2007 Tacoma with Rusty Roof

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Jul 8, 2012
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Dickson, TN.
Roof has developed some rust. I’d like to remove the rust and re-paint this before it gets too bad to fix.

This is the truck in my sig, and is my daily driver.

This truck is in excellent mechanical condition otherwise and runs perfectly, so I’d like to keep it for a long time to come.

I was surprised at how quickly the paint failed, especially since I’ve regularly washed and waxed this truck. However, it was only garage-kept for the first half of its life.

There are also some rock chips on the hood and front quarter panels that I’d like to grind the rust off of and touch up.

So, who‘s dealt with this problem before?

What’s the best way to remove this rust?

Im definitely not a painter, so, I guess I’d take it to someone to have the roof re-painted.
 

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Just let a body shop handle it. The paint failure will probably spread to the hood and pillars as well. Not uncommon to see this on Tacomas from that era, especially on darker colors. A friend recently paid $1500 to have the hood and roof re-sprayed and that was on the low end.
 
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Well when you get behind a gravel truck back off...something abrasive is working that paint.
 
you could steel wool and rustoleum being on the roof like that...give it to a body shop later if it starts to bother you.
 
Just let a body shop handle it. The paint failure will probably spread to the hood and pillars as well. Not uncommon to see this on Tacomas from that era, especially on darker colors. A friend recently paid $1500 to have the hood and roof re-sprayed and that was on the low end.

Ouch. Yeah, trying to avoid spending that much was why I was asking.

Not having been involved in any body work, myself, I don’t know what process would typically be used to remove this rust.

So, I thought I’d post here and see if I could get some idea if there’s any consensus on how to remove the rust and strip the paint and prep the surface. Then I could have a painter re-spray it.

Just thinking, if I could do most, if not all, of the dirty work of removing the rust and paint, myself, I could limit my cost.

Sort of what I had in mind.

Does anyone know what process a body shop would use to remove this rust and strip the paint?

Pneumatic rotary sander?
 
It looks like the clear coat went south exposing the base coat that then deteriorated Which is common. GM has all sorts of issues with theirs back in the early 90s And you’d see cars with huge bald spots like yours. All the UV protection is in the clear so once it goes the paint follows in short order. you aren’t fixing that on yours.
Be thankful yours is up your where no one can easily see it. The fast aAfix is sanding it down and reprising then painting The whole roof.. Not a big job really but likely something for a shop. In the mean time just get a can of Krylon or rustolium and spray primer that’s close enough To your color.. Lightly block sand that rough area until it’s fairly smooth , wipe clean prime then paint with at least 4 coats of paint ( rattle can paint is super thin )
Who knows, if it looks decent you might want to just leave as is. It is up top and hard to see after all. That will work for the life of the truck. If you take it in sometime later they’ll sand it off in a blink and do it right with base coat clear and do the whole roof Right.
Those Tacos run forever so I wouldn’t give that roof a second thought for longevity. The frame is the weak link on that era Taco. Keep that underside clean as possible during winter, especially the frame
 
Ouch. Yeah, trying to avoid spending that much was why I was asking.

Not having been involved in any body work, myself, I don’t know what process would typically be used to remove this rust.

So, I thought I’d post here and see if I could get some idea if there’s any consensus on how to remove the rust and strip the paint and prep the surface. Then I could have a painter re-spray it.

Just thinking, if I could do most, if not all, of the dirty work of removing the rust and paint, myself, I could limit my cost.

Sort of what I had in mind.

Does anyone know what process a body shop would use to remove this rust and strip the paint?

Pneumatic rotary sander?
Have you ever considered doing a black vinyl wrap on the roof?
 
Ouch. Yeah, trying to avoid spending that much was why I was asking.

Not having been involved in any body work, myself, I don’t know what process would typically be used to remove this rust.

So, I thought I’d post here and see if I could get some idea if there’s any consensus on how to remove the rust and strip the paint and prep the surface. Then I could have a painter re-spray it.

Just thinking, if I could do most, if not all, of the dirty work of removing the rust and paint, myself, I could limit my cost.

Sort of what I had in mind.

Does anyone know what process a body shop would use to remove this rust and strip the paint?

