Rusted Roof

[86Scotty]

That looks great! It should definitely last a long time. I think your brackets will still fit but they might cut into the liner. I've had them dig pretty good into stuff I've sealed gutters with. I would just check it out now and then. a bead of black silicone around the contact point might not be a bad idea either.

:b5:

 

[woodbee-SMB]

I got the roof fixed, a bunch of metal removal, welding, rain gutter repair, and the self leveling filler in the gutters. They then applied several coats of rhino liner to the roof. This was all done by the same person who did my last repairs. I would highly recommend them if in San Diego. I think this should last a lot longer than 10 years.

I still have to sand and repaint the awning brackets. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that they still attach correctly as the gutter filler is thicker than what it was before, especially since the rhino liner was applied to it and over the lip of the gutter.

Really happy the repair work went well. I will do the same if my problem continues.

Thanks for posting the pics.
Woody

 

[sdwindansea]

Thanks Scotty & Woody. I'll post more info/pictures once I get the brackets back on. I agree that it probably will not be an issue. Have a great weekend.

Geoff

 

[choochee]

gaffer's tape gutter fix

here is a picture of what 86Scotty was saying that Twogone did with the gaffer's tape that effectively creates a new edge for the water to drip off down the door as opposed to creeping down the underside of the gutter and then in between the seals and the door frame.....

hope this helps someone as much as it helped me!

 

[oceansrealm]

I agree with most here that if you live in a coastal area especially, then you have to keep an eye on that roof. I have tried rhino liner and all sorts of paints on my repairs and have found that the most robust solution so far has been repairs with bondo an/or fiberglass then a generous coating of flex seal. The flex seal is extremely tough and provides a nice buffer to the rubbing of the pop top gasket. I also put a light coat of silicone grease on that pop top gasket to provide a bit of lubrication between the flex sealed areas and the top. The flex seal has lasted longer than anything else I have tried and seems to stop rust dead. Eliminate moisture and oxygen and you will slow the rust significantly.

I know there are way more solid fixes, but I feel like automotive paint does not stand up to the rubbing and the roof tape traps moisture. For a DIY solution I am very happy with it.

 

[BrianBlair]

Thanks Scotty & Woody. I'll post more info/pictures once I get the brackets back on. I agree that it probably will not be an issue. Have a great weekend.

Geoff

Hey Geoff-

Do you have contact info for the shop that did your rust repair? I'm up in Orange County but would gladly drive to San Diego for good repair shop.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[posplayr]

I agree with most here that if you live in a coastal area especially, then you have to keep an eye on that roof. I have tried rhino liner and all sorts of paints on my repairs and have found that the most robust solution so far has been repairs with bondo an/or fiberglass then a generous coating of flex seal. The flex seal is extremely tough and provides a nice buffer to the rubbing of the pop top gasket. I also put a light coat of silicone grease on that pop top gasket to provide a bit of lubrication between the flex sealed areas and the top. The flex seal has lasted longer than anything else I have tried and seems to stop rust dead. Eliminate moisture and oxygen and you will slow the rust significantly.

I know there are way more solid fixes, but I feel like automotive paint does not stand up to the rubbing and the roof tape traps moisture. For a DIY solution I am very happy with it.

So my 1997 E350 had surprising roof rot around the drip rail caulking. Even though the whole body was pretty clean from rust, I watch the roof bubbling for some time before breaking down to repair. I was surprised how much rot was under the calling.

I did not do any welding but instead used waterproof shorthair fiberglass filler body filler. This is much stronger than normal filler and especially the red non-waterproof stuff. Generally, you want to put this on clean scratched metal (60 grid scratched by hand in crosshatch). However, you need to push the bond up inside thereof where it is rooted through and there is no way to get in there or even make sure you are selling it with the Bondo.

So I first did the recommended prep work for the POR-15, let it cure then sanded the area where the bond needed to stick and then the rest (which was mainly inaccessible) would just inherently be wedged in. It worked and the bond adhered very well where I was bare metal and where was pushed inside the roof it had enough mechanical grip from being pushed into the inside it was not going anywhere and everything was sealed. I painted the whole top with POR-15 and then coated it with the white roofing elastomeric paints (it is AZ):b1: .

BTW if you need to repair termite riddled wooden doors and windows, then the waterproof bonds work extremely well. I use a two-part wood restoration epoxy to fully impregnate the wood first (turning to plastic) and then apply the waterproof Bondo.

 

[BCam]

here is a picture of what 86Scotty was saying that Twogone did with the gaffer's tape that effectively creates a new edge for the water to drip off down the door as opposed to creeping down the underside of the gutter and then in between the seals and the door frame.....

hope this helps someone as much as it helped me!

Am I missing something? I don't see any gaffer's tape.

