Addressing the Funk under your headliner... (Glue Removal/Rust Repair) (1 Viewer)

[Taylorious]

What's up, 'Mud.

Got to work on the '60 since this whole COVID thing is keeping me from going into work... and started tearing out the headliner to get to mounting a C/B radio to the roof and address the x12 holes that some P/O had drilled into my roof for a 'safari' roof rack.

Here's what was left after the foam came down:

And here's a close up of one set of the holes:

Fortunately, my roof is relatively rust free. AND, I plan to Monstaline the truck's exterior when I'm done with this bit so I can afford to do some in depth (see; Welding) repairs and additions (see; Center Roof Console) to the sheetmetal and on the holes...

BUT, My concern is how to get this funky dried 1985 glue off my roof. It's CRUSTY, and hyper-dried out... and comes off as a dust when I chisel or grind it.

3M's Adhesive Remover (38984) hasn't much budged the stuff, neither did Xylene heavy Goo Gone, and I'm having better luck with the stripping wheel or a 120-grip flapper wheel... but, trying to avoid going full ham sandwich on grinding and then needing to repaint the whole roof too....

Further ideas?
Aircraft Stripper?
Jasco paint stripper?
...if I'm gonna strip it, I might as well do it with chemicals as opposed to doing it with a wheel.

 

[MarkBC]

I started ripping mine out too. The interior always smells funky and good thing I did decide to rip it out. This is what I found, some nice mold:

There are holes in the roof, some with rivnuts and some without. It looks like the old factory roof mounts but the rivnuts and holes don't look very factory quality. Some of the holes are open which was causing rainwater to enter and grow the mold, and start rusting around the outside gutter rails from the inside out. There are also chrome strips on the ridges on the top of the roof which are just drilled through the roof with screws and of course there is rust starting around those.

All of this is fixable and the rust is minor at this point, and I'm also wondering how to remove the old insulation glue. I'll also be spraying some rust paint followed by linseed based rust inhibitor (not Fluid Film as it stinks like sheep inside the car) inside the enclosed rail along the top edge of the roof beside the gutter pinch weld. You can't access that weld directly but I'll first spray Eastwood Frame Repair rust paint to take care of the rust on the inside of the pinch weld (I've already painted the outside) using the supplied hose, then spray in the rust inhibitor using a similar tube sprayer to get it in there. That way, if any rust does decide to come back in the future, it will be stopped in its tracks by the rust inhibitor.

It looks like you also cut the headliner at the windshield. I'm not sure what headliner I'll put back in but I want to avoid involving the windshield in this so I may just secure it to the roof at the windshield somehow and put a trim piece over to hide it. IMO the windshield should have nothing to do with the headliner.

 

[MarkBC]

Regarding Monstaliner, my opinion is that those really hard coatings that don't flake off can cause more rust problems since when the 100% perfect bonding to the underlying surface is inevitably broken, moisture and salt will enter underneath and be trapped, never drying out and rapidly causing further rust unnoticed until it is too extensive. I prefer regular paint which flakes off if rust is present underneath so it is obvious to see and address. I saw a nice-from-afar land cruiser last year that was monstalined but sadly up close you could see the thing was rusting away underneath.

Just my $0.02, maybe others have a different opinion...

 

[SteveH]

Every liner-covered roof I have seen has bubbling and water getting under the liner inside the rain gutter. This will be fatal to the roof. Liner sticks ok to big flat surfaces, but getting it to adhere 100% inside the gutter seems to be the challenge (nor do I think it's even possible). Then, repairs are difficult/impossible. Liner jobs look great for XX years, but sun/age/rain/rust come after them, and down the road, you have a mess.

 

[Taylorious]

Regarding Monstaliner, my opinion is that those really hard coatings that don't flake off can cause more rust problems since when the 100% perfect bonding to the underlying surface is inevitably broken, moisture and salt will enter underneath and be trapped, never drying out and rapidly causing further rust unnoticed until it is too extensive.

Every liner-covered roof I have seen has bubbling and water getting under the liner inside the rain gutter.

