help with mild roof rust (1 Viewer)

[riffman12]

I recently made a thread about my roof rack removal experience on my '97. None of the nutserts spun on me and the bolts came out relatively smoothly. After threading in some new bolts, the nutserts are still holding plenty of torque.

However, I was hoping I could get some advice here on how best to move forward with the rust leftover on my roof. Here's the pics:

As you can see, there are no rust holes, but there is some bubbling in a couple spots. the bezel around some of the nutserts has also chipped away.

Disclaimer: I have pretty much zero body work experience. I can sand and spray some primer and paint, but I've never dealt with rust or anything like this before. I also don't have the means to weld.


1) Is this something I can deal with on my own? Given the state of the nutserts, can I just sand the paint around them until the rust is gone, then primer and paint? Or given the bubbling, is this rust probably through to the point where I would sand through the metal completely?

2) Am I better off letting a body shop handle this? As much as I really don't want to spend a lot of money on this, I want to make sure the rust doesn't spread and my roof doesn't leak. My paint's not perfect so I don't mind the roof being bed lined if it's cheaper. What should I expect to pay a shop to deal with it properly?


Thanks in advance for your help. I'm a huge noob with this bodywork stuff and the rust has me really freaked out. Just hoping this won't cost an arm and a leg.

 

[1973Guppie]

it looks not bad at all, this is what mine looked like after removing the factory rack, I found some stainless steel bolts along with some sealing washers from the hardware store, used some silicone when screwing them in......

the sealing washers did a great job of closing it off, sand the area down and paint it afterwards

do a search as well, been discussed alot before...

 

[riffman12]

it looks not bad at all, this is what mine looked like after removing the factory rack, I found some stainless steel bolts along with some sealing washers from the hardware store, used some silicone when screwing them in......

the sealing washers did a great job of closing it off, sand the area down and paint it afterwards

do a search as well, been discussed alot before...

Thanks for the help. My biggest worry is that once I start sanding the rust off, there won't be any metal left - but you don't think that's the case?

I'm also a little worried that the nutsert bezel around the top has chipped away in a couple sports and sort of squared off the top of the nutsert.

is this the kind of washer you used?

 

[Seth_O]

Mine didnt look quite that bad (NorCal), but i just grabbed some stainless steels bolts and some rubber washers and "sealed" the holes back up that way. I did it years ago, and its never leaked a drop.

Still need to go sand off the rust and touch-up the paint though.

 

[lt403]

I am in the process of removing my roof rack for good.
my nutserts were in real bad condition and some actually fell out. I used the wire brush on my Dremel to carefully remove the rust and not too much metal. I followed that with some Ospho for rust prevention. I ended up sealing the holes from the inside with quicksteel as others have done and using the dremel tool again to smooth things out from above.

 

[1973Guppie]

Thanks for the help. My biggest worry is that once I start sanding the rust off, there won't be any metal left - but you don't think that's the case?

I'm also a little worried that the nutsert bezel around the top has chipped away in a couple sports and sort of squared off the top of the nutsert.

is this the kind of washer you used?

yup, those are the ones, they flex a bit and seal the hole up well. Use a little silicone when installing. From the pics it does not look like bad rust. I would: wire brush area, sand a bit, paint, let dry and then install the bolts and washers with silicone

 

[riffman12]

yup, those are the ones, they flex a bit and seal the hole up well. Use a little silicone when installing. From the pics it does not look like bad rust. I would: wire brush area, sand a bit, paint, let dry and then install the bolts and washers with silicone

Sweet. I just found some at my local ace hardware that came attached to sheet metal screws. So I'll just pull them off and use those.

I might also look into using a rust preventer like lt403 suggested depending on how bad it is.


My last question is since my LC is white it has single stage paint (no clear coat). Any suggestion on a paint and primer that will be a reasonably close match while still being pretty tough to UV rays without using a clear coat?

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

Sweet. I just found some at my local ace hardware that came attached to sheet metal screws. So I'll just pull them off and use those.

I might also look into using a rust preventer like lt403 suggested depending on how bad it is.


My last question is since my LC is white it has single stage paint (no clear coat). Any suggestion on a paint and primer that will be a reasonably close match while still being pretty tough to UV rays without using a clear coat?

I would visit your local Automotive paint store. Dupont or PPG is what I typically use. They can mix your paint off your paint code and even put into an aerosol (spray) can if you choose to go that route. They also have good filler primers and etching primers in aerosol cans as well.

 

[riffman12]

I would visit your local Automotive paint store. Dupont or PPG is what I typically use. They can mix your paint off your paint code and even put into an aerosol (spray) can if you choose to go that route. They also have good filler primers and etching primers in aerosol cans as well.

