TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:54 pm

Curses !! I've started noticing some rust showing up in a couple of the body panel seams of my Vanagon :( . This is a bit disconcerting. My plan is to tackle them to the best of my ability with a wire wheel attachment on a body grinder and then use some sort of rust converter product. The obvious problem is that the space between the body panels is very tight and I'll never get the wire wheel in there so I gotta hope that I can pack enough rust converter in there and hope it eventually seeps its way into the seam. Once I get this done I'll use a touch-up gun to paint over the repair. I love this Vanagon and don't want to do a cover up job. I want to repair it like I intend to keep it forever.

Anybody have a better/different way to tackle this? And, What sort of rust converter works well? The only two I've heard of are Naval Jelly and Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator.

Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:53 pm

:D I did something similar on another car, but I guess it is universal... I went to a company called "The Eastwood co." and they had a cool little spot sand blaster. it is about the size of a paint gun, has a small hopper to hold sand, and little bristles around the nozzel to catch sand.. worked really good.. I think VW used some kind of seam sealer on the joints, so go down to a local auto-body shop and pick up a tube... :twisted:

Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:01 pm

Check out the vanagon.com mailing list archives. This topic has been covered quite a bit in the last few weeks.

Ed

Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:39 am

:idea: try the vanagon .com tech site ,which is done by the "shade tree mechanics" at vanagonauts.com . the have 2 articals on seam rust. :D to actualy stop seam rust you must get to all sides of the rust( seam) :( good luck :?

Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:21 am

The best luck I've had with seams involved stripped the paint off the seams, then removing all the caulking/seam sealer by hand, then gently sandblasting the seams, then spraying the seams with Crown -a fantastic rust penetrant/protectant we have here in Canada, I applied this stuff once or twice a week for 5 weeks while the truck just sat in our shop. Then I wash and wiped the entire exterior. Primer was sprayed, then seam seal added and finally paint. After the van was painted, I added some more crown wherever I could access with the spray nozzle to the back side of the panels. I know this may seem a long and drawn out but I think it's necessary, at least where I live with the heavy salt usage. Good luck.

Rob

Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:50 am

The paint/body forum of this site might also be a good place to look. I have used navel jelly (its not a rust converter but a disolver that leaves a slightly rusty unprotected surface), Rustoleum Rust Reformer, and Permatex Rust Treatment. I like the Permatex the best.