What are good ways to fix rust around a vinyl roof?

[aggressive male]

I became very frustrated today when I pulled up the trim around the vinyl roof. There is a lot of rust around the edges and several holes the trim was hiding. Is it realistic to peal up the vinyl, do a repair and glue it back down? I was also wondering if it would be realistic to repair only the large holes and expect the vinyl to be good enough to cover the smaller ones? Thanks

[danbob67]

vinyl roofs man I wish they didnt ever invent em Im working on a 70 chevelle now that had one and it is not going back on but anyway you really should rip that thing off and fix all needed areas unless you are on a tight budget. but those small holes you are thinking of leaving will be the larger holes down the road to be fixed, so my advice do it once get em all fixed.

[aggressive male]

vinyl roofs man I wish they didnt ever invent em Im working on a 70 chevelle now that had one and it is not going back on but anyway you really should rip that thing off and fix all needed areas unless you are on a tight budget. but those small holes you are thinking of leaving will be the larger holes down the road to be fixed, so my advice do it once get em all fixed. About your chevelle, does this mean your going to take a grinder to all those trim clip holders that stick out of the sheet metal like a nailhead? What do you do if you ever want to put it back on? If my car was most anything else I would leave the vinyl off but a 70's caddy is hard to make look right without it. Anyone know how to rebuild what those clips attach to?

[danbob67]

on the chevelle yes those nail head lookin things grinded off and all holes welded as far as putting a vinyl top back on it I could do it those nail head things can be put back on with a stud gun. but this car wont ever see a top back on it. . Customer wants it all red just like every other 70 chevelle.

[toxicz28]

I would replace the sheet metal, and then use a stud welding gun to install new trim rivets. They are also available as a screw in stud, but then you're putting a hole in the new sheet metal.

[skinnyboy67]

JUst did my 67 camaro top last week..it was bubbling under top figued I should get it before it poked through to paint below the chrome trim..got it just in time..taped off good paint below chrome line..sand blasted and welded spotss that needed attention..took rear glass out..reglue top down on sail panels..put chrome trim back on.
Easier said than done..I did go slow..Also hesitated quite a few times
but the end result was better than punky rust under the top. good Luck

[aggressive male]

JUst did my 67 camaro top last week..it was bubbling under top figued I should get it before it poked through to paint below the chrome trim..got it just in time..taped off good paint below chrome line..sand blasted and welded spotss that needed attention..took rear glass out..reglue top down on sail panels..put chrome trim back on.
Easier said than done..I did go slow..Also hesitated quite a few times
but the end result was better than punky rust under the top. good LuckSo how big an area did you peel up and glue back down? was that vinyl original? What did you do about the rust sticking to the vinyl since you reused the top?

[Sir Don]

The rolled/creased bottom of my doors hadn't even blistered yet. They were undercoated in the inside. But the DARN vynal roof ruined the rest of the car. Around the windows, the floor pan, the trunck pan etc. I better stop now before I throw something.... NO the top is not ever going back on a car I own. More power to ya, if you like that, and I remember as a kid, some nice 76 Grand Prix with half vynal and thought they were cool. But I'll never put one of my cars, through a slow death like that. Sorry for venting. Best of luck with the restore.

[NOT A TA]

If there's rust along the trim there's probably more. Be brave! Take off the roof and fix all the damage and install a new vinyl roof. Here's a pic of my 74 after cutting out the rust.

John

[NOT A TA]

Pics show new metal glued in,thin filler layer, painted, and new vinyl installed. Window channel also needed repair. 3M 2 part epoxy used to secure new metal is incredibly strong and eliminates the hassles of welding. getting the seam straight on the new vinyl is probably the most difficult part of the job, the rest is just time consuming.

[NOT A TA]

New Vinyl roof pics

[aggressive male]

Thanks for showing us!

[barno68]

If there's rust along the trim there's probably more. Be brave! Take off the roof and fix all the damage and install a new vinyl roof. Here's a pic of my 74 after cutting out the rust.

John

My '71 was pretty hidious too. We are still working on rebuilding the front and rear window rails, what a mess! I will never go vinyl again.

