So I removed the vinyle top on my 72 dart swinger, the rest of the body is rust free but not the roof, there are a few pinholes rusted through and a lot of pitting. is there any way to save this by grinding all the rust off and patching, or am i screwed, i was told even if i get all the rust off and prime and paint it it will bubble up in a few years under the paint. Just wanted some step by steps from people who have experience with this, or am i better off doing what i can and putting a new vinyle top back on.
roof rust
- Thread starter trbodrt
- Start date
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Get it soda blasted thin coat of body filler some good epoxy primer and paint shoud last your life time if dun write.......Artie
I bought a 69 Charger back in 87 with the same problem. Over a weekend, I very carefully sandblasted the roof and found more holes and pinholes. I liberally applied Tiger Hair (fiberglass reinforced filler) where needed, smoothed it all out, used etch and acrylic primer, couple coats of body paint and called it good. Ten years later when I parted it out due to other rust issues and a deer strike, the roof had not even a speck of rust. Today I'd probably use a less aggressive method of blasting the roof, fill where needed, use a good quality primer and paint it. Not sure I'd go back with a vinyl top though.
69B-Cuda
Well-Known Member
I would do as suggested and stay away from the vinyl top. If you put another vinyl top on it, you will most likely have the same issues down the road.
Thanks for the advice, I was thinking if i got the rust off and skimmed with body filler and primed it would be good to go, but my neighbor came out and said hes been in the body business for years and years and no matter what i did the rust would come back through in 2 years so it kind of freaked me out, i'd rather not put the vinyl back on. any suggestions on what kind of body filler and primer to use?
Forget the grinding as that won't get all the rust out. A person knowledgeable with media blasting is the way to go. If ALL the rust is removed, then you shouldn't have a problem with rust coming back. I used fiberglass reinforced filler but any decent filler ought to work. Use a good epoxy primer and top coat and you should be good to go.
63VALIANT*KISS
Well-Known Member
they have this stuff that i heard of i was thinking maybe some1 can tell me if this would work if u bodyfiller and ground it down to metyal and used this rust to primer stuff or the rust killer that turns the rust purple then paint with body paint? idk i know that stuff works pretty good ive used it on whole floor pans before.
waggin
moving on ain't easy if you drive a Ford :p
yes, use a rust convertor such as ospho to neautralize the rust, the big problem is that there is rust on the inside now also, so remove the headliner and sand down all you can and treat with rust convertor and seal it up with good etching primer and paint...or put on a roof cut
Aaron
Well-Known Member
This is actually something I am dealing with right now on the roof of my roadrunner. I tried sanding and other things but they didnt work. And this car sat outside with most of the vinyl top missing for 30+ years, so the whole roof had rusted. Anyways, I bought some of Eastwoods "Rust Dissolver Gel" to try. To my surprise it actually works pretty good to remove the rust. Most of it was gone after the first night (you apply the gel and then leave it on overnight, and remove it the next day). It tried it on a small (about 1/4 of the roof) section to see how it would work. It took three applications to get it all of on the section I am working on.
After one coat:
After three coats:
I plan to finish the rest of the roof this week.
After one coat:
After three coats:
I plan to finish the rest of the roof this week.
csx452
Well-Known Member
Zero Rust is the way I'm gonna go on my Dart. I'm sure I'm gonna have to glass and smooth, but zero rust will keep the ruist encapsulated so it won't rust again.
Frank
newguy
Well-Known Member
Boy am I glad I found this topic! We are looking to replace the vinyl top on our dart this fall and there are two bubbles under the top that we can see, and am sure there are pits all over too. We are looking at putting a new vinyl top back on, but want to stop it from getting any worse or any new rust.
So please do post what does work.
Now on this Eastwoods "Rust Dissolver Gel" does it convert rust, or just remove it?
So please do post what does work.
Now on this Eastwoods "Rust Dissolver Gel" does it convert rust, or just remove it?
homecloned
Can't re Member
Follow waggins lead. Also if you paint the roof and then install the vinyl top(after scuffing the paint some) you shouldn't have problems with future rust. The factory didn't paint the roofs on vinyl top cars.
Aaron
Well-Known Member
It removes the rust. If it still looks rusty in the 2nd pic, its the lighting on the pitted areas (it leaves the metal rust free, but not perfectly smooth). This stuff will also remove the paint, so be careful not to get it on any painted areas. I paint the gel on with a brush at night, and remove it the next morning or day. If I leave it on for more than 24 hours the metal begins to rust again (so I wipe the stuff off, and apply a fresh coat if needed).
newguy
Well-Known Member
Oh no.... I am right now just having the car painted. Crap......
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