[Advice Needed] Exterior Roof Drip Molding Prep
 

Hey Folks,

I have 2002 Ford Ranger regular cab. The left and right drip moldings for the exterior cab flew off a couple years ago and I am now in a place where I can spend some money on non-vital repairs. Before I order the replacement drip moldings (Part Nos. XL5Z1051728APTM & XL5Z1051729APTM), I was wanting to get some advice:

What should I do prior to making the replacement? I see there's some rust on the passenger's side and I'm not sure what I can do to fix or at least treat the rust that wouldn't involve me sanding away all of that paint to get it down to bare metal before priming and painting again. Or should I just not bother replacing the moldings until I get the rust issue addressed?


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...6b801133e6.jpg
Driver's Side
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...4def80d536.jpg
Passenger's Side

You definitely should fix the rust prior to installing the new moldings.

It looks to just be surface rust, but I don't know the regular cabs well enough to know whether there is seam sealer in that area that would need to be removed to determine the extent of the rust. That area is where the roof meets the B-pillar, so there's likely to be some.

Thanks Fordzilla,

I'm thinking I'll take a small metal brush to knock as much of the surface rust off before hitting it with some rust reformer. If it's just surface rust I'm thinking that should do it. I'm not too worried about the driver's side since it looks alright IMO.

The seam on the edge needs a little converter then sealed.

The rust on the bolt that was molded into the old trim. You'll need to pop out your headliner to access the nut and remove it and the gasket.
I recommend you get the parts. They're not expensive but they are getting scarce.

I have a 4WD extended cab and need to remove my drip rails as there is some rust on the edges and I need to investigate and repair before getting the truck repainted in a few months. Does anyone know how to remove the drip rails without damaging or deforming them?

nvm...

UPDATE:

So I went ahead and tackled the project. The biggest pain in the ass for this project is in removing those damn interior panels to get access to the tiny bolts holding the trim pieces on. I had to resort to using a 90 degree long plier to get enough leverage to get some of those damn clips out. Anyway, once that I was done, I was able to prep for paint.

I used a small steel brush to knock off as much of the surface rust as I could and then cleaned up the area. I made sure I parked in a part of my apartment parking lot that was basically empty with only a wooden fence in overspray range. The wind direction was blowning to the wooden fence and not towards other cars or property. One sure fire way to get your property manager to start taking an issue with your DIY repairs and oil changes is to be a messy inconsiderate jerk. I taped up the channels, taped up my overspray protection (grocery bags) from there, and applied the rust converter. I used somewhere between 3-5 coats light coats ( I don't remember exactly how many) basically followed the can's instructions. I didn't do any painting or sealing of it since the instructions for the rust converter said it wasn't necessary and since it's in a spot it won't be seen, I didn't care.

From there the biggest bug bear was removing and reinstalling the interior panel and trim retaining plugs.



https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...38c3b5c344.jpg
This was the first layer of taping to give me something to tape the over spread protective sheets to the area and to keep the paint from going anywhere other than the channel. I had forgotten to take a picture of it prior to painting so when I removed the overspray protection, I snapped this picture.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...e4e719d079.jpg
I taped a LOT of plastic grocery bags to the edges of my painting area and used tape to secure it all together.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...733341bdf4.jpg
This was the finished result!

Congrats! Looks great!