Brent

[NOT A TA]

I like vinyl roofs on some cars so I've chosen to repair the damage and put new vinyl on sometimes. My 66 mustang 74 Camaro and 81 Malibu have all recieved new vinyl. So I'm replacing tops that are 25-40 years old. The reality for me is that if the cars not a daily driver and not left outside then the new vinyl top will probably outlast me if I keep the car.

[NOT A TA]

pic taken today. I haven't had time to wet sand and buff the paint and the car's been outside since I installed the new roof with no maintenance unfortunatly. Not even a washing. I wish the new deluxe shelf piece held up as well as the roof repair.

[NOT A TA]

just looked at the pic in post above. vinyl in pic above looks funny but it must be my old camera, looks fine in person

[aggressive male]

It looks great when you click on it! How much did just the vinyl cost? Was it hard to put on? Did the old one have major cracks?

[MonzaRacer]

I am looking into getting into this process, also I am looking into soda blasting to clean everything first.
http://www.geocities.com/rustbusterllc/

[NOT A TA]

Monza Have you seen this performed in person?

[aggressive male]

I'm not sure if I would trust a place that uses a free geocities like that. I just tried looking up spray welding in wikipedia and in gas metal arc welding they talk about it and say it can work on thin metal so I guess it is real. If you send them a part to spray for you free please let us know what happens.

[MonzaRacer]

Yes i have seen it before and one of the magazines did an article about it and used it on a ElCamino with rusted out rear window channel.
I have been thinking of something like this since the od headers used to come out with a similar coating called alumacoat.
That is wherethey sprayed molten alumnum plasma onto freshly blasted headers.
I sold a set about 10 or 15 yrs ago(I dont remember but they were danged expensive and they still look like new with a squirt of brake clean.
As for the process I like it as when someone has a minor pin holes not worth cutting out and fixing for asthetics (ie not a strength/structure issue) then this process will fix the holes and place a galvanizing antirust coating.
I just am trying to figure out all of the processes uses so I can use it for my sideline buisness AND try to get some financing.
If you clean the complete underside of a car(I am also looking at soda blasting as it doesnt dmamage anything and its environmentally friendly) then spray the Rustbusters process then I would use a garden sprayer to lay down a galvanising etchant then prime and paint the under side.
while it might give some extra work to painting the underside I would figure if the texture is not objectable then you would have a car with a true galvanized underside, I was even thinking that some people buying newer trucks and cars might like to use it for specific use vehicles (like a truck in a construction company or coal mine) where rust is a problem on the undersides.
I talked to a dealer and they told me such vehicles never gave any issues on the rustout warranty as they usually had other issues, BUT a few comapnies had started wanting a rust proofing to lengthen the usefull life of the bodies, as reman engines and trans are a lot cheaper than a new truck and trying to deal with new warranties.
figure you simply rebuild the frontend, slide in some new springs and a new engine and trans and rear and still have half what the new truck is and a 3 yr 75k top 100 k warranty like Jasper Engines uses.
I work in a truck and auto shop and we have some buisnesses that have trucks rebuilt and well over 350 to 500k on the chassis.
Yuo have to take the site for what it is, a site set up by a buisness that uses the system and sell them.
The system if I read right actually gets some origins from the UK but I am not sure.
The process has been around since the late 70s and is used for a lot of things, I wastalkingto one fella online and he heard I was looking into it and he had used it for relining some press dies, but he was having to send them out of state and it takes time to break them down ,crate and ship them then get them back.
So I do have one potential customer, and if any company/county around that have water towers that have rust then we would blast them, then coat them then either paint them or contract to have them painted.
I just wonder if I could even get cars shipped in to have work done or be paid to go to the person needing the work.
I have been thinking of buying a truck to install all I need on.in it and be portable to blast and coat the rusted car with.
Now I havent actually seen it applied but saw the finished car,,,, Very impresive.
Lee Abel
AFTERMARKET PERFORMANCE

[NOT A TA]

I've been considering the same type of a portable operation. Thats why I asked. I'm going to see if I can get some more info and witness the procedure being performed. Moving to Florida and looking to start a new business there and thought it'd be cool to go around and help car guys with projects while earning a living.