a month. No more leaks. And paint has held up so far!


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Just saw this. This is awesome! Good job man.
 






Nice job
 












This is great work. Gives me hope for when I eventually have to do mine.
 






This is great work. Gives me hope for when I eventually have to do mine.


Yeah my roof started leaking when I washed it, and my windshield needed replacement. Plus I have two other vehicles to drive so I could do without it for a week. So it seemed like a good time to do it. I will be interested to see it come summer time to see how it's held up to the winter weather and all the gravel from the road.
 






Definitely update us man.
 












Very nice work. Thanks for the info
 






Very nice work. Thanks for the info


Thanks. When I was planning on doing this I was searching the web for as much as I could find to help me through... but there really wasn't much out there, especially for bodywork around windshields. So I hope that this will help someone out in the future!
 






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