cjbiagi wrote:Unfortunately the only real way to repair rust is to remove it and replace with new metal. Anything less is temporary at best and with the price of paint jobs, do you really want to have to do it over? The other option is to repair and revinyl it.
Clyde,
I know you're right, and I've even said it before myself. Fix it right, or fix it twice. If it was on any other part of the car I would not hesitate to cut it out and weld in new metal. I have to replace the entire rear section of the driver side sail panel and a large portion of the pass side sail panel as well. Those areas have body lines to follow and to help keep it from warping, the middle of the roof does not. I had actually thought about getting one of POR15's Floorboard Repair Kits to use on the roof. They use their POR15 paint and a fine fiberglass cloth to repair minor rust and pin holes in floorboards. I thought about using it on the inside of the roof and then using a skim coat of filler to finish off the outside. I've used POR15 in the past, and I know it's tough as nails, but I'm not convinced that it will last when used that way.
How about this idea...
Grind the rust out to solid steel. Then, cut a small patch of steel, just larger than the rust hole, and have someone hold the patch to the bottom side while I tack it in place from the top. A few tack welds will actually fill the holes completely since they're no larger than pencil leads right now. They should be no larger than pencil erasers once I finish grinding. The underside could be finished off with a coat of POR15 to seal it from the air. A little grinding on the welds and a skim coat of filler should have it looking good.
What do you think?
Then again, I have always wanted a convertible... What brand of duct tape are they using, Colin?