'96 C150

[Traveler]

I did a roof this weekend. I was really suprised a lot of different things. The roof did not look bad at all until we started grinding out the old filler. It had some large holes, and the drip rail was also in very rough shape.

Interesting notes as you go through pics. The seam is welded complete, not spot welded like on the other two we did.

On this truck there was fiberglass filler down before the body filler.

It looks to me like the truck was started and pushed outside, there was a bunch of sufrace rust on the roof and I think the is why the filler did not adhere well and allowed it to travel as far as it did.

There where a couple of obvious holes in the roof when we picked it up, and we did use silicone to seal them and keep the water out of the interior. It is curious as to where all the water went before as we do not see any damage in the door posts or headliner.

Audra will have a ton of high res. pics on supermotors when she gets time to upload them.

[Traveler]

I like to mask off the area around where I am working. That way if there is an accident with the sander, or body filler it makes for easy clean up, and gives a little protection if you slip with the sander and yes I did use it as such a few times. http://www.fourdoorbronco.com/temp/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Glad it was there.

Grab a 4" grinder and start in.

In the pic you can see the gray fiberglass under the body filler.

[Traveler]

When I grind an area like this for work I like to leave a front and back edge, it guides you as to how far you really need to work.
When you only need to repair 3" it very easily turns into 12" when using body filler.

It looked good before, I certaily don't need to go out any farther than they did.

I did uncover some holes that we never knew where there. Very glad we did the roof now instead of waiting.

When grinding you need to peel up every place you see rust, and where the filler is not sticking well. If it is coming off in flakes or chunks, keep grinding.
Especially around the weld seems take it all off. That is the most critical for getting a good adhesion.

With the holes we uncovered, normally I would like to weld it up, but time will not allow that. This truck is also just going to be a mall cruiser so the fiberglass filler I used to seal the hole will be adequate.

Filling the holes this way is not the best, but it will last a very long time and it will be of course far better than leaving it as it was.

[Traveler]

Couple more shots.

Last pic is a cut off tool. I like using it to get closer to the seam and in the rail gutters, or drip rails. It is very easy to control for detailed work.

I am big on removing as much rust as you can. I prefer sand blasting, but with the holes in the roof that is out of the question.

[Traveler]

The 4" grinder can only get in so many areas, it is amazing how much more the cut off tool can reach.

After taking as much as I can with the cut off tool I grab the wire brushes and finish it off.

With the wire brush you can really focus on the weld seams and rust areas where it might be thin without the fear of pushing or grinding through.

The holes along the drip where a major set back. It took a lot of work to get them cleaned up.

[Traveler]

Even with all of the grinding and wire brusing you cannot get all of the rust. You simply cannot reach everywhere, get in every pit, or crack.
I am not sure I have a lot of faith in the rust convertors, but just fuel additive. It is all we got, and better than nothing.

After cleaning as much as I could I sprayed it with rust treatment.
The stuff I used it more like an acid instead of a convertor. You spray it on, it etches the metal, you need to grind again before applying any filler. It will leave a hard black coating on it, but filler will not stick to it no matter what they say.

[Traveler]

First pic, you can see the gray haze from the rust treatment working. If it works or not who knows, but hey it sure looks like it is doing something.

Second pic. Wanted to through this up, in case you didn't know it. You will get tons, and tons of dust. That is why my pics are so bad. I did the grinding in the wash bay where the lighting is horrible, but clean up is easy.
I do recomend a dust mask.

After that you see the first layer of Fiberglass filler put on.
I prefer more, thinner layers and for different reasons.

Things to remember with fillers, don't work it after it starts to setup.
Don't spend too much time shaping it as you apply it. If it dries on your mixing board it is worthless.

[Traveler]

As the filler is setting up I like to take some 40 grit and scuff the surface to take the scum off. It make the filler sand easier later, doesn't plug up the sand paper as much, and it is ready for a nother layer if needed.


I scuffed it, took some of the really bad high spots off, and chunks.

Then I added the next layer.

Try to put any layer on as smooth as you can, it just make sanding easier later.

last pic. this is an area in the middle of the roof where there was a ton of surface rust and as I tried to feather the paint it just kept peeling up and falling off.

The roof was just not prepped right.

[Traveler]

The last layer I put on was not drying well. So I scuffed the visor we found for it.

$22 at the junk yard. http://www.fourdoorbronco.com/temp/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rockon.gif

That next layer never did dry.
Sometimes you can mix up a batch with extra harder and get the layer below it to cure, but that did not work. That last layer came from and old can, so shame on me for using it.

