cloudswimmer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- So.Cal.
Hey all, here is a couple pics of my conferr roof rack where its rusted pretty good.What would be the best way to repair this spot.Thanks!
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How to fix rusted rack?
- Thread starter cloudswimmer
- Start date
GrimmJeeper
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gardena, CA
take it to billy 
seiously tho, hit it with a wire wheel mounted to a drill, get all that rust off there. tack weld it together cause it looks like the rust ate away the welds. spray over it with some rustoleum or other rust inhibitor paint and you're good to go.
seiously tho, hit it with a wire wheel mounted to a drill, get all that rust off there. tack weld it together cause it looks like the rust ate away the welds. spray over it with some rustoleum or other rust inhibitor paint and you're good to go.
icewolf73
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Carrollton, TX
GrimmJeeper said:take it to billy
seiously tho, hit it with a wire wheel mounted to a drill, get all that rust off there. tack weld it together cause it looks like the rust ate away the welds. spray over it with some rustoleum or other rust inhibitor paint and you're good to go.
X2. Until you clean it up you won't know how deep the rust is. Wire brush/wheel the crud out of it, weld and repaint.
Wire wheel or sand blast, then de-grease with Marine-clean, then treat with Metal-Ready. After that, brush on POR-15, and when the POR-15 is tacky, hit it with your color choice of rustoleum (POR-15 is tough, but UV sensitive). If you follow these instructions, it will be better then powder coating it, and it will not rust again. http://www.por15.com/
Good luck!
Good luck!
cloudswimmer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- So.Cal.
GrimmJeeper said:take it to billy
seiously tho, hit it with a wire wheel mounted to a drill, get all that rust off there. tack weld it together cause it looks like the rust ate away the welds. spray over it with some rustoleum or other rust inhibitor paint and you're good to go.
Just PM'd Billy, though I don't think he's taking on any work till after tds.I have no idea how long its been rusting like this, but I assume waiting a couple few more weeks isn't going to kill it?I guess at this point I need to plan how to refinish it after welding in which you guys have given some good ideas already.For the final top coat I'd like to stick with a semi-mat black finish.Should I just stick with rustoleum or Krylon rattle can, or is there a harder semi-mat black paint I can apply myself.Thanks again!
NCjeepgirl83
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Charlotte, NC/Birmingham, England
Subscribed. I'm in the same boat, altho I've almost decided to just pay to have it sandblasted and powdercoated.
Let me know what you decide!
Let me know what you decide!
cloudswimmer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- So.Cal.
NCjeepgirl83 said:
Is yours as rusted as mine?If mine wasn't so rusted out at the joint I'd probably just take it to my local powder coater.They'll do a rustproof coating and powdercoat for 250.00.I've had this done before on other racks and they lasted as long as I had the racks.This one though I let go too long and am going to have to have it welded.Since they no longer manufacture these racks I'm a little parinoid.There is no other style rack I like as much as the conferr's.Total bummer they went under
NCjeepgirl83
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Charlotte, NC/Birmingham, England
cloudswimmer said:Is yours as rusted as mine?If mine wasn't so rusted out at the joint I'd probably just take it to my local powder coater.They'll do a rustproof coating and powdercoat for 250.00.I've had this done before on other racks and they lasted as long as I had the racks.This one though I let go too long and am going to have to have it welded.Since they no longer manufacture these racks I'm a little parinoid.There is no other style rack I like as much as the conferr's.Total bummer they went under
I'll get some pics of mine up. I'm not so sure it's rusted in the same areas as yours, but I know there is enough rust on it that I don't want to actually mount it until it's all clean and fresh.
I was told if I went with the sandblasting/powdercoating route it'll look brand new and last a v. long time.But what's the real story on Con-ferr? Why did they go out of business? I first heard of them 6 years ago or so when a few guys I went to high school with had them on their Jeep XJs and I'm like you, I've never liked any other rack as much as Con-ferr's.
I'm in a pickle myself as I'd like to have the light tabs that con-ferr made and sold with their racks, but haven't been able to find any.
cloudswimmer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- So.Cal.
NCjeepgirl83 said:I'll get some pics of mine up. I'm not so sure it's rusted in the same areas as yours, but I know there is enough rust on it that I don't want to actually mount it until it's all clean and fresh.
