Bondo roof. What to do?

jimmy78 · Oct 28, 2024

1978 gmc jimmy lowered. Now I can see the roof in all its unfortunate things.

Looks like someone stood on the roof and then filled it with bondo. How would you repair this?

New panel? Can’t seem to locate a jimmy or blazer specific roof panel only c10 pickup roof panels.

Pull the dents and repair the dents? Never done that stuff before so no idea where to start.

ali_c20 · Oct 28, 2024

Depends on how much you want to spend. The pickup roof skin has no drip rails but it could be as base. If you have good body work skills it would be doable.
Or try to get a good roof at a junkyard.

https://www.autometaldirect.com/roo...qbGJxo6uOrDRSoIZPwzXol3uHTfRdN8zxOHuGYzQJmtPy

waterpirate · Oct 28, 2024

That mess could be cleaned up with some basic power tools and a straight edge. Grinder and some sanders. A peek under the headliner would give you a better idea what is going on with it without committing to the repair,
Eric

ali_c20 · Oct 28, 2024

waterpirate said:
That mess could be cleaned up with some basic power tools and a straight edge. Grinder and some sanders. A peek under the headliner would give you a better idea what is going on with it without committing to the repair,
Eric

The cab roof consists out of inner and outer roof. Under the headliner you can only see the inner roof.

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TotalyHucked · Oct 28, 2024

I think I'd get out a flap disc/one of those paint remover drum things and strip what you have before going any further. Certainly won't make it any worse. You might find it's just a little wavy and some heat/shrinking and a little bodywork could get it back in shape

jimmy78 · Oct 28, 2024

waterpirate said:
That mess could be cleaned up with some basic power tools and a straight edge. Grinder and some sanders. A peek under the headliner would give you a better idea what is going on with it without committing to the repair,
Eric

I took a look under the headliner and the inner skin has no problems.

Strick · Oct 28, 2024

Lift it and put on some 37's and only folks on the overpass will know... I agree the aforementioned flapper disc and straight edge approach though, really. Once you've established that the roof is not trashed then I'd put the stud gun and pick hammer to work. Body filler and body work will make like it never happened.

HS

waterpirate · Oct 28, 2024

jimmy78 said:
I took a look under the headliner and the inner skin has no problems.

Awesome! That indicates the damage is not super bad. For the inner skin police, what is the gap between the inner skin and the roof? That would be the limit of the damage if the fore skin, lol, is not impacted. What you have is a mess. Put the grinder on it and see if you can at least true the roof profile of bondo up to normal. If you do not encounter anything scary, the bondo application you have is the result of " hold my beer " I'm a gonna fix it fer ya.
Eric

Ricko1966 · Oct 28, 2024

Unispotter https://m1mequipment.com/products/d...uUWP8MHBqUuuvm4MgfFSAdWTmUt3fvG0aAuajEALw_wcB
I don't know if the cheaper ones are any good or not,but I have a uni spotter and they work.

Camar068 · Oct 28, 2024

jimmy78 said:
1978 gmc jimmy lowered. Now I can see the roof in all its unfortunate things.

Looks like someone stood on the roof and then filled it with bondo. How would you repair this?

New panel? Can’t seem to locate a jimmy or blazer specific roof panel only c10 pickup roof panels.

Pull the dents and repair the dents? Never done that stuff before so no idea where to start.

depends on how much "character" you want. Mine is an expensive (rust free but not perfect) hunting truck/daily driver, so I'd get rid of the bondo and pop out what I could and hit the road.

Again depends on how perfect you want it and the price to get there. Hell tell 'em some fat chick got jumped by a dead turkey in the bed cuz it wasn't dead lol. Use your imagination lol.

jimmy78 · Oct 28, 2024

Thanks for the bout of confidence. I put a scope between the 2 layers and there’s nothing to spectacular to see in there so the pop and pull method will be a learning experience for me. Worst case I use less bondo then the previous version.

YakkoWarner · Oct 30, 2024

jimmy78 said:
Thanks for the bout of confidence. I put a scope between the 2 layers and there’s nothing to spectacular to see in there so the pop and pull method will be a learning experience for me. Worst case I use less bondo then the previous version.

Having some Bondo (or other fairing filler compound) is almost inevitable - but getting it as close to straight as possible and then filling/fairing with as little putty/resin as possible is the best way unless you really like doing sheet metal work. I had an MGB where the driver side fender was more of a sculpture than a car part...looked OK at a distance until you looked at the underside and realized there were 2 or maybe 3 fenders welded together to form the base, and then at least 1/2 inch thick bondo over the whole mess to make it appear smooth. Thats the wrong way-sounds like your truck roof was done by the same people.

Bondo roof. What to do?

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