 

[86Scotty]

It is hard to see in that pic. Basically you run a strip of really good duct tape/gaffer's tape or the like across the edge of something sticking only half of the width of the tape to the edge. Then you carefully fold it in half long ways adhering the half hanging off the edge to the other half which is stuck to the edge. This adds a lip to the edge and water runs off of it, keeping it from flowing back in to the door or whatever.

Reading this back it sounds more confusing than helpful. A better pic or video might suffice but I'm unable to help at the moment.

 

[bigriver-SMB]

Thread Revival

I've started the process of prepping to Monsterliner the pop top and roof. This is what I found under my corner rub tape. When the metal is pocked like this can I still mitigate further rusting without having it cut out and new metal welded in? If so any suggestions how to proceed appreciated. I've read this entire thread but still the question remains.

 

[Pete-SMB]

I've started the process of prepping to Monsterliner the pop top and roof. This is what I found under my corner rub tape. When the metal is pocked like this can I still mitigate further rusting without having it cut out and new metal welded in? If so any suggestions how to proceed appreciated. I've read this entire thread but still the question remains.

I think you need to cut that metal out and weld in new to avoid everything rusting underneath the lining.

 

[posplayr]

I have tried rhino liner and all sorts of paints on my repairs and have found that the most robust solution so far has been repairs with bondo an/or fiberglass then a generous coating of flex seal.

I agree

I have been using the fiberglass-reinforced Bondo for some time now. It is fully waterproof and very much a structural covering.

If one is extremely ana;l and has the skills, then go for it and weld in some sections of sheet metal. But if you properly treat the rusted areas, you can fully fill the drip rail and cover most any rust problems.

Even if you do need to tack weld some metal into an extremely rusted situation, it is going to be far easier to make it presentable with the Bondo.

https://www.amazon.com/762-Bondo-Ha...ocphy=9051700&hvtargid=pla-434217306426&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Bondo-00277-Glass-Reinforced-Filler/dp/B00PB3NTFO

So this Bondo is not as strong as a full expoxy glass layup but it doesn't need to be and it certainly will be much easer to final form.

As I read this thread I don't think people understand that what is causing the rusting is the dirt getting down into the OEM drip rail sealer. The water is washing it in there, but once the dirt gets it it is amazing how much it rusts even in a dry CA/AZ climate.

 

[bigriver-SMB]

After further research I've decided to use the three step POR 15 approach and put the paint matched Monstaliner on top of that... unless someone has a good reason not to that is :b1:

 

[E-350]

Not sure if you saw the other thread from larrie where sheepshagger mentioned adhesion of paint on POR-15 isn‘t that good.

As also mentioned I used 3 layers epoxy primer + 3 layers bedliner on my bare metal roof/ gutter.

 

[bigriver-SMB]

Thanks E-350. I had read sheepshagger's comment but then went down the rabbit hole and came out thinking it could be done. Now revisiting the POR 15 info in more depth, and considering his comment, I'm thinking a good rust converter and primer instead. I'm not planning on filling or I would use posplayr's Bondo Glass approach. We'll see how it all plays out next week.

 

[SheepShagger]

Thanks E-350. I had read sheepshagger's comment but then went down the rabbit hole and came out thinking it could be done. Now revisiting the POR 15 info in more depth, and considering his comment, I'm thinking a good rust converter and primer instead. I'm not planning on filling or I would use posplayr's Bondo Glass approach. We'll see how it all plays out next week.

That is a way better approach, and will also be 1/4 of the price. If you need verification, read paint forums on POR 15 in the application you are thinking. It’s a great product, just not for this specific application.

Personally I like OEM quality or better, hence recommend welding in a plate, but that’s requires tools, glass and bondo is an easier option, but make sure you read up on glass then bondo, vs glass reinforced bondo that’s designed for fiberglass boats and cars, like corvette.

 

[SheepShagger]

The other thing that was mentioned in the other thread (or this thread) sorry I can’t remember. Is that the ford seam sealer shrinks over time and creates a gap between the roof and the sealer, water and dirt gets into this gap and creates the rust problem. That is 100% accurate.
But what I have also seen people recommend is remove the seam sealer and simply paint. If you do that, you need to remember the joint between the roof / cutter / side is NOT waterproof, it’s spot welded. So you are now relying on the paint to create the waterproof barrier. IMO that’s not a good idea long term, that’s why I personally recommend using a quality seam sealer to replace the ford sealer if you see / have that crack. That’s also the reason ford used seam sealer in the first place in that gutter, to create a waterproof barrier.

 

[larrie-SMB]

I finished the three step Por-15 process today. Very time consuming due to the wait times between the steps. Tomorrow will be laying down the recommended Por-15 high build primer before applying the Herculiner.