My van sat in a boatyard for several months and collected tons of soot on its roof from nearby diesel boat engines.

I washed off all of the soot a couple of months ago and just today realized that the entire roof is blanketed with tiny spots of rust. It looks like somebody sprinkled gold dust all over it. I think the soot was caustic and created millions of tiny perforations in the paint and galvanized layer below.

Until now I've been working on fixing smaller rusty spots on the body. I usually sand off the paint and sand/wirebrush all of the rust away, and then clean, primer, paint, and clearcloat it.

But, the roof is a huge area and I don't have the tools, space, or time to sand it all down, etc.

Is there any kind of rust-stop treatment or anything that I can do to stop the rust from eating deeper into the sheet metal? I don't think just hitting it with a can of Rustoleum is going to do the trick given that it's caused by tons of these tiny pinholes.

Pictures attached.

 

What do other people parking there do?

It might just be metal filings collecting in the low spots and rusting on top of the paint, can you scrape it off? If you are lucky you may just need to get the roof polished.

My brother worked at a smelter where things would run amuck from time to time and chemical fallout would land on the cars. The company would repaint hundreds of cars for free but the damage could not be beaten and the paint would peal off again in a few years.

 

You may want look in to this coating some people swear by it:https://www.por15.com/

 

Most people that park there are driving beaters that they don't care about and are all rusted anyways.

It's not shavings or metal debris on top of the paint. I sanded a small patch down and inspected it with a scope. I can see the pinholes/perforations in the paint going all the way down to the sheet metal.

Thanks.

 

keep it waxed

 

Thanks ramvan61. Good suggestion. It seems like POR15 requires that I sand it down to bare metal before putting it on.

 

Maybe you try raptor bed liner for the roof. It does require some prep before you apply. Raptor may seal it and not allow the rust to advance. My whole van is raptor lined from top to bottom. I never have to wax it just rinse it off. I'm very pleased with it. The only thing it draws way to much attention for me. People want to touch and ask to many question about it.

 

POR15 also is not UV resistant. You would need to re-coat every few years.

Could just wet sand the roof, and respray the clearcoat.....

 

Who did your Raptor Liner paint? I need paint badly and not sure I want to tackle it myself.

 

I did the bedliner on my roof too...I got tired of dealing with paint flake and rust too.
Sanded it all down, shot it and then painted with urethane...it has been 5 years now and still looks good.