I had my windshield replaced yesterday on my 96 f 250 4x4. When it was out, the installer pointed out a continuous line of rust along the top painted edge that the windshield lays in and some on the side. He said that past installers scratched the painted with thier tools and didn't seal the glass properly. So, water got trapped between the molding and the scratched paint and sat there until it rusted. He cleaned most of it up and applied a rust inhibiter to the bare metal after sanding most of the rust off.It really didnt look like he got it all off I was watching him sand it.He seemed to be in a rush to get to his next job. Nothings noticable with the windshield in place.He said he can't tell for sure if the rust was worse than it looked.then he said maybe i should bring it to a body shop and have all te rust sanded off under there.I really dont wanna spend that kinda money on this truck after all its 13 years old .do you think this is something I should worry about?

 

I don't want to be a "Debbie Downer," but I suspect that, long term, there may be some reoccurrence of rust, though the rust inhibitor will help.

I had the same problem, and the installer wouldn't guarantee it as it was, so he agreed to return after I removed the rust and painted the windshield bed.

I painstakingly removed ALL of the rust, with a small hammer and sharp cold chisel, then sanding, etc.... I either welded up or fiberglassed a few spots, then sanded smooth.

Then two coats of rust inhibitor (Extend, liquid), followed by one (or two?) coats of Rustoleum Dirty Metal Primer, followed by two coats of Rustoleum Gloss.

Then I callled the guy back--he said I went a little overboard, but that it wouldn't rust again, and he would guarantee the installation. In retrospect, I could have been less picky, given that I'm not keeping that truck forever. It's been 2 years, with zero rust or leaks since then, and it leaked like a fawcet before.

You might as well cross your fingers and wait, to see if you see more rust. Then, if so, get yourself a pneumatic needle scaler (which I will get, if I EVER do another one of these--LOL) and go at it. Maybe you'll get lucky and his rust inhibitor will work--after all, they WANT you to apply it to rusty areas, so it can bond properly and deactivate the rust, chemically.

Just my experience--value accordingly.

 

thanks bigsix i guess ill just wait fingers crossed.

 

rust never sleeps.

only cutting it out works.

what he did will last for a while, but it will rust again.

 

Actually, I don't believe "only cutting it out works." Ultimately, yes, removal of all rusted metal is ONE 100% cure, but steel can be SAND BLASTED, for example, rather than cut out. The key is to remove the RUST--IMO, it's not necessary to remove the steel, IF you can remove the rust itself.

Unfortunately, the windshield bed is not a good place to sandblast, as it would probably contaminate the instruments and interior.

While it's also true that "rust never sleeps," when I say I removed ALL of the rust, I mean, I spent hours and hours using the corner of a small, sharp chisel, to remove the rust from even the tiny rust pockets, in the windshield bed. Did that leave tiny amounts of rust that only sand/media blasting would remove? Yes, no doubt it could have. However, that is where the rust convertors can do a good job, providing years of protection.

For example, on this same truck, ALL of the paint had "fallen off" the cab's roof when I got the truck--by that I mean, it was naked iron oxide all over the roof--ZERO paint remained (see the thread on Ford paint, elsewhere, here). And I did the same treatment to the roof that I did to the windshield bed, i.e., sanding, Extend--2 coats, Rustoleum Dirty Metal Primer--2 coats, Rustoleum Gloss--2 coats (with one exception).

The only difference was, I didn't use the sharp chisel, as it was a much larger area, and the pockets may not have been as deep.

And that paint is still intact--if it's starting to come back at all, (and I'm not sure it is, but it's covered in snow right now, so I can't check) it would be in a tiny area near a seam, where I couldn't completely sand).

And that was EIGHT OR NINE YEARS ago. (I guess it comes down to what a person means by "a while," huh? LOL)

I should add that the truck was never garaged in that time, and I'm in the Northeast.

My point is, short of 100% rust removal via cutting or media blasting, the rust convertors (like Extend) can do a pretty good job, provided that there is thorough prepartion. So, yeah, ANY tiny pocket of rust you miss could eventually come back, but the process described above lasted longer than a lot of people even keep their trucks, IMO.

Not trying to argue with you, Quicklook2; just wanted to explain that there are other methods, depending upon a person's goals, time and resources. But I do agree, that cutting the rusted metal out is the preferred method, where possible.