Save My Roof: XJ Rust Gremlins Got Me (Update-MUCH WORSE than before...)

[bRIBEGuy]

Okay, so my 2000 XJ has extremely little rust on it....up until last year when the roof started to spot up a bit.  In no time flat now (well......a year or so) this has morphed into a bubbly nasty XJ skin condition.

Now 95% of this looks like simple surface rust to me, so my plan was to grind it down, prime it, and get it painted.  I talked to the guys at Line-X (South), and doing a bedliner job is my current "likely" route.  They didn't seem overly concerned about the rust....but I am a bit, and figured I'd toss this out to the CJA folks and get some other opinions.  I'd like to keep my Jeep in good operating condition, and spending the money on some paint work is fine.......but not if the rust messes it all up again down the road.  As it sits there are no leaks inside the Jeep, and the stuff on the roof seems shallow.  I don't have much bodywork rust knowledge though........  There is one spot on the passenger side upper windshield corner however that looks pretty nasty when the trim is pulled back.

A few pics to show the current state:










So ya............thoughts and advice?  I'm guessing I should get the windshield pulled to see what's going on behind it, start grinding away at the rust spots, and cross my fingers?  Any info assistance here is appreciated......

[EEP]

Just finished doing mine. Wasn't as bad as yours. I didn't have any really deep bad spots like the one by your windshield. I used a 3M rust removal wheel on my drill to remove the majority of rust. Dremal to get the rest off. Primed it with rust inhibiter primer. Then 2 coats of duplicolor bed liner. It needs one more coat, waiting for spring if it ever arrives.

[cLAY]

A 4.5" grinder with a "flap" disc will take that off very quickly without removing too much metal. I use flap discs so much I have one grinder dedicated to just that job so I don't have to keep swapping discs.

A month ago I would have suggested box liner but I just bought a truck with a flat deck on it. The deck was bed lined(professionally) when new(2006) and now its looking pretty ruff, rust has got underneath the bedliner and now its bubbling and peeling.

I would suggest using a good paint over rust product, like POR15, and then prime and paint with a good durable paint. After that if you still want to go ahead and bed line it. There is a rattle on spray liner that I used for my bumpers that has worked fairly well. I think the key is to put it on over paint/primer and not replace it. Also all the rust has to be removed and then primed properly or it will be back.

[TL-Iguana]

POR15 is the cats meow if its used EXACTLY AS DIRECTED!!!
Had it on my 73 chev for the last 15 years and it was still hard as ceramic on the frame. I could smack it with a sledge and it woudlnt chip.... Amazing stuff, but if you dont follow the directions to the tee it will peel like any other paint. Prep is key with any finish. I dont think Id use POR for the roof, but flap the rust off, prime it with a good primer and repaint.

[bRIBEGuy]

Okay, well it looks like the general concensus is to pick up some more flapper discs, break out the grinder, and cross my fingers.  How hard is it to pull out the windsheild if I'm not overly concerned about it breaking (if it breaks it will finally give me the motivation to get a new one....lol)?

I looked at the POR15 option initiially, but determined it probably wasn't ideal.  I'll likely go with good primer and paint, snd then possibly bedliner over that.  Or I might just find a lot of holes in my roof, and start swearing a lot.

[cLAY]

There are other paint over rust options available at CT and NAPA that come in a rattle can. I would recommend using one of them as its unlikely you will be able to get 100% of the rust out.

[pooljunky]

Or cut the roof and weld on a new one.. or keep it convert able

[bRIBEGuy]

Or cut the roof and weld on a new one.. or keep it convert able

Convertable?  But that eliminates 1/2 of what makes the XJ so superior! 

Cutting off and welding on a new roof sounds like a rediculous amount of work.  Esspecially since I don't weld, and it's doubtful that duct tape would make a suitable substitute.

Currently actually considering a baseball bat as an option for windsheid removal...

[Pookapotamus]

I have a windshield removal tool if you want to borrow it mark

[JENSSEN]

A 4.5" grinder with a "flap" disc will take that off very quickly without removing too much metal. I use flap discs so much I have one grinder dedicated to just that job so I don't have to keep swapping

There are wheels designed specifically for removing rust and paint, flap disks can remove metal much easier. I have done this this repair a few times. Best bet use a stripper wheel to get the majority off, then small spot blaster to get into the pitted metal, then rust convertor primer, sand then either a putty  and high build or epoxy  primer, then top coat paint to seal it all up.

[EEP]

The wheel I used was made to remove rust and paint. You can get them at Crappy Tire. Then used dremal to get the rest out. Took a few days to do.

[apeman]

Wire wheel and a grinder will make that a couple hour job.

[bRIBEGuy]

Okay, so this little project got a bit sidetracked as yard work took over my Jeep time.  Yesterday morning, after an evening of light rain and fog, I got into the XJ to find a small puddle on the passenger side floor mat.  Uh oh.  Upon closer inspection of the upper passenger side windshield frame, it appears that I have a small hole under the rubber trim.  I can slide the ignition key into my header, and I fail to see how this could be even a remotely good thing.

So........now I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do:

Option 1:  Pull the windshield, get out the wire wheels and flappers, and see how bad the cancer is?  The issue here, is that once the windshield is out, I effectively own a paperweight until the issue is resolved, or until the Jeep is deemed dead.  Being in Langdon makes this a slightly more akward affair.

Option 2:  Start a Kijiji seach for a clean low-mileage XJ and start over?

Option 3: ??

The XJ is currently living as my daily driver AND is being used almost daily for towing landscaping stuff between Calgary and Langdon.  Regardless of what I do, I can't really afford to have the thing off the road for too long.

Anyone got any ideas here?

[Pookapotamus]

Option #4 stop by your buddy pook's garage/kitchen, I'll take a look and if we can patch it for now I have some windshield urethane we can put in there until you get the time/money to pull the windshield and fix it properly.

[bRIBEGuy]

Thanks Pook.  I'm looking to fix it ASAP though, most likely.  That being said, I'll gladly let you take a peek and give my your thoughts.  I'll get my people to contact your people......