But what's the real story on Con-ferr? Why did they go out of business? I first heard of them 6 years ago or so when a few guys I went to high school with had them on their Jeep XJs and I'm like you, I've never liked any other rack as much as Con-ferr's.
I'm in a pickle myself as I'd like to have the light tabs that con-ferr made and sold with their racks, but haven't been able to find any.
Well it should be fairly easy to get some plate steel and copy the conferr light tabs, and find someone local to weld them on.If you want I can post a picture along with the light tab dimensions.
hellbilly04
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Huntington Beach
That is correct I need to work on my junk too, well clean it & change fluids that is....
Be patient young Grasshopper you have plenty of time before that thing see's dirt
Be patient young Grasshopper you have plenty of time before that thing see's dirt
cloudswimmer said:
icewolf73
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Carrollton, TX
I just cleaned and repaired my old Con-Ferr with the help of another XJer. Check her out now! It had some surface rust (none as bad as yours) and it had been rolled on by another XJ.
Look at the top of the rack in this pic:
This is how it looks now:
Look at the top of the rack in this pic:
This is how it looks now:
Clean Racing
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Bellingham, Wa
Yeah my Confer started to rust after 6 months on the jeep so I had it sandblasted, then welded the floor in it and took it to get powdercoated.. No more rust 7 years later.. Granted its been hanging in my garage for the last 2 years...
NCjeepgirl83
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Charlotte, NC/Birmingham, England
I have a general question concerning Con-ferr rack mounts. Mine came with 3 bars on the floor and 3-to-a-side mounts for the factory roof rails. I've noticed in pics of others that they have 4-to-a-side mounts for it. Will I be ok with 3 to a side? I'm only planning to put a 31" tire up there...
NCjeepgirl83
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Charlotte, NC/Birmingham, England
hellbilly04 said:Be patient young Grasshopper you have plenty of time before that thing see's dirt
Hehe was that directed at me? :laugh:
cloudswimmer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- So.Cal.
NCjeepgirl83 said:
No that was directed at me.I have no plans to go anywhere till the Rubicon trail this summer.Hellbilly's the guy thats been working on my rig, doing a kickass job btw.Anyway your rack has three cross spars and mounts as does mine.My older 4" high Conferr was smaller, was a three piece design that bolted together, and had four cross spars and mounts.I ran a 31x10.50 spare on that older one for a few years no problem.When I switched to the newer 6" rack pictured below with three spars, after a year the same 31x12.50 spare cracked the center spar clean in half.I went down to my local metal supply and bought a couple 1"x1/2"x4 foot long bars and jury rigged a splint to fix and reinforce the broken spar, and reinforce the other spar not yet broken the tires weight was also on.I've since ran a 33x10.50 on it with no problem.Now I'm running 35" MTR's and will not even attempt to schlep a spare up there.So I would seriously think about a little extra reinforcement for your rack before running that spare up there.Maybe even just a piece of .250 ply flooring to distribute the weight.
hellbilly04
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Huntington Beach
Yea it's silly clean ,I keep trying to get him out on the trails with us to at least get the tires dirty & maybe a few scratches
Trail-Axe said:Cloudswimmer: That has to be one of the cleanest looking rigs out there, next to mine of course.
cloudswimmer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- So.Cal.
hellbilly04 said:Yea it's silly clean ,I keep trying to get him out on the trails with us to at least get the tires dirty & maybe a few scratches
Well I guess I'm kinda the porchpuppy of the So.Cal. chapter.Believe it or not though, especially when it was newer, I've had the thing all over the El Paso mojave range, mud holes of the Sierra hydraulic mining pits, and even had some pretty bad scratches clear down the sides from cholla cactus in 29 palms that were able to be machine buffed out.The rubicon will be the first ever dedicated crawl however.I'm hoping I'll be able to buff out any scratches with a little meguires
NCjeepgirl83
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Charlotte, NC/Birmingham, England
Could I mask off the con-ferr logos on the corners b/c I want them to not be painted over when I get it blasted and powdercoated. Or should I try to remove them? Sorry stupid question, but wanted to throw it out there.
cloudswimmer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- So.Cal.
NCjeepgirl83 said:
You will need to remove them.Thats actually the first thing I did when I got mine new was remove those badges
