Restoring a sunroof panel.

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Arya2.0S
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Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Arya2.0S »

This is for fellow board member Not_Anumber.
The sunroof on his 2.8 wasn't sitting right and was scratching on the back left corner. I offered my experience with these major pains in the arse as i have taken my own sunroof out many many times so i have the whole procedure pretty much memorised by this stage and thought i could be of assistance and fix his issue as well as repair the scratched paint on the panel itself.

Well after a whole days worth of fiddling, adjusting, and taking the whole thing in and out at least 8 times we finally gave up and decided it wasn't worth the hassle.
At least im not qualified enough to fix the underlying problem that is causing the sunroof to scratch (rust on the inside of the roof skin of the car itself) but we decided to repair the panel and once its put back he just wont use it to avoid scratching it again (he can still use the pop up option at least).

I started sanding down the panel with a dual action sander and discovered around 5 or 6 layers of paint underneath! This had to have added at least 3 or 4 mil of material to the panel, no wonder it was scratching! It might not sound like a lot but trust me these things work to within tiny tolerances so every little bit counts.

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As you can see here theres multiple layers of previous "work". I spotted some lacquer red, some silver, two or three layers of primer as well as the top coat and its layer of primer. We also found some filler, the worst possible thing you can put on a panel like this.

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We also found a couple of mm's worth of filler in this corner, which was hiding a nasty surprise, rust!

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So what was originally supposed to be a simple job has now turned into something more time consuming, as we have to grind out that rust, add in some new metal, grind that down, hammer out the dent for a final layer of very very thin filler to smooth it all out.

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Thats all for now, will update as soon as i have more to show.
Im hoping to have this painted before the weekend however my own Capri has broken down now so im unable to work on this until it is fixed as i cant get to and from the workshop now without hitching a ride.

And so life continues....
Not_Anumber
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Not_Anumber »

Youve certainly put some time into stripping this panel down. The rust spots dont look too serious but its great to know they are being done properly.
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Arya2.0S
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Arya2.0S »

Not_Anumber wrote:Youve certainly put some time into stripping this panel down. The rust spots dont look too serious but its great to know they are being done properly.
Yeah they arent terrible, the worst part is the dent they sit inside but we're gonna try and pull that out to minimise filler work. Just got my car back on the road so can start working on this again soon.
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Not_Anumber »

Thanks for doing the work and also identifying the slider parts that i needed. Together with a new seal the sunroof is sitting much better though I still haven't dared trying to retract it for fear of damaging that new paint
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Arya2.0S
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Arya2.0S »

Not_Anumber wrote:Thanks for doing the work and also identifying the slider parts that i needed. Together with a new seal the sunroof is sitting much better though I still haven't dared trying to retract it for fear of damaging that new paint
No problems. I wish that the finish had been a bit better but that's working with aerosol cans for ya. I wouldn't ever touch it again if I were you, but that's up to you lol.
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Fordoholic Nick »

Not_Anumber wrote: I still haven't dared trying to retract it for fear of damaging that new paint
Hi,

Great that your roof is much better now.It was very good of Arya to help you with this.

I have a little tip that you may or may not already know but thought I would share it here anyway for anyone who has a sunroof that they believe is in danger of catching the underside of roof when closing it. I do not have 100% confidence that mine clears the last couple of inches just as the sunroof jumps up to form the fully closed seal. When I first bought B112 I noticed on the first test drive that there were a couple of minor scratches on mine just where the last bit of the sunroof panel clears the underside of roof so ever since that day I always just reach out my arm and push down with gentle force on the sunroof panel whilst winding it closed with the other hand. With just the right amount of force it keeps the last section of the panel clear of the underside and once the winder had reached closed I release the force and the panel just sits up perfectly into positon, but as said I just use enough force to keep it clear. You will know what I mean if you try this but it works every time. Maybe mine needs adjusting a tad but as this works a treat for me I am not bothered about trying to adjust it in case I make it worse as it retracts and tilts perfectly so for once I am leaving it alone and not playing about with something that works ok.

As said just thought I would share this little tip as it gives me peace of mind that I am helping to keep the panel clear each time. The only downside with this method is you can only do it when the car is not moving of course as you want at least one hand one the steering wheel. I just wait till I am stopped at traffic lights if I need to close the roof when out driving. Also I have decent length arms too so I can reach out when sitting in the normal driving position. Not a method for anyone that maybe has insufficient length arms :lol:

Use the roof fella. Nothing like a great drive with it open mate. Every chance I get I open mine... :)

All the best

Nick
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Andrew 2.8i
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Fordoholic Nick wrote:I just wait till I am stopped at traffic lights if I need to close the roof when out driving. Also I have decent length arms too so I can reach out when sitting in the normal driving position.
That procedure must look pretty strange to the occupants of the car behind.... :)

Andrew.
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Nigel 1953
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Nigel 1953 »

I have been using a similar method to close my sun roof for a few years now. However I wait until I can park somewhere and get out of the car. With the drivers window down I wind the roof closed while pressing down on the sun roof with my other hand.

I totally agree with the last comment, use your sun roof!!!
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Fordoholic Nick »

Andrew 2.8i wrote:That procedure must look pretty strange to the occupants of the car behind.... :)
I could say the same about your "fingers" Andrew...those bikers behind you were not to impressed with you old chap :whistle: :lol: Sorry fella, could not resist that... but you did kinda walk straight into this one :sorry: :wave:

Seriously though mate yep it prob does look a bit strange when my arm pops out to press on the sunroof :lol: but if it works for me I will not refrain from continuing with this procedure. Most of the time I do actually wait till I get back home to do this but sometimes when I am out driving the sun can get too hot for me and as I get sunburnt very easy I do have to take action before its too late so yep the arm pops out, the roof closes and I save myself an ear bashing from Mrs F for getting sun burnt :lol:
Nigel 1953 wrote:I have been using a similar method to close my sun roof for a few years now. However I wait until I can park somewhere and get out of the car. With the drivers window down I wind the roof closed while pressing down on the sun roof with my other hand.
Nice one Nigel. ! Yep I started off with that method too but then when I found I could actually reach out when in drivers seat I find this easier.
Nigel 1953 wrote:I totally agree with the last comment, use your sun roof!!!
Especially after all the great work involved in getting it restored and working again it would be a shame not to use it, but yep can totally understand the concerns that Not_Anumber may have using it for the first few times after getting it restored so nicely. Just be very cautious the first few times you use it then once you know its ok you are laughing...and you can always use the "pressing down" method every time you do use it for peace of mind...

All the best chaps

Nick
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Not_Anumber
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by Not_Anumber »

Thats a really useful bit of advice. Il do that.
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Re: Restoring a sunroof panel.

Post by C4priz »

nice info. will take note of that too
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