You're both helping me marshal my thoughts... I really appreciate it. I wanted Monstaliner as it's the lower cost to a full paint job that isn't a MAACO job which'll just get knackered over time... but @MarkBC , you point out a good thing: If the paint flakes... just re-do it.

 

[MarkBC]

I did a Rustoleum white rattle can paint job on my 4runner hood. It came out really good. With a sanding and clearcoat you wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't professional... but a hood is fairly easy to paint with a rattle can. I did about 5 or 6 coats while it was sitting vertically. So for a whole vehicle that's hundreds of dollars of paint cans.

 

[Taylorious]

I did a Rustoleum white rattle can paint job on my 4runner hood.

I'm not opposed to rattle-can... but, yea... The cost is preventative and then your logic starts to necessitate the need for a higher quality sprayer, compressor, booth, etc. if you're going to do all the prep work.

In short; I think I'm going to go with either another MAACO job (truck had one in 2011, and it's REALLY starting to crack, bubble, and so-on) or just rattle it myself.

Big prep work to do before hand includes scrape and MEK / seal the gutters, re-weld the holes in the roof and properly bondo them, address some minor A-pillar surface rust, and dent/ding repair along the quarter panels... not including stripping the vehicle accessories and so-on to make it easier for the spraying.

Truck was "Champagne" brown from the factory, and took a MAACO reproduction... It'd like to go alpine white or some lighter tan since I spend a lot of time in the south western deserts with it.

 

[MarkBC]

I like my desert dune tan 4runner for the deserts, blends in well.

 

[Gunner90]

What did you end up using to get the old glue/whatever off the roof? Currently doing the same and I"ve just been sanding it down. Works well so far but terribly tedious.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, I've removed old glue and foam with a Porter Cable random orbital sander and 220 sand paper. Don't stop in one place long keep the sander moving. WHERE A GOOD MASK ! Mike

 

[joebattle1]

My guess... When we come out of this quarantine a lot of body shops will be desperate for work. Save your nickels and find a body shop further east like in Stockton maybe. Should be able to find quality work a5 a reasonable price.

I personally would stay away from that monstaliner stuff. As others have stated... it tends to trap moisture and what not.

Should we load up next Saturday and go find a trail? Let me know.

 

[Taylorious]

What did you end up using to get the old glue/whatever off the roof? Currently doing the same and I"ve just been sanding it down. Works well so far but terribly tedious.

Gunner90, I'm still 'stuck' at this spot. Just pulled the front 1/3rd of the headliner so far, and ended up keeping the vehicle in this status for now as I'm not committing to the needed fixes on the 'ceiling' as I know I'll also need to address the exterior paint / 'roof.' As a previous poster said, my greatest success have been with abrasives like angle grinders + flap wheels / VSR drills + wire wheel.

I'm considering, depending on the level of bite I get out of these abrasives when I attack it in a month or so, also going the Jasco/Aircraft stripper route too. Since, if I can't get it to my liking with the abrasive without full paint destruction, might as well strip it and save the metal the potential of warping from the heat.

Lastly, I WILL update this when I take the final stab at the roof. Just not there quite yet.

My guess... When we come out of this quarantine a lot of body shops will be desperate for work. Save your nickels and find a body shop further east like in Stockton maybe. Should be able to find quality work a5 a reasonable price.

I personally would stay away from that monstaliner stuff. As others have stated... it tends to trap moisture and what not.

Should we load up next Saturday and go find a trail? Let me know.

joebattle1! Social distancing at its finest, amirite? PM me!

I'd wager you're right. ...hadn't thought of that, but your point is well taken. I'm used to the small-town beach-side 1-bodyshop-in-town prices, so even the east bay, comparably, is fantastic. I'll search for privately contracted repairs for the six holes + the other minor rust I have on the A-pillars when this whole thing blows over.

