Roof Rack- Roof Repair

[4VegasRunner]

Hey guys,

I need your opinion on how to fix these holes in my roof, my Uncle put on a roof rack on my SR5 & it leaked from the rain. I removed the roof rack yesterday & this is what was staring at me on the passenger side next to the sunroof.

 

[Drunner97]

Fill the holes with silicone, put the rack back on, and forget that mess exists. Not much you can do about patching it up unless you know how to weld sheet metal. As long as they're sealed up it shouldn't leak again.

 

[ElectroBoy]

Drunk Uncle?

What I’d do is pick out all the old silicone and other sealant crap you can, clean it up with some petroleum solvent (such as Coleman fuel) using a rag or toothpicks etc. to get off any grease or oil. Then use denatured alcohol (methanol) to clean off any remaining solvent. Let it dry real well, maybe use a hair dryer to help out. If there’s a big gap under the holes you could stuff some plastic wrap in there to act as a backer and take up some space. Then fill with a silicone sealant.

 

[shadow247]

Use some heavy body seam sealer on those holes. I would not use silicone again, it is not designed to adhere to paint, and you will have the same issue again. Pull the headliner, use Duct Tape as a backing, and put down some seam sealer. Silicone will fail.

 

[Fern]

I'd seal it with a tube of urethane used for installing windshields. 1000x better than silicone.

 

[ElectroBoy]

I'd seal it with a tube of urethane used for installing windshields. 1000x better than silicone.

Yes. Urethane is much better than silicone.
But you have to pick out all the old silicone, especially in the holes, to have good adhesion. Clean it all up first.

 

[Fern]

There is also a primer that should be applied before the urethane. Like said before. Remove, clean, primer, then urethane.