Have a 72 cutlass that had vinyl. The roof was in pretty bad shape and I replaced some metal and but bondo over it but the bondo keeps cracking. I think it’s too thick and the roof is too flimsy from all the rust.

Has anyone replaced the roof skin? I know it’s spot welded on the front and back windshield areas. Is it welded along the drip rails as well?

 

Yes, it has to be welded completely across the sides. There is a special spot welder tip that fits into the drip rail to do this. There is seam sealer brushed into the drip rail to seal this after welding. Obviously all of that needs to come out.

 

Thanks. What type of spot welder tip? I've just read some people use panel bond for the sides along the drip rail, is that better or worse than welding? Does anyone have photos of doing this? I couldn't find any that mentioned the drip rail

 

Will I need to remove all of the interior to do this? Can I leave the dash in?

 

The drip rail spot welder tips look like this.




Panel bonding has come a long way in the last 10-15 years. The real problem is cleanliness of the bondline. Any grease or oil (including oil from your fingers) can compromise bondline thickness. Of course you need enough clamps to go all the way around. I'd go with spot welding myself, but I have all the equipment.