Roof Rust

I have a 2001 that needs some help with rust repair. I’m the original owner and it has 168k on it. The frame was replaced about 10 years ago so the truck has a lot of life left in it. Only problem is it’s time for paint and the rust has gotten a bit out of control. Estimate today for full paint and roof replacement was 13k. Just wondering if other options out there or others have done the same and if that estimate is crazy. Thanks for all the help.

 

Can you poke through any of those rust spots with a knife/ screwdriver?
Is that quote for a full body repaint (removing windshield, exterior trim pieces, etc)?

I had my cab repainted with door and windshield channel rust repair on my 1990 pickup for $3300 (including the new windshield) from a reputable body shop. Parts of the windshield channel were completely rusted through and has to be cut out and replaced.

 

The rust is “bubbled” but not rusted through. No holes yet. No water in interior. The quote is for full body paint. They take old paint all the way down to the metal. They remove everything including windshield and remove old roof and put new roof on.

 

Without seeing it in person, I’m not totally sure why they can’t strip and rust convert the roof instead of replacing the roof skin. Maybe for a better cosmetic result?

Around here a full strip and repaint will set you back 10k, add on a roof skin and I could see getting up towards 13k. It’s more work (and money) than I’d personally put into a 20 year old truck, but if the shop has a good reputation and it’s worth it to you, I don’t think 13k is crazy for the scope of work they provided.

 

I had some rust issues like this on the roof of mine that I sanded off myself. Looked pretty similar but not nearly as extensive, I just had like 5 or 6 spots. I'd just recommend getting some stuff to do your own sanding job, I used a dewalt rotary sander and some sanding attachment things for a drill to get most of my rust out. Just have some bondo on standby and be ready with primer to cover sections as you go so it doesn't start to rust out again. Once you need it painted I took my truck down to a spot in Tijuana, a stone throw away from the border and had my entire truck AND camper shell painted with their high end paint option for $3000. They actually did a pretty good job too. A few minor annoyances, like a screw driver being left in one of the doors, rubber mounts not put back in window tracks, etc, but over all a pretty decent job and it took less than 2 weeks. If you want more info on that spot or advice on the rust removal just lmk.

 

Thanks all. The way I drive this truck it could last another 20 years lol. 13k is still cheaper than a new truck I guess.

 

Agreed, if the goal is just rust repair, you can do for way less than 13k. I assumed OP was wanting a really nice cosmetic result, since he got a quote for the full disassembly and repaint.

Personally, I think I got a nice balance of the two in my repair. It still looks like a truck that has seen some use, but isn’t just primer and overspray. Happy to share some photos if that would help.

 

Well if your not gonna do what most here would do....

thats sand, buff, rust convert, two coats prime - wet sand between each.....
finish.......


If your not gonna do that.....sell it for 8K.....then add the 13K .....
and then you can buy exactly what your heart desires......

dont think you'd have any problem selling a 5vz V6.......thats barely broke in....


Kinda wondering what a 10yr old replacement frame looks like....most I've seen rust just as fast as the first......if left untreated......

 

Matt some pictures would be nice. Thanks.

 

Honestly, some pretty sound advice.

 

Also that's well within the price range of buying 1st gen tundra....
you can even get that small 8........

 

Common failure on these trucks, paint wise. My truck paint failed in the same way, and I have a rust free California truck.

I had severely corroded clear coat on my roof and hood. I just went ahead and repainted it myself because once the clear starts to go, there’s no saving it.

I sanded down the panels down to the factory primer coat, then used an HVLP spray gun to do a base coat clear coat paint job. It cost me about $300, the base coat was like $100 a quart and I used two. The leftover money paid for the clear coat, and primer.

That cost assumes you already have a spray gun, a decent air compressor, sanding blocks, and all the right sandpaper, polisher, pads, and all the buffing compounds.

Even if you had to buy all that stuff it’s still cheaper than a respray at a body shop.









Here it is before cutting and buffing. The orange peel will go away once that’s done. The process goes 1000 > 1500 > 2000 > 3000 Grit > Hard Cut > Medium Cut > Fine Cut Compound > Wax

 

Wow. Great job BartMaster! I can build houses but painting a truck? Lol. I’d love to be confident enough, but…? If I do sand it down smooth and can’t get all the rust off and put bondo on top and paint…. How much time does that buy me? Will rust cause more problems quickly?

 

Less area involved than your roof, but you can see how parts of the windshield channel were rusted completed through and had to be cut out. The cab and upper half of the doors were repainted.

 

That was my very first paint job, I’ve never painted anything like that before. If I can do it, you can do it.

It’s funny, I work with an ASE master tech but he’s too afraid to cut his own wall open to fix a leaking pipe.

As for the truck, you just need a skim coat of bondo where there’s pitting to fill in the imperfections. 90% of paint work is in prep. You will get all the rust off if you sand it down enough, assuming it hasn’t already rusted through all the way (which I doubt).

If you do everything right, the paint will last you nearly indefinitely. My repair was a temporary one until I could pay a body shop to do the whole truck. But it looks so good I probably won’t end up doing that.

 

Ok Matt I’m impressed. That turned out really good. Honestly I think I’d be ok with that. If I can get another 5-8 years out of the truck I think that would be good. If some rust is left but covered and smooth and painted… how long could I expect that to be ok? I know rust like a cancer doesn’t just stop it continues to grow.

 

Thanks BartMaster. I’ll start doing research and maybe I will just tackle it.

 

We won’t know the full extent of your rust until it’s sanded down and we can see how deep it is into the metal. If it’s just minor pitting, which it looks like, just make sure you spray some rust reformer on it, and then cover it with a skim layer of bondo before your primer and paint. It’ll last you years like that.

 

I’ll try sanding asap and see what I’m up against. If I don’t have to get a new roof that would save a lot. I don’t mind spending 5-7k for full paint. It’s the $6k for a new roof that hurts.

 

If you're doing it yourself, you'll want to get it down to bare metal and then apply a rust converter to get whatever is left. If you have a shop do it they won't warranty it (which is probably why your shop recommended a new roof skin), but those rust converters work pretty well.

I went with the body shop because I can't weld sheet metal and I knew I'd have some rust holes to deal with. I looked for a body shop that was well recommended and did work on classic cars (so he was comfortable doing work for cash customers, not just insurance companies). The shop owner was very straightforward about how many hours each part of the job would be, and we figured out that I could repair and paint just the rust for $2700, but for $600 more we could do the whole cab.

If you go the bodyshop route for an older car, you want to find someone who can work with your budget to get a nice (but not perfect) result for way less than the full repaint.