bubbles on roof

Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:09 pm

next to sunroof,could it be easy fix?paint roof,I know channels clog,Is it the only way bubbles could be on roof? .thanks

Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:13 pm

Ouch

Servere rot in the sunroof tray, ratch had the same problem, cost him near 1k iirc to get a new roofskin from bmw and get it fitted.

Alot of people have scrapped there cars because of this

Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:25 pm

Rust is like cancer. It needs to be excised before it spreads and becomes terminal. If you catch it in time, the effects can be minimised. The roof area is tricky to deal with. In some cases it is recommended to replace the whole area with a decent donor. Depends on what sort of value you place on the car.
For what it's worth, I have the exact same problem. My sunroof is a rusty mess and it has spread to other areas of the roof creating bubbles. I still haven't decided what to do about it. I'm hoping I can get away with just replacing the sunroof, then removing the rusty areas on the roof itself, welding in a patch and skimming over with filler. Finished off with a few layers of spray paint.

To be honest with you, I'm not all that confident that that's going to be enough.

Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:38 pm

unfortunatly they rust from the inside -out,

when the bubbles appear on the roof skin it's usually game over

Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:22 pm

Yeah I've got that on my car, buts its a cheap car and its hardly noticeable.

Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:24 pm

Blitz wrote:Yeah I've got that on my car, buts its a cheap car and its hardly noticeable.

That is absolutely miniscule on your car though! And for the price you paid I wouldn't care!

Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:28 pm

Ollie_bwoii wrote:
Blitz wrote:Yeah I've got that on my car, buts its a cheap car and its hardly noticeable.
That is absolutely miniscule on your car though! And for the price you paid I wouldn't care!

It maybe miniscule but as said, it starts from the inside and spreads to the outer skin. It will be alot worse underneath.

Its only a moredoor first car though.

Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:34 pm

bss325i wrote:
Ollie_bwoii wrote:
Blitz wrote:Yeah I've got that on my car, buts its a cheap car and its hardly noticeable.
That is absolutely miniscule on your car though! And for the price you paid I wouldn't care!
It maybe miniscule but as said, it starts from the inside and spreads to the outer skin. It will be alot worse underneath.

Its only a moredoor first car though.

I would definitely not break it though because of that.

Hopefully my car next will not have that problem because its non-sunroof.

Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:37 pm

you know it's fooked when you are driving along on a nice sunny day with the sunroof open,
and rusty bits land on the seats !

Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:15 am

You should get one without a sunroof..

On a more serious note, is it that much of a problem?
Its not an mot failure and so long as its not causing it to leak i dont really see the problem, at the end of the day we are dealing with cars that are usually well over twenty years old, so a little bit of cosmetics are the least of our worries!

Anyone that scraps a car because of it is just plain daft, E30's are becoming rarer day by day, even more so now the Max Pants brigade have finally caught on to the idea of going sideways.

My previous 316 had it fairly badly next to the sunroof when i bought it, and to boe honest it never really worried me, i was more concerned that the floorpan and suspension were solid and that the running gear wasn't knackered!

Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:56 am

I've got the same problem with my Tech1 sport right behind the sunroof in 3 or 4 places. I've had a couple of people look at it and it will definately need a new roof skin panel which is £425 part from Cotswold's on here. If you raise the sunroof to the tilt position and shine a torch back between the headlining and roof skin you should be able to get a clear indication of how bad it is below. I couldn't bear the thought of scrapping my tech1 and am going to have to bite the bullet and get it done. Just need to find someone fairly local who I trust to cut my roof off.

Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:53 pm

Royalratch's thread goes into detail on roofskin replacement,worth digging out to see just what is involved.
Patch repairs on the roof panel will require a welder with great skill to avoid distorting the panel.
Well worth doing the sunroof frame check as described above on your next E30 purchase!

Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:56 pm

If you get a new roof skin just make sure you get it braized on!!!

Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:50 pm

i had corners cut out and replaced on a previous car but the rust reappeared a year later along were to new metal was welded in. if you do that make sure you get someone to do it that knows what theyre doing.

Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:52 pm

What car is it? It has to be pretty special to justify sorting it properly.

Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:13 pm

mine is dead then

Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:07 pm

chris_335 wrote: mine is dead then

Cheer up!
Think of it as a donor/test bed for improvements,cosmetic rot is just that,when the roof lining starts to fill with rain water,then put the thing out of it's misery.

Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:09 pm

what can i do to save
it real colse to sunroof

Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:20 pm

reli dont like this topic i keep looking over it and i'm not feeling to good now need a cold beer

Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:24 pm

my mate had a few bubbleson his roof, boot, arches and bonnet
spent a day filling and spraying and its been mint since none of the rust was deep thought.
i wouldnt panick till you notice that it has gone through.
i need to do the same on my car soon as i have a small patch on the sill, sunroof, bonnet and need a new rear valance

Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:46 pm

i will spend some time on it then someone was right the car is about 20 now it's not going to last forever

Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:02 pm

Didnt Simon13 frag an alpina C2 because for roof rot

Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:56 pm

Would this be an MOT failure if its rusted through?

Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:06 pm

I wouldn't think so. If it's structural or parts are hanging off that might be a danger to pedestrians or fellow road users, then it would be.

Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:08 pm

Wasn't sure whether the roof would be classed as structural though.

Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:09 pm

Not being funny but if you were really desperate i'am sure a baur conversion would be pretty simple if you take all the parts off a fragger

Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:12 pm

I was just wondering as my Tech 1 Sport has a well and truely buggered roof but i want to stick it through an MOT and see whats what, just wondered if i had to go to an effort of hiding to leaky roof.

Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:23 pm

How bad is it, exactly? Got any pictures?

Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:33 pm

Not at the minute, looks worse as someone has tried fudging it up with some filler, looks like a giant pigeon has shat on it!

Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:32 pm

Alex wrote:Not being funny but if you were really desperate i'am sure a baur conversion would be pretty simple if you take all the parts off a fragger

Need a Baur-frame?

Here I am cutting the roof off.

Gr Jeroen

Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:56 pm

Alex wrote:Didnt Simon13 frag an alpina C2 because for roof rot

That wasn't the only rusty part!

Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:56 pm

Kedge wrote:Would this be an MOT failure if its rusted through?

No.

Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:43 pm

bss325i wrote:
Alex wrote:Didnt Simon13 frag an alpina C2 because for roof rot
That wasn't the only rusty part!

I can imagine

Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:44 pm

Baurtje wrote:
Alex wrote:Not being funny but if you were really desperate i'am sure a baur conversion would be pretty simple if you take all the parts off a fragger
Need a Baur-frame?

Here I am cutting the roof off.

Gr Jeroen

Didnt know baur did the trailor conversion

Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:44 pm

bss325i wrote:
Alex wrote:Didnt Simon13 frag an alpina C2 because for roof rot
That wasn't the only rusty part!

Barry, I appear to have been living under a rock for the last few months. Is this the black 2door that he was stripping a few months back?