CRAP! Rusty roof on my 2013?

Hey all. Is this rust on the roof of my 2013? I use a slide-in truck camper in the summer for bugs have been hitting the camper and deflecting down onto my roof. When I removed the camper and washed the roof I found what seems like red stains from bugs, but upon closer inspection and attempts to remove, seems to be rust. This goes all the way across my roof in a band about 8 inches wide.

What should I do? I want to fix the problem, then prevent further problems. Will the roof have to be repainted at a shop? or can anyone recommend a good product that will save my butt. Dealing with massive medical costs right now (wife has Chronic Lyme Disease) so I hope I don't have to spend a fortune on this. I'm thinking a 3m wrap on the roof once it's fixed.

Thanks for any help or advice.

Matt

 

Certainly looks like rusted out scratches to me. That sucks!

I once had a truck that had numerous rock dings and what not on the front bumper. It looked awful. I didn't have the $ at the time to take it to a shop, so I repaired it myself. I ordered a rattlecan of primer, paint and clearcoat from here: http://www.automotivetouchup.com/ What was nice was for a few dollars, I ordered a spray trigger that fit on top of the can to make spraying very, very easy and smooth. I think this was the key.

It actually came out great. The paint is an exact match to the factory color. They are very helpful over there too. Have all the necessary masking tape and what not to make your job come out great.

Good luck.

 

Rub your fingers over it. If it protrudes out, its bug guts. Wax it off. If its sinks in a little, then its through the paint and its surface rust.

Dang tough bugs to take off paint. More like gravel.......

 

Yeah the patterns are weird. Usually rocks leave a single rounded pit. I was thinking it may be bug remains that eroded through the paint or something.

 

is ur camper close enuff to the roof of ur truck to trap branches ,rocks and other things between and cause this??

 

I k now this sounds crazy but you might want to try some sort of like triflow or some sort of lubricating rust remover with a very soft cloth to get the rust off and then get some paint or something like that from the dealership and Get those spots.
just make sure you wax it afterwards

 

use iron x

 

i helped a friend touch up the front of his bmw with a dr.color chip kit with good results. i would recommend it if you could somehow clean up the rust first

 

I've not tried it, but a couple of others on here swear by the Dr. Color Chip method..and I've seen their trucks up close too..

 

Thanks. I'll look into that. I was also thinking about cleaning up the rust then either line-x or a 3m wrap on the roof to stop future problems. Anyone have thought on that?

 

It looks like rail dust which is very common and very noticeable on light color paint. Hit it with the clay bar, it should take care of it.

 

looks like metal dust, do you live around a railroad or machine shop or been grinding around the truck? wash roof then clay bay it, then use rubbing compound. had this problem at work, they installed filters backwards on roof vents on are machining lines, let the metal dust blow outside. run your hand across roof it will fill like sandpaper.

 

x2

 

Not metal dust. No nearby rail lines. It's definitely from shit hitting my slide-in camper and riccocheting down at the roof.

 

I could be from anywhere like someone grinding on metal nearby or a construction site. I would just give that a try before going and painting my roof. But that is just my 2 cents.