My 55 has some rust through on the tops of each running board but the boards are really solid elsewhere and not dented.
Can fiberglass be used to overly the rust areas (should shape over the board grooves pretty well) and then repaint the boards?

If this is not feasible, what can be done to repair the rust through areas so I don't have to replace the boards. I could live with the rusted areas because they really aren't large and haven't weakened the boards at all.

Should point out, I have never done any fiberglass work of any kind and have gotten my motivation and interest by watching an old friend build a canoe and overlay the whole thing with glass. It really looked quite easy to do and finished beautifylly. So, as usual, I am probably underestimating the learning curve of yet another thing I want to try.

Thank you friends.

Fred

 

Do you have a welder? I just filled/patched the rusted areas in mine. I would be afraid of the fiberglass coming free of the metal after some flexing.

 

Welding in some new metal is a better option in my opinion - are the holes in the flat areas or ridged areas, as the flat areas are a whole lot easier! I patched a few small holes on mine and it turned out great

 

Iwould also recomend welding in new metal as opposed to fibreglass .
Fibreglass is for boats not trucks

 

Cut out the damaged areas and weld in some new metal.

If you need some patch panels look for some 57-72 small step box boards.

They make great patch panels.

 

I'm thinking you are probably not an experienced welder of sheet metal or you wouldn't be asking this. If you plan on taking them off, here's what I'd do.....(my first 10 years of work was in marine repair) Working from the bottom side, clean the areas as best you can. Like 36 grit, get the areas clean and rough. Then fiberglass them on the back side using an epoxy resin which withstands the flexing and sticks to steel much better than the more common and cheaper polyester 'boat resin'. Paint everything under there with rustoleum red primer, good and heavy. Flip them over and clean the metal well and fill remaining gaps with an epoxy filler like jb weld, marine-tex, pc-7 or any thickened epoxy putty. This will last a long, long time and save your boards. The down side will be if a judge at Pebble Beach looks under there he will gag at the sheer audacity of your repair. Your buddies may applaud your thriftiness. After 40 years of old trucks, and the last 10 with a wire feed welder which I'm finally confident with, I'm still fixing my floors in my '59 with a vast combination of materials and only welding in steel for structure before I bust out the fiberglass, epoxy and polyurethane adhesive sealer. .

 

Here's an option... I never finished the job, because the edges of the RB's were too difficult to straighten. 1/8" checker plate

 

That is bacically what I am going to do with mine except I have to join two sets of running boards together for my Crew Cab project. I am going to use smooth material vs the tread plate.

 

Typically they rust over the reinforcing channels on the bottom which makes FG from the bottom unfeasable. If that is the case, bite the bullet and cut out the rusted areas and replace with metal. Putting glass over the top will be nearly impossible to get smooth and will wear if stepped on. Note that FG boats always have step plates anywhere that you step, and the owners always wear clean soled boat shoes. If your skills and/or budget doesn't allow fixing with metal or replacing, consider making wood running boards until your finances improve.

 

Weld them up. I had the same issue, but I think my boards may have been in worse shape than yours. It's been kinda time consuming, but a great learning experience.

Here's what I started with:



Here's where I'm at now:



My material cost so far is about $6 in 18g sheet metal.

 

cut and weld, try to find some cheap boards that are good in areas you need. I'm going to repair my running boards because they only make smooth ones for panels.

 

I would try to find a metal fab shop with a brake that can handle 18ga. Have them bend you several pieces a couple foot long "U" channels to match the raised portion of the tread. Cut them to the appropriate height and weld them to flat pieces of stock to replicate the tread pattern. Cut the assembled stock into whatever width and length sections you need to replace the rotted out sections. If my words aren't clear, let me know and I'll draw a diagram.

 

Kbs coatings has epoxy putty that is like concrete when dry, it's sand able and works great!

 

Thank you to everyone that responded to my inquiry. I didn't intend to be away but had a close friend die so didn't get to see all the help you guys have offered.

Ax, I think I can visualize the fix you recommend and while I am not a highly skilled welder I do have some ability....just no experience welding on something where the appearance is as important.

Fred

 

Do you know if that KBS stuff can handle the heat of a powder coating oven?