Can someone tell me how the five exposed rivets that secure the front Visor parts are waterproofed prior to painting? Mine have been hooped over w caulk by PO and with the repair I am about to do I want to be sure these are finished properly.
Roof restoration
- Thread starter bj40green
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Can someone tell me how the five exposed rivets that secure the front Visor parts are waterproofed prior to painting? Mine have been hooped over w caulk by PO and with the repair I am about to do I want to be sure these are finished properly.
Looks like body putty on mine. A couple of places could have used a second coat as their edge is visible, should be smooth.
Hi, Our rivets have never leaked. I don't think there is any sealer . Mike
I don't think there is any sealer on the rivet itself, however, there is sealer between the valance and the roof. Since it is a round head rivet it will look much better if it is puttied over before paint. When I spoke about the edge being visible, its just that you can tell where the rivet head is in a few areas.
That’s interesting. My rivets that are used for the visor heads are flat. I am sure they are original. It looks like someone has smeared a caulk typ of product around them. If I were to cover over them they would creat bumps at each spot, which would look odd in my opinion. I don’t think they leak but since I am repainting the roof now would be the time.
You are right, that is fugly. Typically a flat head rivet sits flush and would require very little bondo to smooth over. But that would require something more substantial, like fiberglass build up! Yikes!
This is factory that is why I was asking what was done from the start so I can replicate it. Maybe they were sealed from the inside of the hole before setting the rivet. But 36 years later in would not count on the waterproofing to still be in tact.
My 40, actually both of them, had indoor/outdoor carpet inside the roof. I didn't have problems with the visor on the '70, the problem was between the roof and the drip rail. On the '79 I had a leak on the passenger side and when I removed the carpet I found that there were no rivets between the valance and the roof. Gap was about 1" in the center! So the rivets I refer to on my rig were not factory.
I am sure there is some sort of modern sealant that could be wiped over the rivets without having to build up a big bump. I will have to do a little research. It would need to be a paintable product.
Yeah, it can't be silicone. Is there a boat repair place anywhere around you?
Yea, I have actually arranged for a local recommended boat repair person to do the job after the first of the year but I am halfway considering doing it myself bc I just have so little faith I peoples skills and quality these days. Problem is, if I do it, it may never get done.
Living in Ecuador I can certainly appreciate what you are saying. The work done on my FJ40 would have been done in my garage. Of course in the USA we have garages, and we have tool rental places for hoists, engine stands, etc. Plus the availability of new and good used parts along with experts. So I can appreciate your concerns. Daily I am faced with aggravation with the quality of the body work that was done early this year. Seems like they started off well, good intentions and good work. As it got near the end, the most critical phase, quality disappeared and s*** prevailed.
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The quality of work and the inflated costs make me do my own work.
I’ve always used seam sealer to seal the visor rivets.
Do you use the brushable seam sealer and then paint over it?
I am weighing the quality vs. cost now. I was quoted a max of $1500.00 for repair and finish paint. I know I can do it for much less money than that, but finding the time is the real question. Plus the cost of all the gaskets will add up. I have two vehicles in mid-stream restoration, so I really should be working on them, not another project.
I don't know about your part of the country but where I'm from we call that "Busier than a one armed paper hanger" or "Busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest."
I just use the same SEM self leveling seam sealer I use in the gutters and smooth it out over the rivet so it looks factory.
Do you have a number for the SEM? Thx
39387
I’m lazy tonight. What years did they mount visors to the fiberglass cap?