The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 41 windshielf surround pictures. now what do i do?

hello, just started cleaning up the windshield surround and discovered significant rust, (there was just a hint before i started grinding, pictures are posted). what's my best approach? i've worked with fiberglass and thought maybe doing that from the inside would be the easiest? although recently i got a mig welder and that's an option, (just learning how to weld see picture ). would appreciate some direction from preparation, to painting. although i have had several classics, this is my first attempt at restoration. my biggest concern is making the cab "weatherproof" before winter. any and all input will be appreciated. ~m[b][/b][i][/i]

i cut out the rust with a cut off wheel.
then i used a small break to bend some metal into a z shape as close to that was there as i could. then i welded in as many straight pieces as i could. on the curved sections
i cut a v every 1/2 inch inch or so to be
able to bend and form the curved sections.
weld it in using small spot welds. beat and
pick any high spots. i then used fiberglass
to make it all weather tight and body filler
on top. it actually worked great. philip

Fiberglass is certainly easy, IF you sandblast to white metal for a permanent bond. But, steel is always best, I like philip's method, as you will have a lot more strength. Especially where there are large gaps, fiberglass has to be very thick to get any rigidity...so, if possible, weld it up!

hey casey and philip, i'm gonna take the advice you both offered. in areas that i can reinforce the area with metal i will. my welding skills are limited at this point. in areas that have alot of contour, and are not load bearing, i will use fiberglass. i sure appreciate you guys taking the time to shoot me a note. one day when i'm a master restorer ;), i will help someone that has limited skills like myself. thanx again, ~m

You could also tack weld strips from underneath to give stength(welds are not to visible) and cover the top with fiberglass. Have fun and good luck
Dan

Fiberglass is NOT a good repair on a metal part. I've seen it done and it's a mickey mouse "fix" at best. Because of differing expansion and contraction rates it's prone to checking PLUS it's simply not made for metal repair. Rust repair on metal is best done by removing the rust and replacing with good metal. If you're going to do it, do it right as Mike Holmes says.

As Tiny said, fiberglass does not make a good nor permanent repair on steel. The differing expansion rates will soon overcome any adhesion the resin may have, where you end up with a sheet of f/g flapping in the breeze. If you have troubles finding someone to bend up the pieces for you, those straight bends should be fairly easy...even as a mail order, send someone a small sample cut out of your roof so they can get the bend distances correct. I have done this before for some roof repair sections for a guy in TX.

Your picture wasn't too clear, but it did look like the corners were not damaged. Keep your fingers crossed. On welding in repair patches in the roof, the other consideration is to look from the inside for access for hammer and dolly work. In other words, the horizontal seam should be located where it's accessible from the back side, if possible. Any welding causes shrinking in the metal adjacent to the weld. Access from the back side (inside in this case) helps tremendously to be able to planish the weld to stretch the metal to counter the shrinking effect. I'm not familiar with the 41 to speak knowledgably about whether this access exists or if the roof is double wall, so consider those "generic" pointers.

Hello,
I'm a newbie to this site, but I happened to see this post and I have a very similar problem. I'm rebuilding a 1953 chevy 1/2 ton and rust is my middle name these days. I was willed this truck by my son-in-law knowing nothing about it. It turns out to be a real rust bucket, so I bought a used cab that was in much better shape until I removed the windshield. I find I have significant rust through under the seals. I, also, have limited mig skills and this area has some compound shapes.
I was wondering if I could tack some pieces in behind the holes and then braze the holes closed.
If anyone has some experience with this technique, I would like to hear about it.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Typically multiple layers as you are describing make a good moisture trap, for a short-lived repair. You would be better served to cut out the rusty metal and weld in some new patches. The straight sections would be bent up on a sheet metal brake. For the rounded corners, there are many ways of accomplishing those. Here is a thread that I added a how-to on forming these. (please excuse the web site....bare sheet metal doesn't care what brand it's fixing)

Fabricating windshield corners


Or they can be fabricated using hammer forming. Here is a thread where I repaired a wagon tailgate using hammerforming, it may give you some ideas..


Tailgate repairs using hammerforming


And finally, this last link is not my work, but be sure to also read metalworking II and III while you're there, some awesome work and a good demonstration of what can be accomplished to repair the rust.


Metalworking windshield frames

Thanks a ton Robert, I checked out your links and they look great. I figure something out for the old 53.