I’m removing rust above the windshield and on both sides where the roof panel and side panels meet. I was hoping to finish in one day, but I spent all of yesterday on it, and I’ve been working since 7 AM today with still more to do tomorrow.
- Taking off the roof rack was a pain, and putting it back is going to be just as bad.
- The seam sealer on both sides was an absolute nightmare to grind off.
- I went through four rounds of grinding, applying rust converter, wiping it off, and repeating the process—yet there are still small spots of rust left, and I just can’t be bothered anymore.
- It’s near freezing, so I’m running a 3kW electric heater, which is going to cost a fortune.
- I didn’t do enough sanding, so now the line between the old and new paint is going to be visible.
- The antenna would’ve been a huge pain to remove, so I didn’t and that’s probably where new rust will show up in a year or two.
- I also did a poor job masking before applying the zinc primer, so now I’ve made a mess I have to clean up.
I just hate it when you try to do a good job, but everything seems to go wrong. You get frustrated, start rushing, and make more mistakes, and in the end, you’re left with a sub-par finish that you’ll probably have to redo in a few years because you didn’t do it properly the first time.
Did I mention that I’m also working in a tiny-ass garage with barely enough room to move around the truck. Oh, and on a gravel floor ofcourse - with a ladder.
Oh, and on a gravel floor ofcourse - with a ladder.
This is the part that broke me. That’s too funny, in a horrible “of course it’s like this” way.
I’m building a camper van. I feel this.
You converting a van into a camper? Which van?
Ford Transit. Roughly following the way faroutride.com did theirs. It’s never ending. I just put first wall in, now I need to re-route electric and rebuild the bed platform. Not a single square surface to be found, and to use factory holes instead of drilling self tappers, none of those are convenient either. I dread putting the heater in. That’s rather involved, removing gas tank, tapping the line, holes through the floor, electric, etc.
You have my sympathies, I’ve had one paint project go right in my life, and that was a destop computer! the bikes and cars all ended up ‘ratrod’ style
Autobody projects near freezing are never going to go well. Every product from filler to clearcoat wants to be above 15C. And I say this as someone that has done exactly what you’re doing here, with roughly the same results.
The hard part of all this is that you probably haven’t fixed it because if you’re just using spray bombs over rust converter, it’ll be back in a couple years.
Sounds terrible. Do you need the vehicle tomorrow?
I’m self-employed contractor and I don’t have jobs scheduled for tomorrow so no, not necessarily. I just dread having to spend any more time on this.
Sounds like time for a break to me! Any chance of warmer weather?
Renting a truck for work would probably be cheaper than hiring someone to finish the job.
