Roof Rust Repair Advice

Brandon706

Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
What is the best way to repair this roof? I seen some guys cut out this part and weld in a new section. I am thinking a new roof skin is the way to go, what do you guys think
 

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I have an Astro roof car that I brought from a board member that was exactly like that, maybe a little more. I did have that area blasted to make sure that nothing was missed or would show up down the road. I have never seen that issue on a hard top car, odd. I wonder if it was an issue of whoever was making the astro roof skin. The body shop actually used tin/lead to fill in the tiny holes. Once it was sanded flat, primed and painted, you cant tell at all. That was 4 years ago and that body was put on hold, I finally got the astro roof panel weatherstrip seal and will get a new headliner and a few more interior pieces to move onto the next chapter on that project. I love seeing the miracles of metal workers and I am sure that it can also be cut out and replaced and look perfect as well. I can try to find pics of what mine used to look like.
 
My suggestion:
Have an experienced metal man cut the rust out, and refinish the areas.
Cleaning the visible rust off, and packing lead/bondo, etc, into the holes, only delays the inevitable.
If the rust is still on the underside surface, it will eventually come back.

Having the wrong guy do the work, can lead to disastrous results..:rolleyes:
 
I can fabricate and weld in new metal no problem, I am just trying to figure out what would be better a metal patch or replace the whole roof skin
 
The reason for the area blast was to expose any other hidden holes, the lead filled the holes perfectly and is undetectable. Much easier fix when you consider the drip rail area being factored in. If you could do your own metal /fab work the choice becomes the availability of parts. Who makes a new Astro roof skin or the availability of one in a junk yard, don't know.
 
Yeah, finding a clean used Astro roof skin is harder than I thought, I can also cut out clean metal from a doner car to patch the damaged sections
 
I would love to acquire some metal working skills someday, trying to paint took long enough. But honestly I bet that I have way less lead than you would have in skimming the area with body filler after you did the patch job. Less than 1/2 teaspoon per side. Was your car exposed to the weather all it's life , mine had lived under pine trees and the needles collected in the drip rail and the owner didnt really care to keep putting car covers on it once the paint started to fade.
 
I changed my roof skin due to a non factory sun roof. When I got the skin off I had rust in that area and the under structure. I got a whole roof from the local junk yard. I used the skin and pieced in the under structure where i needed it. While i had the skin off I painted the under structure to help stop any rust from coming back. It was a lot of work for an amateur welder but no more rust for now.
 
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