I did some sand blasting this past weekend and when cleaning out the drip rails I to my disappointment discovered some pin holes. The pin holes themself don't bother me so much but how to cut out the that little flange from the roof that sit in the drip rail, it's blistered badly for about 2 inches but the drip rail it's self is in good shape. I just don't want to have to cut the drip rail to get at the flange from the roof. Any suggestions on performing this trick.
John

 

I have never had to replace anything in the drip rail area and always considered it a very tough area to fix but a couple of guys here have done the repair. One even replaced the entire roof skin and made it look relatively easy. I don't know of any patch panels being offered and one of the guys (sorry can't remember who) had a spare roof for parts. Pin holes are usually a good sign that several inches of sheet metal are going to have to be replaced. Good luck.

 

agreed! pinholes need to be taken care of permanently now by cutting out the weak area around them and replacing the metal, don't just fill over them. The flange is spot welded in the bottom of the drip rail. You'll need to find the spot welds and drill them out with a spot weld cutter or grind it away with a narrow grinding wheel. Bend a new flange on your 18ga patch panel, drill 1/4" holes in it at the original spotweld spacing and plug weld back to the rail. I would highly recommend applying "weld thru" primer to the sides if the drip rail and patch panel that contact each other before welding into place. When you are all done, fill the bottom of the drip rail with the proper caulk specifically made for that purpose and available at body shop supply houses, before painting to prevent moisture from seeping between the joint. It's not a difficult repair if you take your time and get a good fit on the repair panel. Hint: curve the patch panel to match the roof curve while the metal is at least 12" wide, then trim narrower to what you need. It is much easier to bend a wide panel than a narrow one. Sheet metal is inexpensive and you'll likely find other uses for what you cut away.