Rust behind moon roof seal! Need advice! 08 E350
02-24-2018, 07:47 PM
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08 Mercedes-Benz E350, 09 BMW 528i
Rust behind moon roof seal! Need advice! 08 E350
Unfortunately I discovered a small amount of rust starting behind the moon roof rubber seal. I can see some bubbling under the paint and when I pull the seal back a bit, it continues around the fold and under the seal. My car is an 08 E350 with the regular moon roof option.
To make this situation more annoying, several body shops I called won't touch it because of the location and nature of fixing rust in general. I'm not concerned about costs and will gladly pay a few thousand to get this fixed correctly. It doesn't look like it made a hole through the metal, just small bubbling under the paint. I really don't want to give up on this car as everything else is meticulous and it has served me well in the last 45k miles.
Pictures of the area: https://imgur.com/a/0YQtt
It seems like this is the part number for a sun roof seal, and it looks like a normal rubber seal to me.
211-780-00-98 Sunroof Glass Seal w/o Panorama Roof
Since it seems most of it is within reach without major disassembly, I was going to attempt the repair myself. My plan was to remove the sunroof seal, sand down to bare metal, paint with a zinc primer, paint over with touch up paint, then with clear coat. However the first major hurdle I can't seem to figure out it how to remove the sunroof seal! Is it just a rubber grip that grabs onto the roof and/or using an adhesive? It's on there pretty tight and I don't want to accidentally break anything. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to go about this and what type of materials to use to keep the rust from coming back?
To make this situation more annoying, several body shops I called won't touch it because of the location and nature of fixing rust in general. I'm not concerned about costs and will gladly pay a few thousand to get this fixed correctly. It doesn't look like it made a hole through the metal, just small bubbling under the paint. I really don't want to give up on this car as everything else is meticulous and it has served me well in the last 45k miles.
Pictures of the area: https://imgur.com/a/0YQtt
It seems like this is the part number for a sun roof seal, and it looks like a normal rubber seal to me.
211-780-00-98 Sunroof Glass Seal w/o Panorama Roof
Since it seems most of it is within reach without major disassembly, I was going to attempt the repair myself. My plan was to remove the sunroof seal, sand down to bare metal, paint with a zinc primer, paint over with touch up paint, then with clear coat. However the first major hurdle I can't seem to figure out it how to remove the sunroof seal! Is it just a rubber grip that grabs onto the roof and/or using an adhesive? It's on there pretty tight and I don't want to accidentally break anything. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to go about this and what type of materials to use to keep the rust from coming back?
02-24-2018, 08:06 PM
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1922 Ford Model T / no OBD
Calm down. It is just rust trace, where you don't have actuall corrosion eating your car.
I was dealing with extreme rust living in 4-seasons and that was 1 of the reasons I moved to dry climates
What you have is corrosion that developed between 2 metals, where paint did not reach them. The pictures are not replacement for real-life view, but seems to me your car does not have the quality most MB do have.
Anyway, you are way past guarantee period, so this is your problem. Get familiar with "rust converter". This is chemical stuff that converts rust into reaction that leaves protective coat instead and it really works.
I would buy roll of 2" blue masking tape to cover the paint and spray it 2-3 times at least day apart.
That will leave protective coating that will be good for couple of years. If you want longer protection, you should touch the area with paint.
I was dealing with extreme rust living in 4-seasons and that was 1 of the reasons I moved to dry climates
What you have is corrosion that developed between 2 metals, where paint did not reach them. The pictures are not replacement for real-life view, but seems to me your car does not have the quality most MB do have.
Anyway, you are way past guarantee period, so this is your problem. Get familiar with "rust converter". This is chemical stuff that converts rust into reaction that leaves protective coat instead and it really works.
I would buy roll of 2" blue masking tape to cover the paint and spray it 2-3 times at least day apart.
That will leave protective coating that will be good for couple of years. If you want longer protection, you should touch the area with paint.
