A slow refresh and preservation of a 1985 FJ60 (1 Viewer)

[ShineTX]

I purchased my wonderful brother-in-law’s 1985 FJ60 about 8 months ago. It’s well preserved and almost all original, but like most, it has a list of things that need to be done to preserve it and keep it going for many years to come.

Met up with him in Kansas City and drove it back to Central Texas with absolutely zero issues. Made a lot of stops like this along the way.

Its new home

 

[ShineTX]

Started by treating the rust. Current plan is to just keep the rust at bay for a couple of years and then get it to a professional for complete strip and repaint. Spots of rust in the gutters at the joints, driver’s side A pillar, and both front doors at the bottom seams. Fortunately, it’s pretty mild.

Started with the gutters and working my way down from there. Spent a couple of weeks removing all of the old seam sealer, then ground out the rust, soaked the rails with ospho, then primed, applied the 3M self leveling seam sealer, then primed, painted and clear coated. Pleased with how it turned out for my first attempt at autobody work. The seam sealer set up way faster than I expected which made the very narrow gutters on the A pillars challenging.

In hindsight, I wish I would have hired a pro for this job. It took a huge amount time in prep work.

 

[Arlo89]

Looks good and at least you know how it was done

 

[kirvesmies]

Started by treating the rust. Current plan is to just keep the rust at bay for a couple of years and then get it to a professional for complete strip and repaint. Spots of rust in the gutters at the joints, driver’s side A pillar, and both front doors at the bottom seams. Fortunately, it’s pretty mild.

Started with the gutters and working my way down from there. Spent a couple of weeks removing all of the old seam sealer, then ground out the rust, soaked the rails with ospho, then primed, applied the 3M self leveling seam sealer, then primed, painted and clear coated. Pleased with how it turned out for my first attempt at autobody work. The seam sealer set up way faster than I expected which made the very narrow gutters on the A pillars challenging.
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In hindsight, I wish I would have hired a pro for this job. It took a huge amount time in prep work.

good looking beast
n now you know why the butcher's bill is so high for quality body work. just think of the $$$$ you made (read saved)

 

[ShineTX]

good looking beast
n now you know why the butcher's bill is so high for quality body work. just think of the $$$$ you made (read saved)

Yeah, money saved, just not sure it was worth it!

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the body of literature on this process; this is my contribution as a complete amatuer who has never done any auto body work. Proceed with caution…

First, let me reiterate that if you have the money and you have access to a high quality auto body professional, whatever you pay that person will be money well spent! This is not an easy job and an experienced professional will be able to knock it out is a fraction of the time with much better results.

Here is the procedure I followed based on crowd sourcing advice from Mud and YouTube:

1. Remove old seam sealer
2. Grind out any rust
3. Blow out all debris
4. Tape off/mask around the gutter
5. Sand blast gutters
6. Remove tape and masking
7. Blow out all debris
8. Treat gutters and rust spots with Ospho
9. Remove ospho residue
10. Clean with wax and grease remover
11. Tape off and mask
12. Prime with 2K epoxy primer (at least 2 coats)
13. Remove tape and masking
14. Buff gutters with gray Scotch-brite pad
15. Blow out with compressed air
16. Wipe down w/ wax & grease remover
17. Re-tape and mask for seam sealer
18. Apply seam sealer
19. Buff gutters with gray Scotch-brite pad
20. Prime with 2K epoxy primer (2 coats)
21. Buff gutters with gray Scotch-brite pad
22. Paint with factory color paint (2 coats)
23. Paint with 2K clear coat (2 coats)
24. Remove tape and masking and enjoy

Without a doubt, the most difficult and time consuming part of this job is removing the old seam sealer. About 95% of my sealer was in good condition but there were areas that were failing in the A pillars and the gutter joints on the sides and rear. So it all had to come out.

The two best tools I found for digging out the old sealer was slightly dulled (so no metal gouging) wood chisel that was a little narrower than the width of the gutter area and an automotive pick.

 

[CenTXFJ60]

Doing this exact job this weekend on a friend’s HJ61 @landsnoozer
One thing I learned several gutter jobs ago was to open up the gutter channel on the a-pillars. I use a few old wood chisels and slowly work my way up and down the channel. That way I have good access for cleaning, treating and applying seam sealer.

 

[ShineTX]

Doing this exact job this weekend on a friend’s HJ61 @landsnoozer
One thing I learned several gutter jobs ago was to open up the gutter channel on the a-pillars. I use a few old wood chisels and slowly work my way up and down the channel. That way I have good access for cleaning, treating and applying seam sealer.

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This would have helped me a lot. Mine are so narrow I had to use a syringe to get the seam sealer in there.

 

[CenTXFJ60]

This would have helped me a lot. Mine are so narrow I had to use a syringe to get the seam sealer in there.

Yes sir…I’ve been there as well. I’m a slow learner but this idea hit me about the 3rd gutter job I was doing.

 

[ShineTX]

Does anyone have these two smog related hoses laying around in a discard pile from your desmog? I also need the insulator sleeve for 17346.