I ended up grinding it off, two layers worth now and trying again with new material and all was well.

Pic 2 and 3 is the last two layers ground off.

pic 4 and 5 are the new material on and sanded. I was a little frustrated and didn't feel like taking more pictures inbetween those steps. http://www.fourdoorbronco.com/temp/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

[Traveler]

The fiberglass resin is gong to be covered anyway, so no need to make it pretty. Rough it in, shape it a little and cover it.

I put the body filler on in a couple steps. We need to keep the shape of the ribs, so I started by filling the flat areas, as that was getting firm I went and added to the ribs. It is easier to do it that way, when you try to cover it all at once the ribs tend to loose their shape and it all kind of melts together making it harder later to reshape them.

I do the majority of my work with the two sanding blocks and 40 grit sandpaper.

[Traveler]

You do not want to sand it by hand, use a block or something flat. If you look at the last couple of pics and this first one, notice the darker areas in the center of the tan body filler. That is areas the sanding block can't touch or reach because it is too low. So add some more filler.

It is not hard to figure out when you have done enough sanding when using the sanding blocks. When the edge against the paint is feathered. Stop and see what it looks like.
Just be sure to make full strokes across the entire length of the filler, and no cheating. Keep the block flat.

Working the drip rails where very time consuming, it really took my attention away from the roof seam. We did not have to do that on the last two trucks. If I had know we would have to do this much I would not have done it in one weekend.

[Traveler]

I used a DA or dual action orbital sander to feather the paint edges. I am lazy, I also took it over the body filler very lightly to remove some of the 40 grit scratches.
Normally if I had more time I would make up a real quick coat of filler, cover every thing, and sand it with 180 or 220 by hand to fill pits and scratches.

During this process I did put a lot of body filler on the paint and the pictures don't show it well, but I sanded until the paint edge where I quit grinding appeared through the body filler I put on. That kept me within the area I need to work, let me know I didn't use too much, and helped tell me when I have sanded enough.

Then hey, mask it off, we are ready for primer.

[Traveler]

I used a primer to help tell me where I need work.

Put on a very wet coat, then look across it and see if you can see any lines. If you can, then you still need work.

I used the gray primer first, but it did not want to dry very well, so we swapped to red. It is a primer surfacer, or sandable primer filler.
It will help you fill pits and scratches when you are lazy like me and do everything with 40 grit.

The little red blotches you see are spot putty, it can be put on over dry primer. It is used to fill scrathces and pits you missed or didn't take the time to deal with sooner.

[Traveler]

Using a red primer filler is easy, especially over gray.

Spray it on, start sanding it. When the gray starts appearing, stop. You will see line of red were the primer filled a http://www.fourdoorbronco.com/temp/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/scratch.gif, or a pit.

After you get all the scratches and pits worked out be sure to scuff your primer, and the painted surfaces you are going to re use.
If the paint is glossy, you need to scuff it some more.

Time for paint.

[Traveler]

I used a one step Acrylic enamel with hardner.

I put three coats on it.

[Traveler]

Painted the visor too, perfect time, they always match that way.

I left the drip rails cleaned out when we painted to be sure and seal them up with primer and paint. Then I used a seam sealer to fill them.
You can paint the seam sealer to match, or put it in before you paint, but hey they make it in white.

Depending on the look you want you can caulk it in, or smooth it with your finger. I chose to smooth it as I wanted to make sure it was packed tightly down in the drip rail to fill the seams and holes.

[Traveler]

So how much have I forgotten to say?

I used 2 quarts of Fiberstrand fiberglass body filler.
2 quarts of bondo, or body filler
2 qaurts of white paint

Probably 6 sheets of 40 grit sand paper
2 sheets of 220
6 sheets of 220 for the DA

tape and drop clothes.


1 tube of seam sealer.

Not sure $200-$300 maybe? and a weekend.


The ribs and roof line where the bronco meets the truck could have used more filler and been built up higher. It would have been easier to work and get better results quicker, but I like thin layers, where I may have taken off 1/2" with the grinder there is not more than 1/4" now.

The areas where the holes where, they were still very solid and that was another reason I didn't bother to make more repairs now. as I pushed on them, they did not move or flex much.

[Trckmagik]

Great work! You want to come do one in Dallas, Texas http://www.fourdoorbronco.com/temp/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[adrianspeeder]

I'll buy that for a dollar.

Adrianspeeder

[Audra]

You gotta offer a lot more than that Mr. Speeder.

Erik you rock. http://www.fourdoorbronco.com/temp/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/remybussi.gif