Got a quote from the local east bay Maaco as well 1-2 weeks ago. They're about 4x as expensive than the Monstaliner for the type of job I'd want done, but the project quality they had sitting in their bays was of high enough repute that I think I'll go with their hand when I'm ready. If I'm going to do all the riggamarole of the roof gutter reseal, and bodyworks professionally done... I might as well paint and clearcoat the damn thing right.
...they can spray Sherwin Williams, which I hear is not the top-quality auto paint... but they do have code #31494

 

[hygge]

@Taylorious I've been following this thread. What have you decided to do with your painting/roof since this thread was started?

Similar to you, I ripped out my headliner - because I knew that I couldn't weld the roof without setting the headliner on fire. The original owner had a roof rack installed, a CB radio, and a cell phone antenna. Basically when I bought the truck there were 32 holes that needed to be welded. I haven't taken off all the dried adhesive from the roof yet - but have taken off all of the jute previous to welding all of the holes.

Now I am finishing up sealing my gutters and moving onto body work.

But with all that done - would love to do a respray/ cheap'ish paint job for the truck. I am almost convinced that having someone like Maaco do it is the best option for my budget and for the consideration that I have already ripped out the interior and will have done the bodywork myself. There won't be anything to "overspray" on. So seems like a cheap option that should do the job for 5-10 years before my bank account can start to recover from child care costs.

Have you had it repainted yet? Did you find a decent shop in the East Bay? I am in Marin and found there is a Maaco over in Richmond.

Thanks for you input!!

Solid Welded Roof

• hygge
• Jul 25, 2020

Old Roof Rack Holes Welded

• hygge
• Jul 25, 2020

 

[MarkBC]

@Taylorious I've been following this thread. What have you decided to do with your painting/roof since this thread was started?

Similar to you, I ripped out my headliner - because I knew that I couldn't weld the roof without setting the headliner on fire. The original owner had a roof rack installed, a CB radio, and a cell phone antenna. Basically when I bought the truck there were 32 holes that needed to be welded. I haven't taken off all the dried adhesive from the roof yet - but have taken off all of the jute previous to welding all of the holes.

Now I am finishing up sealing my gutters and moving onto body work.

But with all that done - would love to do a respray/ cheap'ish paint job for the truck. I am almost convinced that having someone like Maaco do it is the best option for my budget and for the consideration that I have already ripped out the interior and will have done the bodywork myself. There won't be anything to "overspray" on. So seems like a cheap option that should do the job for 5-10 years before my bank account can start to recover from child care costs.

Have you had it repainted yet? Did you find a decent shop in the East Bay? I am in Marin and found there is a Maaco over in Richmond.

Thanks for you input!!

I think you may be my doppelganger. I was about to post the same thing. I have a silver BJ60 with 32 holes in the roof that I need to weld up...

I am going to rattle can the roof white. I painted my 4runner hood white with Rustoleum white auto paint and man that stuff has held up well over the couple years it's been on. Looks professional. If I sanded and clearcoated it would look even better.

All the other areas I'm just going to spray with silver Rustoleum wheel paint. For me that is the way to go because I then won't worry about scratches or sun fading. As log as the metal underneath is protected that is the most important thing. Plus, with a rattle can paint job it doesn't look like a nice rig, even though it will be... won't attract as much attention.

On another related topic, the following photo shows the rail around the roofline. I recently repaired some minor rust in the outside roof gutters. That pinch weld in the gutters connects with the outside seam underneath the gutters, that has caulking on it (caulking was intermittently coming loose due to rust). It also connects to inside the vehicle, BEHIND that rail. Not IN it. So I plan to get my can of Eastwood frame paint and put a red extension tube and spray it in behind that rail along the length of the roof, to treat that join from the inside. I expect some paint will drip through to outside under the gutter. Which is what I want, that way I'll know I have covered it all. Then I'll paint the outside too. The Eastwood paint is designed to go over rust.

 

[MarkBC]

I should say that it was easy to paint the hood when it was off and vertical. A roof is a little harder with a rattle can. I'll have to drive the truck up on its side so it's like maybe 30 degrees sideways, then paint half of the roof, then switch it around and paint the other side.