Pig (FJ55) Roof Panel w/ Surface Rust - How To Proceed?

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PabloCruise

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The roof panel on my 55 no longer has paint on it. I believe the sun has baked it away and it is now mostly bare metal with surface rust on it.

I am not ready to paint the entire rig, so I am looking for advice for the roof panel right now.

I was wondering about degreasing the roof panel and then going at it with Rust Bullet and then either rolling on some paint or going spray can.

I asked a friend who does some work on 55-6-7 Chevies and he advocated just sanding the panel w/ some 80 grit and then shooting a metal etch primer on the roof followed by whatever paint I want.

My concern is, what if I don't get through all the rust when sanding? (I do not have a DA) So I would be hand sanding. Will the metal etch primer inactivate any rust left behind?

Thanks in advance, as I do not do much in the way of body work...
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PS: Can you get metal etch primer in spray cans?

I believe so but if your roof isn't rusted through, and you wanted to keep it that way, I would use Rust Bullet. I've been using POR15 but there is more prep before you paint and you can't just topcoat it with a non-POR primer. I've seen good results on a friend's 40 w/ Rust Bullet.

Personally, I would Rust Bullet the roof and then raddle can it until you paint the whole rig.
 
The right way of getting it all gone is sand blast, but thats not a option by the sounds of it.


I agree with rust bullit, not sure how it reacts with other products, but if it topcoats well i would go that route.

120 grit by hand will hopefully hit the metal for the most part and leave only micro rust and some deep pits.
 
I would not worry about it filling and leveling, use it as a barrier.

If you want the roof smooth,high build primer it and sand it out smooth;
 
Primer is porous by nature, even high build. You want paint. Hell, just go ahead and prep and paint it in the right color. Won't be much more expensive than the half assed methods, if you do it yourself.
 
Primer is porous by nature, even high build. You want paint. Hell, just go ahead and prep and paint it in the right color. Won't be much more expensive than the half assed methods, if you do it yourself.

Of course I meant to finish with paint, never never leave primer on sheet metal.
 
How about coating it with rust bullit followed with a coat of rustoleum or something simular in a shade of green simular to the colour?

Cheap and from my expierence those rust paints hold up really well.
 
If you have thoughts on a full resto down the road, Rust Bullit will be tough to remove.
 
Go get a cheap random orbital sander and a bunch of 150 grit pads from home depot, you will get that down to shiny metal faster than you think.

You could then prime(or not) and spray (or roll) some rustoleum proffessional white on the top and it would look great!

It will aslo easily come off someday when you are ready for a full paint.

Take a look at my paint project in this forum.
 
I would not worry about it filling and leveling, use it as a barrier.

If you want the roof smooth,high build primer it and sand it out smooth;

I am not worried about smoothing, just looking for the best prep for a rusty piece of sheet metal

Primer is porous by nature, even high build. You want paint. Hell, just go ahead and prep and paint it in the right color. Won't be much more expensive than the half assed methods, if you do it yourself.

I guess what I am trying to understand is what would be the best prep method - metal etch primer or some type of rust inhibitor?

Go get a cheap random orbital sander and a bunch of 150 grit pads from home depot, you will get that down to shiny metal faster than you think.

You could then prime(or not) and spray (or roll) some rustoleum proffessional white on the top and it would look great!

It will aslo easily come off someday when you are ready for a full paint.

Take a look at my paint project in this forum.

I will look at your project. Still wondering about metal etch primer? Have people used it from spray cans?
 
Sand it with 80 grit, hit it with some Ospho to get in the spots missed by the sander, then use some self etching primer - Napa carries it in a spray can. Then finish with your choice of paint.

Thank you!

What is Ospho? Where can I source?
 
The best prep is to prep as to paint. DA everything with 80 grit, down to factory primer, or bare metal. Prime with just about anything, depending on whether you're going to paint now or later. Personally, I'd wet sand with 360. Spray with just about any kind of paint depending on how long you're going to wait to do it right. Now that you've done all that work, you could have done it right, painted it with the right color, and not have to go back and do it all again, for just a few more hours and dollars. Personally, I'd prep the top, spray a high quality primer, wet sand, prime, wet sand, repeat until smooth, (if you can feel it, you'll be able to see it) until it's ready to paint. Final sand, wash, tack, spray three nice smooth coats, and you'll not have to worry about it for years, use a good quality paint you can match, so you'll not have to do it again when you spray the body.
 
The best prep is to prep as to paint. DA everything with 80 grit, down to factory primer, or bare metal. Prime with just about anything, depending on whether you're going to paint now or later. Personally, I'd wet sand with 360. Spray with just about any kind of paint depending on how long you're going to wait to do it right. Now that you've done all that work, you could have done it right, painted it with the right color, and not have to go back and do it all again, for just a few more hours and dollars. Personally, I'd prep the top, spray a high quality primer, wet sand, prime, wet sand, repeat until smooth, (if you can feel it, you'll be able to see it) until it's ready to paint. Final sand, wash, tack, spray three nice smooth coats, and you'll not have to worry about it for years, use a good quality paint you can match, so you'll not have to do it again when you spray the body.

Perfect, this helps greatly... Thank you!
 

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