A 3M eraser wheel works wonders. They are a bit pricey at around $45 but they work really well at removing the strips, other stickers, pinstripes, and sticker residue without hurting the paint. They last a long time. I bought one and did all the strips on my 4Runner and it looks like it still has about 2/3 of its life left.

 

I looked at those but evercoat is about 27 a gallon which i already have, plus that part of the panel has some rusty pimples in it already requiring a tap down and filler

Not sure why but it has alot of those in it. Not dents with rust but high spots with a spot of surface rust. Like rock chips almost but protruding outward like something hit it from the inside.

By the time i get done this panel will either be super flat or wave at you going down the road

 

I was really tired yesterday but i got all the stripes off, those things are awful. I tried everything i had and the glue just gums everything up. I was going to replace the stripes but after doing this I'll just go stripeless.

Once i prep the door and do a little more dent filling this side will be primer ready

 

Body work turned out really good!

I'm not looking forward to removing my stripes....

 

Eraser wheel. Get them all off cleanly in an hour. Removes the stripe and residue cleanly.

 

Thanks.


As for the eraser wheel, thinking about it now. The other side still has them plus hood, but those parts are much straighter and I'd like to avoid as much filler as possible.

This side needed help, i think i had like 17 of those little rusty pimples. I'm assuming rock chips from him mowing, he always parked it the same way and they were all on that one side

 

3M eraser wheel is $27.98 from Amazon


They also have an imitation for $16.


Over the weekend I took off one of my Tacoma's "TRD Off Road" stickers. PO had torn it with a buffer and I ordered new ones. I tried a lot of things, hairdryer, WD40, Goo Gone, but Goof Off worked great. Put it on with a rag 'til the adhesive gets a little cloudy and razor it off with a credit card, actually an Advance Auto rewards card. It took about 30 minutes for one side. Here it is:


I always mix it up with Goo Gone. Goo Gone did not work.

 

Goof Off is good stuff. It works really well for removing adhesive residue. Just be careful leaving it on too long or using it on old paint, it will take it off given enough time. I usually finish it off with some rubbing alcohol to remove any traces of it.

 

I'm trying to avoid chemicals and petroleum products. I do not want more fish eyes than what is normally expected.

I got two in the engine bay after numerous cleanings from power steering fluid contamination.

 

I can vouch for the rubber wheel. Use it more often than I thought I would. Especially on tree sap. Freeze it with the keyboard cleaner can upside down and erase it. Great for debadging emblems also.

 

I'm going to touch on arlindsays posts about the rain gutter being spot welded to the a frame.

Yes it is and not completely. It is spot welded to the a frame. It is spot welded to the roof skin at the top of the door opening. It is NOT removable this way. Unfortunately i got to find this out the hard way.

However, without this i wouldn't have found the rust hole in the roof and what was behind it.

I plan to build it out to make it more like dad's 94. We will see how it goes.

Pics with relevant spot welds.

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I've never wanted to give up on anything more than i want to give up on this truck right now.

If you go looking for problems you will always find them.

I could have filled that little rust hole in the roof, sealed the gutter and been done with it but i had to "fix it all"

I have now hit a wall, spent 10 hours cutting bending and fitting metal and got no where. I can not create a shape that will look right, i got close and even had a piece welded in, but i know it will just rust out from the back side no matter what i do.

I'm asking for thoughts and opinions.

Fiber reinforced filler is water proof and strong. I think by taking some expanded metal and creating the basic shape, tack welding it in them filling it with tiger hair will produce the shape i want, water proof properties, and strength needed. Being that this is the roof line and right at the door jam it should flex the least.

Here is a mock up with some spare gutter guard from my house.

What do you expert body repair guys think

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Maybe i will weld metal in with some weld through primer and then install some of these. They are cheap and won't need seam sealer and they won't rust.

http://www.brandsport.com/trmg-dr02-01.html

 

Two days rest is good.

Found a dryer for 30 bucks just to use for scrap metal. It's a working dryer and since i cut it up I'll keep the parts for my repair business. Win win.

Turns out the curves on the corners of the dryer are perfect for what I'm trying to accomplish.

I got this piece in, the bulk of the missing metal. Weld thru primer and tacked in. The rear and front parts will be super easy to make i believe.

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Nice, glad you figured something out. I have a 76' ford parts truck I'm hoping I can find the right contour to cut and make some patch panels for my rear quarter, haven't had time to look into it yet, lol. At least your still making some good progress, I'm stalled out until I finish another project.

 

Finished the metal work on passenger side roof and started filling. First wipe, had some high spots, knocked them down and ready for wipe 2.

All weld seams filled with fiber filler.

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Looks really good. It'll be interesting to see how they look with the rain gutter totally removed.

 

Well tonight i started on the drivers side roof, cut out the metal and found the same rust add the passenger side.

Cleaned up and started to weld the panel in and guess what. My brand new welding helmet doesn't auto darken. Awesome, not even 30 days old and it won't darken, green spots in my eyes.

So i tried my old helmet, missed a bunch and called it quits.

On a side note has anyone ever had a can of paint do this?

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It was fine then after i shook it up the bottom was bulging.

 

I just got a new auto darken helmet from harbor freight for $40 and it seems to be decent quality. Welding is almost impossible with a regular helmet after you get used to an auto darken.

 

Dang Hercules lol