Hey guys got a question. Whats the best way to stop rust on the metal piece or edging that goes around the hatch glass. I dont want to just spray some rust spray paint on it because this spot will constantly be hit by the sun and probably wont hold up too well. whats the best way to cover up this nasty surface rust? I do have some POR15 laying around.

 

I sanded mine down to get all the rust off, and then sprayed it satin black rustolium paint. Just be careful when you sand it, and be sure to tape off the glass FIRST. You don't want to slip and accidently sand the window.

 

Yeah I figured tape it up good for sanding and painting. How long have you had the paint on and has it held up?

 

I did the same, granted mine is still in the garage so I don't know how well it's going to hold up, but it should do well. It looks pretty sharp too.

 

yeah, mines been well over a year now, and still looks as good as it did the first day. I have one of those portable tent garages, so it stays dry, but its not as good as a real garage. I can take a few pics when I get home from work later tonight, if you want to see it up close

 

Yeah pics would be great. Ill try this later this week then. Right now the car has a garage but probalby wont when its done.

Thanks

 

I pulled the trim off my car and just sanded the rust off and put some high temperature engine paint I had lying around on it. I am thinking about putting some clear coat over it to protect the paint from all the UV rays. Just something to think about.

 

Heres a couple pics of it... like i said, its been over a year, and still looks good. I would recommend using a 'rust stop paint' just to 'help' it from rusting later on down the road

 

Ive been looking at doing this on my car I heard there were some bolts under plastic on underside of hatch to remove, how exactly does it come off ?

 

To pull the hatch just take off the hatch not the hinges. To rmeove the hinges you need to take off that interior plastic peice. For just the hatch you use a 14 mm wrench on the 4 exposed bolts(the ones that have the black plastic part on the outside of the glass)

 

Well, to answer your question, YES. It is metal, it is rusting, and there is glass under it that doesn't make it solid. (even if it was solid it could still rust through). with time and weather, it will rust through, just like any other metal on the car. its just an edging that protects the edge of the glass from chips and bangs.
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And mine was rusting too. i went to Wal-Mart, got some cheap gloss black paint, sanded the rust off the metal, and then brush painted it on. it worked out really well. and since i liked the work i did, i went for my locks (they were silver from wearing out) and my door handles. it all looks really good.

 

How do you remove just the metal part without removing the whole hatch?

 

I donno if you can do that. Maybe some one else knows. Only way I can see is by taking off the deck lid which is a PITA

 

You have to unscrew it from the metal piece at the rear, pry it off the glass up to the top, then remove the hatch glass from the hinges to get the top part of the trim off. You can't get around removing the hinges from the glass since the hinge bolts go through the glass and trim, holding them together.

 

That sounds quite tough and potentially damaging to the trim prying it off (is it glued on?). Is it better to just take the hatch off and paint it on there?

 

The satin black is or is not glossy? Did you leave the hatch on? Some are mentioning taking it off, but I'm going leave it on and tape the glass.

 

I hand sanded mine with the glass on. I was not taking that metal off for this job. I then took Rustoleum Gloss black and spayed some in a cup. Next I painted it by hand with a small brush. If any gets on the glass have a hand towel to just wipe it off. Open the hatch slightly so that none gets on the body of the car. Entire job took 20 - 30 minutes.

Still has the gloss and no more pitting or rust in over two years. I say don't make an easy job hard and still get professional results.

 

I took mine off without and damage, but I only took it off because I already had the car apart. It is glued on to the glass, but over the years most of the glue has been melted and is no longer holding onto the glass.

If I didn't have my car apart, I probably would have just taped off the glass with the hatch on the car and painted it there. Taking it off is a little more thorough, but its not really worth the extra work if your car is together.

 

THIS IS VERY EASY. I took my trim off the glass, sanded it and then painted it flat black.

It is MUCH easier just to take the whole hatch off which is only 4bolts. The trim around the hatch DOES NOT have glue(atleast the 5+ that i've done this to didn't). You should be able to take something to the edge of it and bang it off the glass lightly. Don't try to pull it off because you'll bend it.
Make your way down the hatch and just lightly bang the trim off. I tapped off the trim with a flat tip screw driver and a hammer. Caused no damage. Just remember, your hitting the trim off, not making a design in the glass which isn't as fragile as you think. You also do not have to put anything on it to attach it back to the glass, it holds itself in place.

 

Did you ever look on the inside of it? I can't imagine what all that dried goo would be other than some kind of adhesive that dried up and no longer holds to the glass after around 20 years, but it could be something other than something to keep the trim on the glass I guess.

 

Taped and sprayed it yesterday. Looks pretty good well see how it holds up. Thanks

 

Mine was rusted beyond repair so I've it removed, no big deal is just a trim!
Until a "glass expert" told me something scary. The edge of a safety glass is its weakest point, if you happen to leave a tool or something hard over the weather trim, (deja-vu anyone?) close the hatch an the edge get nicked just a bit... POOF!!! you need a new hatch. The prize for a new trim set is offensively obscene, so I visit a local window manufacturer and they have a heavy duty black plastic trim identical to the original metal one for $17 ea, 10ft length. I needed two of them, a heat gun to get around the curves, black silicone and it looks like new. They get a bit opaque with time, noting a little wax can fix, or another $34. The real purpose is to protect the edge.

Hapy hatching!!!

 

you might keep an eye open for Muscle Car, it comes on Spike TV as part of their Powerblock. Several weeks back, they showed how to fix this on a green 90 or 91 RS. It was pretty helpful, and they rerun those shows quite a bit.

 

I did mine in '07 I think. The bad part was masking.

 

I saw that episode and it really gave some good ideas. After reading this thread I think I'm gunna tape mine off and give it a try tommorow.

 

Guys, try the SEM black paint.That works great and it has a good bite to it. I was using it to restore the black metal trim on the 79-93 mustang sunroofs,those cars have the same issue.

T

 

I used the little wire wheel on my Dremel to clean mine, then sprayed it with Rustoleum.

 

One thing to be careful of is putting the hatch back on if you take it off. The 4 bolts at the top go thru the glass, so overtightening them will cause a week point in the glass. I've seen people overtighten them, drive down the road, hit a pothole and the back window shatters. I would think that with a little masking and prep, it's better to do on the car and just protect everything from overspray.

 

I taped mine off, sanded it down and used Duplicolor Trim Paint and it turned out great. The car hasn't seen much weather since I did it a few months ago so I can't attest to how well it holds up, but it looks really good I also did the T-top trim while I was at it.