<VV> repairing the windshield channel

[Sethracer at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/27/2007 7:54:18 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
reray at echoes.net writes:

What  technique do you guys recommend for repairing the windshield channel 
now that  the glass has been removed?  I don't have a welder or welding skills 
so  I'd rather avoid replacing the metal altogether unless you feel it's really 
 neccessary.  My channel has plenty of scaling all the way around, and  there 
are quite a few small holes across the bottom section, but its not  rotted 
out completely.  I haven't cleaned it all up yet so I'm not quite  certain just 
how bad it is yet.

I was thinking of cleaning it up the  best I can, then applying POR-15 and 
afterward put fiberglass or bondo in the  holes.  What do you all think?


Ray


 
Ray - I just went through this with my race car. California cars can have  
plenty of rust around these areas as well as Eastern cars. I went ahead and  
welded, but mine was likely worse than yours. If you can clean out the areas -  
to bare metal, perhaps some treatment, like POR-15 could help you. (Although I  
think it has to be applied to somewhat rusty metal in order to work  
correctly.) You will have to seal up those holes, perhaps a heavy primer will do  that 
for you. Mine was missing sections. I would say that fixing it sure  "honed" 
my welding skills, but the final results looked more "hacked" than  "honed"! 
But it seems to have smoothed out correctly, in the hands of the body  guy. 
Resist the urge to just bondo up the area. It won't last and "rust never  
sleeps". -Seth



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