Pneumatic rotary sander?
John, do you have a compressor and if so what is the size. This is a simple enough job being a flat panel if you are willing to spent on the materials and a mini spray gun. If you want to give this a go let me know and I will go into the details.
Plan on about $500-600 if you use high end materials that will last longer than you will have the truck.
 
John, do you have a compressor and if so what is the size. This is a simple enough job being a flat panel if you are willing to spent on the materials and a mini spray gun. If you want to give this a go let me know and I will go into the details.
Plan on about $500-600 if you use high end materials that will last longer than you will have the truck.
I do have an old compressor, but it probably doesn’t have the capacity to run any air tools.
 
http://autobodystore.com/forum/index.php.

Check this forum out for great bodywork help. You can get it ready to spray and it’s easy even doing it by hand. You’re almost surely going to have to do the whole top. You will need to tape in the whole car if you go that route. Old blankets and taped on folded newspaper will do the deed well enough. Watch YouTube videos and advice to see how it’s done. Since you’ve got no hole just surface rust there’s no sculpting so it’s easy.
They do make rattle can paint code spray paint and I’ve heard it works. They make spray clear coat too. Both work but are harder to use because they spray a circle instead of a fan pattern. You could do that gor the effected area only and see how it goes. If good Nuff it will hold up fine. If not then all a pro has to do is sand it lightly and then do the whole roof no big deal. Being up top those small imperfections won’t be very visible like on doors, hood or trunk lid.
 
I do have an old compressor, but it probably doesn’t have the capacity to run any air tools.
It doesn't have to run any tools just a small spray gun at 3.6 CFM @ 40 psi. I tried to tailor this quick job to the DIY not having a big nozzle spray gun needed to spray bulk epoxy primer so for that we will use 2K rattle cans, to sand it an electric orbital sander will do fine and for the fine sanding a rubber block is what would be used anyway.

Start by washing the roof with Dawn and warm water, dry it. Using the orbital sander on a mid setting sand the rust spot and surrounding area with 80 grit. Once it is clean metal use a coating of Rust Mort on the area that had rust, this will get the smallest specs in the metal the sanding didn't get. Once dry sand the Rust Mort with the sander and 80 again. Feather the edges of the bare metal to the surrounding paint using 120 brit on the orbital

Scuff the rest of the roof with 400 wet and dry and water with a couple of drops of dawn in the bucket to prevent paper clogging on a rubber block.
You are just going to knock the shine off it not sand it to primer or metal, you can also use a red scuff pad dry if you want.
Wipe the roof down with IPA and dry it.

Mask up the rest of the truck, I usually use a large clear plastic drop cloth from Wally's and cut out the roof then mask it off at the top of the windshield/doors, etc.
Using the 2K rattle can of grey epoxy primer spray 2 coats over the bare metal giving it about 15 min between coats after an hour spray 2-3 coats of the black 2K Urethane primer over the grey epoxy. Believe it or not the priming with epoxy and Urethane is the most important part of the job, the paint is only as good as whats underneath.

Cheap rattle can primers from the local parts store are talc based and offer zero protection. It is common for people to repair rust, use filler and spray this over the repair only to have the rust come back in no time, the bondo and primer absorb moisture and the metal rust under the paint, sometimes you will see a bubble and when broken it is full of water. This is the reason, we use epoxy, it effectively seals the metal or filler from moisture. The Urethane is what we block sand to smooth and flatten the surface before painting, the color of the Urethane is important as it plays a role in the color match.

As we are using a rattle can with few shade choices on a dark color we go with the black, yellows, reds, white care use a white primer.
Let the primers cure overnight or longer, the metal is now protected from air and moisture.

If you are onboard so far let me know and I will make another post with the rest of the steps, this is really easy to do, dont be intimidated by the long instuctions, once you get started it will be easy.
 
Sure in la la land, 7 hrs would cost over $700 alone in a good shop. The day I do a job like that stripping it down to metal and using the best quality products and 7 hours labor for under $500 is the day I quit working for good.
 
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Nope, just last month.

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To fix this Nissan

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Cut out both frame rails and rad supports from this and donor car and replace, install provided hood, headlights, fenders and bumper, paint bumper and one fender, blend door. I pulled engine before hand. Wrote a check for $1,800. Car looks great.
 
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