When we had to bail water...
When we had to bail water out of the truck, we knew we had to fix something.
Rust: The most feared word in the restoration hobby. Most of us are somewhat mechanical and could probably rebuild an engine or at least swap in a crate engine. But when it comes time to replace the rusted-out floorboards or patch up a fender, few of us have the necessary skills and/or equipment to complete the repair. Luckily, if the rust isn't too bad, there's a non-welding solution that anyone can handle.
RestoMotive Laboratories has developed products to help the do-it-yourselfer combat minor rust-out and prevent any further rust from occurring. When it came time to repair a water leak in the rear glass area of a '70 Monte Carlo (an area notorious for rust), we ordered a POR-15 starter kit and some putty. We completed the repair in three days, which might seem like a long time, but we wanted to make sure the products had enough time to dry between steps.
We started our repair by removing the stainless window trim moldings using the required tool. This tool is a must for this job and is available at most auto part stores for a few bucks.
Here's what we found: Dirt and debris that gets trapped in the channel between the glass and header panel holds moisture that eventually rusts out the metal. You'd have a hard time finding an early A-body that didn't have some rust in this area.
Once we had the glass removed, we used a wire brush and a flat-bladed screwdriver to scrape the loose rust away. We also trimmed the vinyl top back because although we are not ready to replace it now, we didn't want the window seal to overlap it when the glass was reinstalled.
Our rust was not very bad, just a few holes that were smaller than a quarter-inch, so we should have no problem using the POR-15 starter kit and putty. It came with everything we needed to repair the small rust holes with the exception of sandpaper and steel wool pads.
We cleaned the channel with the Marine Clean degreaser/cleaner and a synthetic steel wool pad and wiped it clean with a rag.