Lets talk roof rust

[bucket]

So I attacked the gutters on the new 1 ton this afternoon. About what I expected since it had some rust above the windshield. Some rust through on the roof below the caulk and below the gutter above the door. Its a shame too because the lower rust is not as extensive as a lot in the midwest. Still needs work in the lower doors, rockers, and corners, nonetheless.

The goal of the truck is NOT to have a concours restoration but a very nice driver for my buisness. With that in mind, how much effort and money should i put into this cab? If i use a rust converter like POR 15 and recaulk, will this be a permenant enough solution to warrant fixing the lower areas? Or should I do the above steps to halt the upper rust as much as possible and look for another cab.

The paint on this cab is not bad and if I fix the areas that need attention, I could get by with spot painting. A new cab would have to be completely redone paint-wise.

What do you all think?

[Bob D]

Wow....that's just like looking at pics of my truck! I had rust-through on the inside above the windshield but replaced that with a patch panel. For the gutter I just wire brushed it and brushed on a couple of coats of Permatex Rust treatment. For the under gutter holes I sprayed the crap out of them with Permatex rust treatment in the aerosol can. What I found to work well also is to take the nozzle and straw off of a can of oil or carb cleaner and use that on the Permatex can to spray it into all the rust holes, sun visor mount holes and rear view mirror holes.


This is the stuff:




Bob