eignub

So i am having what i consider to be premature rust problems on my roof. I am guessing it is too far gone to just sand it smooth and repaint. My next plan was to just sand, prime, and spray the whole roof with bed liner. would that work okay?

also, i am having trouble figuring out if it has a lift on it or not. (i bought it used) i don't think it does, but a lot of sites recommend a lift to fit 31" tires, which is what i have, and it seems like they have plenty of room. when i looked at the leafs they are almost flat, not bending down like i assume it should.

i have attached pictures of the jeep sitting on a level surface to see what you guys think about the suspension. and the other two are of the worst spot on the roof, with one being a close up of the other.

salad

Yep people have sanded and bedlined their roofs here. Not a style I'm a personal fan of but it's definitely been done and it takes care of that problem.

That picture looks like 225/75R15 or very light 235/75R15 on stock suspension. Why do you think you have 31" tires?

eignub

mustve been thinking of my truck. i just double checked and these are 30x9.5

DieselD

Sand it down, prime the spots that end up bare metal. Get the paint code off of the door and get a can of matching paint. If it doesn't match well then hey its on the roof. Then if it bothers you you could beeline it.

Corbin0996

That roof is in bad shape! The right thing to do is strip down the roof to bare metal and start from there. Rust is like cancer, you have to get rid of all of it or it WILL come back. Obviously the paint is in bad shape and needs to be removed to provide a good foundation for whatever you chose to refinish with. Easiest options will be having the roof media blasted or use a chemical paint stripper, then treat the rust with naval jelly. After that you can consider properly prepping the area for paint and/or bedliner. I'm sure this is not what you want to hear, but do things the right way will get you better results for the long run.

eignub

i dont mind hearing that. i already got some aircraft stripper in my storage room as for the naval jelly, will the rustoleum rust to primer stuff work just as well? im assuming their both the same idea, phosphoric acid.

Corbin0996

I would use the naval jelly. I have no experience using the rustoleum.

DieselDaze

That's not bad at all and I don't think would merit bed liner, problem with bedliner if you don't like it, its hard to go back..

From the pictures it appears like surface rust and isn't badly pitted, though moisture is obviously getting in there causing paint failure. Looks like you may be able to sand roof down to metal using progressive grits and a DA sander (if you have one, and a large compressor) or use an orbital sander.. Starting with 36 grit or thereabouts to remove material fast, (disc grinder works great for removing paint, use it first and fast don't leave gauges) and progressing upward 60-80-100-150-220 you may be able to skip a grit in the middle somewhere pending condition of substrate and method of sanding..

You will then want to take some Dawn and a scotchbrite and clean the roof top thoroughly, if the 'rust' appears to have 'pitted the metal' there are many rust converters on the market and I suggest (if you want it done right the first time) go to an automotive paint store and pick up a small bottle of say SEM rust converter or similar, these products convert and seal the rust to a black primable substrate..

After converted you can prime entire roof with an automotive primer/filler, light coats are king.... 2 or 3 may be necessary pending condition, wet sand down to 400 grit wash down roof with dawn again and you're ready for paint !!!

Prep is king and though we want to stay away from fillers if your roof is pitted bad you may want to consider Evercoat Gold Rage..

if you match your original paint you will want a two-stage paint, paint code is found on drivers side door... again couple light coats of base, let it flash between coats and apply your clear, again a couple coats.. lightly wet sand with 1200 or 1500 and buff...

It may sound like a lot of work but if done correctly you will have a professional better then factory finish.. Even if you've never painted before it wont be hard to spray a horizontal plane and flat surface that can't run, remember though, "light 50% overlap to cover coats", don't try to flood the bad areas with lots of primer..

If you don't have a 1.4 orifice gravity fed gun you can pick one up at Harbor Freight for under $30 on sale with regulator run the cheapo regulator at 35-40psi and you will be fine... lots a variables here with dryers/evaporators etc but in a nut shell drain your compressor of moisture and then run your air hose higher then work area, ideally you'd want a dryer attached at top of run, then a separate line to gun with a prefilter/dryer attached before the regulator on gun..

eignub

i was just thinking of using the bedliner to toughen it up against future damage again. i plan on adding a basket, so not only when putting that on and taking it back off, but loading and unloading it i felt the bedliner would be a more durable choice. plus i dont have much extra to invest in a compressor and paint gun.

Corbin0996

You should stop by a body shop or two in your area and get an estimate from a pro. It might be cheaper and more convenient than you think. At least then you will have good info to decide how you want to proceed.

Turbo X_J

That roof has been repainted at least once, the rubber rub strips are long gone.

eignub

theyre still there. you can see them under the crossbar