I had a rust out in the roof just above the B pillar. I had previously fixed it with a small patch, but the metal cracked and it cracked the filler too. So, here's what I have done so far. I hope to finish it in the next day or two.
Area after cutting with 3" cutoff wheel
Patch panel made from piece of 1995 Nissan Sentra door. To make the patch I first made a template out of cardboard to get the shape right. Remember: paper cuts easier than steel.
Patch panel welded in but not ground down yet. Done as a series of tack welds to keep heat and roof top warpage to a minimum.
First round of welding ground down with flapper disc on 4.5 in angle grinder.
Etching the last bits of rust from the corners before reinforcing them with welds.
Corners have been welded, voids filled in visible areas, painted with Zinc Chromate primer front and back, then ground down to bare metal leaving primer in voids to prevent rust
Seams filled with All Metal ( $24 a quart!!!). It's designed to replace lead as a seam filler and can be made much thicker than traditional plastic fillers. Unfortunately, it is hard to sand. I use it as the base material for every rust patch I weld in
I also reinforced the corner joint where the roof joins the B pillar in the door opening to prevent future cracking of the filler. I don't have good pics
of it yet, but probably will later on today.
Area after cutting with 3" cutoff wheel
Patch panel made from piece of 1995 Nissan Sentra door. To make the patch I first made a template out of cardboard to get the shape right. Remember: paper cuts easier than steel.
Patch panel welded in but not ground down yet. Done as a series of tack welds to keep heat and roof top warpage to a minimum.
First round of welding ground down with flapper disc on 4.5 in angle grinder.
Etching the last bits of rust from the corners before reinforcing them with welds.
Corners have been welded, voids filled in visible areas, painted with Zinc Chromate primer front and back, then ground down to bare metal leaving primer in voids to prevent rust
Seams filled with All Metal ( $24 a quart!!!). It's designed to replace lead as a seam filler and can be made much thicker than traditional plastic fillers. Unfortunately, it is hard to sand. I use it as the base material for every rust patch I weld in
I also reinforced the corner joint where the roof joins the B pillar in the door opening to prevent future cracking of the filler. I don't have good pics
of it yet, but probably will later on today.
