Ryoken's Guide to Rust Treatment and Bodywork 101

[ryoken]

yeah, if it's clean it can hold up well.. like i said, some long or shorthair on the actually holes wouldn't be a bad idea.. you can actually ding em down a bit with a hammer to makes sure it gets a bit of a coat..

you could patch that stuff, but it'd be that whole pitted section , maybe 15", 18" from the back corner on back cuz the metal'd be so thin... but honestly, I think proper refilling of it is probably your best route, unless you wanna open a BIG dollar bodyshop bill to do it 100%....

 

[Chief Brody]

Will likely be next weekend before I can get to it again...will definately be refilling it...can't afford sheet metal replacement of that kind.

How do I fill the top rail without filling the screw holes for the fiberglass top? or do you just "unfill" those later with a dremel tool?

 

[ryoken]

just fill em with something to keep it out, a bolt, wadded masking tape, those squezzie ear plug things work good.... a bolt works well, once it dries, just back the bolt out before sanding..

 

[496truck]

Interesting. I have the same type of rot on my truck, in the same spot. My plan, cause mine is worse, is to cut out the section and weld in a patch. I'm not doing a restoration but I don't want to be able to see through the body either.

 

[Chief Brody]

I definately didn't do something right....I mixed a batch last night and put it on the inside rail...over 12 hours later, it still isn't dry...and it stinks. It is stinking up my garage and seeping into the house...man that stuff is potent.

I put an inch of the hardener into pretty big batch because I thought I was going to spread it on the top and inside...

guess I will be taking that all off again or will it eventually dry?

 

[ryoken]

well, it sounds like you went pretty light on the hardener.... take a fan and have it blow air over it... let it sit a day or so with the fan on it then check it... if it doesn't dry, scrape it off, then scrub it with thinner to get the remaining off... and go again..


there was a reason I said "remember, small batches till your comfortable with filler/hardener ratios.."

 

[Chief Brody]

I think I kind of freaked out after I had sanded it all down and saw all those holes...I know I was thinking "what have I got myself into...it didn't look bad at all before...why am I doing this"?

The answer is because I have an image in my head of what I want it to look like...and that's the only way I want it...I think I will have a better perspective after I do the filler a few times. I was a little discouraged that it took 12 hours just to get it to where I got it...one little bed rail...

I also worry a little about all the rusted out pinholes..would be nice if they made a premade panel that you just slip over it and blend it in...

I think I am freaking because I'm making it look worse than when I bought it, but I am not looking at the fact that it gets worse before it gets better...and it sucks that I only have 2 days a week to work on it and the weather controls that. I just hope every little thing doesn't take 12 hours or 40 hours to do....

By the way, that water seperator didn't work worth a crap...it only stopped the water for about half an hour....what else can I do?

 

[ryoken]

well, make sure your draining it periodically... and if you want optimum performance out of it, temp mount it upstream right at the blaster... make sure your draining the compressor tank periodically too..

 

[Chief Brody]

I didn't get to do anything this weekend, I got sunburned so bad Friday I couldn't move...today I managed to go out in the garage and scrape that Dynaglass off with a putty knife
The mix never hardened. I am going to try again next weekend.

I called a local custom paint shop and ask for an estimate...they said we don't do anything older that 10 years old...but, here's the number for the guy you want to talk to...

I called him and he said bring it by....so I drove it over. He was surprised to see it, he really liked it. He wanted to talk, so we talked a long time about it...he said, "you've got the best vehicle to learn on that has ever been made"....so he was encouraging me to do the body work myself. He said that at $50 an hour, it cheaper and easier just to replace panels on these...he gave me the number of a local distributor that I didn't know existed...he said you can buy fenders and doors through him and not have to pay shipping and the product isn't made in Taiwan....

Anyway, to make a long story short, he said if I did the body work and got it completed to the point that all that was left was really minor stuff, he would only charge me $1500 to paint it. (outside body only)

I ask him how much he would charge to do the bodywork and paint it exactly as it is right now, he said $5000 and that would include inside and out and engine compartment.

While that is a tempting offer, I am not ready to do that just yet...part of me wants to be able to say "Built, not bought"....another part of me says "how many weekends will it take you to get it done"?

By the way, Ryoken, he told me that the filler that was already on my truck was Rage Gold...I was wrong when I said I thought it was dark....it was that light yellow stuff I cut through...and the stuff under that was All Metal filler...

 

[jms]

...part of me wants to be able to say "Built, not bought"...

That was always just a ruse to keep the webwheelers off the trails...

You'll get an automated message about that from CK5 once you reach 1000 posts.

 

[Chief Brody]

That was always just a ruse to keep the webwheelers off the trails...

You'll get an automated message about that from CK5 once you reach 1000 posts.

What's a "webwheeler"?

 

[JDNobodi]

Somebody on the internet is a "know it all" but doesn't have working vehicle to go off-road.
To me, most of us become webwheelers because we don't money or time to rebuild our stuff.
Edit- these people usually have high post counts.
Edit#2-added quotation marks.

 

[Chief Brody]

Somebody on the internet is a know it all but doesn't have working vehicle to go off-road.
To me, most of us become webwheelers because we don't money or time to rebuild our stuff.

In that case I am a webwheeler...I don't offroad at all yet...my interest in the Blazer is from a standpoint of an admiration of the particular model...and sentiment...I would never roughly offroad my Blazer after I got it fixed up anyway...it will haul groceries and cruise and get looked at...and cleaned and polished...but no rocks or verticle inclines....I couldn't afford that anyway...but I do get a lot of pride in fixing it myself...but some things may make more economic sense to get a pro to do....

 

[JDNobodi]

I think I should put in quotation marks to change it meaning.
"know it all"
You are a just a guy asking for advice.

 

[ryoken]

"hardcore" people in any activity generally suck... I've seen it in skateboarding my whole life... it's ghey...

Cheif..... If I can help, let me know...

 

[Chief Brody]

I will be picking back up next weekend if the weather is good...I think I like the Rolok wheel...got one at Harbor Freight...now it has me wondering if the 3M is better and worth the $14 ( or was it $30) for the real thing?

 

[ryoken]

3M's have a permanent stud/arbor, bulletproof and durable.. the cheesy ones have a stud and locknut.. they like to loosen up, plus the rubber backing gets deformed... occasional use it'd get ya by..

I own 2 2" and 2 3" 3M ones...

 

[tRustyK5]

That was always just a ruse to keep the webwheelers off the trails...

You'll get an automated message about that from CK5 once you reach 1000 posts.

So bitter, cynical and jaded Michael. Funny how different you were in person...



Rene

 

[Chief Brody]

Wow...check this out....from Goodmark...it's a whole quarter panel
at least I think it is...it does not say "skin"...it says Bedside Panel

and this claims to be the "whole" tailgate ready to hang (minus the insides)

 

[ryoken]

it does require some welding.. tho the mid 70's and older are mostly bolt-on...