Pinholes in the Roof!

Well, unfortunately things are always worse than they appear on the surface. After some close examination of the inside of the roof skin, near the rear window I saw some rather deep looking pits. I poked at a few of them to find that they easily went clear through and made a tiny pinhole.? Doh! I guess that big back window, and the moisure-holding insulation that was against the roof skin on the inside created a situation where the roof skin would rust from the inside out. I poked away at all the deep pits with an awl until I was confident that I got them all (cross fingers). This resulted in about a dozen holes to weld shut. Knowing that this could be a disaster if I didn’t take special precautions against warpage (from the heat), I decided to try something….. I had heard about some “heat fence” putty that was available to disipate heat when welding on thin sheet metal. Not having any around I found some old modeling clay that I had from years ago… so I gave it a shot, and damn if it didn’t work awesome! I made a “donut” out of the modeling clay, and then welded the hole shut… got them all done in a short time with no warpage at all! Killer!

Pinhole rust in roof skin, repaired.