Awesome thanks. Looks like there's a PPG store not far from me so I'll check it out

I'm guessing that might be a slightly pricier option. If I wanted to go the cheaper route temporarily, could I just use a rustoleum primer and paint for those 4 roof patches?

 

[ZeGerman]

Personally I like to tackle rust in its early stages. Rust = cancer for the rig. It will spread is not handled. That being said sand it out. Go to automotivetouchup.com put in your make and model and find your color. Then order it an an aerosol can. Order also a can of primer as well as a can of clear coat. Get the 2 part clear coat. The single stage stuff sucks and will eventually peel. They also have videos on how to use the products.

 

[riffman12]

I called my local PPG store and they only do house paint

i think I'm pretty set on just doing the closest rustoleum paint in a spray can I can find. Is the rustoleum primer good enough of a rust remover to lay on right after sanding and wire wheel? Or is there a product I should use before that? This Saturday is really the only dry day I have where i'll be free to do this so it would be ideal if I could just pick it up in a local hardware store.

Any other products that are readily available that will work better?

 

[ZeGerman]

I called my local PPG store and they only do house paint

i think I'm pretty set on just doing the closest rustoleum paint in a spray can I can find. Is the rustoleum primer good enough of a rust remover to lay on right after sanding and wire wheel? Or is there a product I should use before that? This Saturday is really the only dry day I have where i'll be free to do this so it would be ideal if I could just pick it up in a local hardware store.

Any other products that are readily available that will work better?

Touch Up Paint and accessories | AutomotiveTouchup Then read my post above.

 

[riffman12]

Touch Up Paint and accessories | AutomotiveTouchup Then read my post above.

Thanks I did read your post above, however:

1) they're out of stock in white primer. I'm not sure how well gray will work under white paint
2) They estimate 3-5 days shipping. No guarantee it will be here by Saturday.
3) white FZJ80s didn't have clear coat so I'm not sure I should be putting clear on those 4 little roof patches.

 

[ZeGerman]

You can get the white primer at auto zone. You may even get lucky with a Toyota color there. I would at least sand prime and wait for the correct white. Its worth it.

 

[Blade 80LC]

If you just want it done, there's NOTHING preventing you from using whatever you please. I rarely spot the difference between shades of white, so any can of spray paint that says white should be fine on the roof (which you most likely don't look at a lot. If it was my truck, I'd scuff off the loose rust with a wire wheel or sand paper. Then I'd apply a rust converter like this (just ask any employee at a hardware store for a rust converter). Wait for that to dry, then spray it with Rustoleum. Fill the holes with the bolts and grommets you have. Done.

The advice others have given above would look better, and only cost several dollars more. $20 sounds like a lot for spray paint, but in reality it's likely a good deal in the long run. If I was doing it, I should follow the other advice in this thread, but I would do it the fast and dirty way I just described.

 

[riffman12]

ok so today I got the wire wheel and sandpaper out and started attacking the roof. There was only one really bad spot, here's a shot of it after I put 3 coats of Duplicolor Rust Fix on it:

There were a couple of other small patches on other nutserts that I hit with a bit of converter, but was able to get most of it off with the wheel and sand paper.

Going to leave it until tomorrow. The car is outside and I don't think the converter is supposed to be very UV protective, so this is my protection for now:

Don't worry I poked holes in the cups

Then tomorrow I'll be sanding everything as smooth as I can and applying my white primer and paint. Wish me luck!

 

[1973Guppie]

lol, why the cup? rust does not look bad

 

[riffman12]

lol, why the cup? rust does not look bad

lol apparently that rust converter is highly sensitive to UV so that was my genius plan to keep the sun off it for 24 hours, while still providing some air flow to dry the paint... i dunno made sense at the time.

I finished the job today. Here's the finished product:

Obviously the paint color isn't a perfect, but it's close enough for the time being and will hopefully keep the elements out.

Here's the main reason I wanted the rack off in the first place. Full length Baja Expedition Rack:

 

[riffman12]

not sure if you guys can see in the pics, but there's a little "step up" to the new painted section from the old paint. You can see and feel the edge pretty clearly.

What's the best way to smooth that out? Just and it and polish it when I polish the whole truck? Or should it be wet sanded or something? I just don't want to ruin the edge or have it peel or anything.

There's also some tape that didn't come up cleanly so I need to get razor blade or something on that

 

[Red Merle]

You are probably stuck with that edge unless you sand it down with some fine grain paper. In the future, if you adhere tape to a piece of paper and then stick it to the area to be painted and fold the paper back on itself, leaving the paper "float" off of the surface, you can get a better result.