The ttop bar on my car has quite a bit of rust on it. I have not pulled it to see if it is rusted through or not yet. If the bar is still sound but full of surface rust, can it be stripped and re-painted?

The bigger question is that if I strip/sand some of the material off, will it still have the proper thickness and dimensions to properly seal the ttops when I put new seals on?

 

I don't see why not.

 

...as long as it comes off in one piece. I had planned to do the same with my rusty one, but it came off in about 10 pieces.

Honestly I'd recommend finding a used one at a junkyard. I got mine for $2