The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Winshield area rust question

Question. As soon as I get my daughtor's Honda Accord out of the shop.

Had to put in a 'new' junk yard engine. I will be ready to move the '52

5 window into the shop. Its under a shed at the moment.

The first thing I will start on is the rust around the window area. As

you can see from this pic..

[img]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1421/875654737_4af7ea80ce_o.jpg[/img]

The rust is along the top of the window mating surface where water sat,

condensation probably, and finally rusted through. I understand how to

fix the rust. Cut out the bad and weld in new sheet metal. But no doubt

the rest of that closed in area is rusty. So how do you stop that rust

from continuing? Will I need to cut out the double wall there and stop

the rust. But when I weld it back it will be fresh metal that I can't

get to.

Is this fixable? And if so, how? Can someone point me to a previous

post that covers this? I've looked couldn't find an answer.

TIA Wade in NW Florida

I have the same question, err problem, I was thinking about spraying tons of rust converter into the holes and then spraying POR 15 through the gaps and such to cap the rust. SO far thats I I have come up with.

I had to do it on my 58. The correct way to fix it is to replaced all the bad metal. Go to my truck build website below I have pics of what I had to do to repair it (Page 3). It my help you in your situation, yours is much easier than mine was to repair.

I replaced the whole roof section on my 63 to repair this area. It was a lot of work but shouldn't have any rust out for a long time, if ever,
Scott

On mine(not rusted out but I've seen enough to know it will), I shot Rust Bullet convertor into the area using a suction-type blow gun.

Serious rust I think needs a serious solution..
I'd have it stripped(media blasted)Depending on what's left after that and your level of ambition, there are a few ways to fix. Adding new metal is the top choice however "fiberglass" is great for areas where water is a problem since it is water resistant..plus you can mold it with your fingers and do a desent job retaining the proper contour..The glass can be topcoated with filler for a transparent repair.

Good luck

I definitely want to do a permanent repair, which to me is metal replacement. Thanks for the info.

Wade in NW Florida

If you look at the gallery pics of the rest of the truck (link at bottom of signature) you can see the rest of what I have instore to fix. The PO started on the floor and door front pillars but did not lock the cab together when he cut the metal out. So I will have to wing it putting it all back together. I imagine I can mount the doors back and lock it down then remove the doors again and pick up where he left off. Its still mounted on the frame so maybe it hasn't shifted much. We'll see.

There is also frame rot behind the cab, completely rusted through. But thats patchable I supose. All just takes time.

Thanks for all your input folks, I imagine I'll be back with more questions as I get further into this.

Wade in NW Florida

one thing you can do in a fix like that is on the area to be welded to, and the hidden back of the new metal, coat with High Zinc weld-thru primer so there's some protection under the weld area, it does make a difference

Bill

I think the most common reason that happens is mouse nests.

When you repair it, provide a path out of there for the condensation or it will eventually happen again. Rust happens where water pools, either through poor drainage or a mouse nest holding the water against the metal.

if you want perment repair and are spending time and money id go with welding a whole new roof in

Myron, I just spent a half hour with your Apache, you are one talented dude! That's quite a project, looks like there wasn't a single panel that you didn't have to rework. Wish I had your kind of hand for sheet metal work. That should give Wade some hope and most certainly give him encouragement to get started on his ’52.
That really is a beautiful ‘55 also; I've always had a soft spot for them. ‘55-‘57 was the car of the hour when I was in high school, (class of 60) but I could never afford one back then.
Thanks for the pics.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Myron, My goodness, you're good. It's a shame you're on the other end of the country or I'd have you over to do my truck for me. You make it look easy. By the looks of your brothers chopper it must run in the family. Like Denny said, you are one talented dude!

Thanks guys. I really appreciate that. Yes my brother is a talented guy and has taught me alot through the years. We have different taste though he is an old school low rider and I like street rods it’s just that age difference I guess.

Mummdogg If you lived closer I would help you out in a min. I like to help people thats what this hobby is all about if you ask me.

Denny thanks for the comment on my 55 210. I really love that car and I could not afford one either but I just had to have it.lol My wife is good to me sometimes.

Wade you don't have to replace that roof (that is just overkill). Remove all the rust (surface rust) before you try to tackle it. Just to see what metal is good and what is not. I use Phosphoric Acid from home depot in a spray bottle. I dilute it 50/50 water and phosphoric acid and scrub with a steel wool and those scotch brite pads. After that I use a wire brush on a grinder. I try to get that area clean like new metal. Then you can see what you have to work with.

There are many ways to do things and I can only tell you how I would do it. If you would like email me I would be more than happy to give you some suggestions. My email is [email protected]

Clean all the rust first and send me some pics so I can see whats going on with that area.

Will do. As soon as the honda is out of the shop and I can pull the trailor back out from under the chicken coop (Its actually an extension of the shop, I plan to enclose the coop to have a 24x60 foot shop; good winter project).

Already noticed a bird nest in the empty dash that some enterprising BlueJays built, even had some chics for a while. So I need to get it out of the open area. Its under cover, but not from animals.

This will be the largest rehab project I've attempted with a vehicle so I'm sure I will be in touch along the way.

Thanks again, Wade in NW Florida