Front raingutter

[chojinchef]

Excuse my ignorance, but the raingutter in the front of the van, that runs along the front door frame at an angle, is there a supposed to be a sealant between the panels that meet there?

As I strip the Thingamajigger, I again get a REAL close up look at every inch of the van and I noticed that there is a beginning of rust between the seam. I know the car was repainted by the PO (and the wrong shade - minus the expensive red tint) and its possible any sealant was taken out.

Just curious. This is not a seam that can be easily taken apart and all rust removed. Going to sandblast what I can get at as I blast the windshield periphery. Open to suggestions on how to inhibit anything between seam.

LP
_________________
Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.

[BillM]

If your are talking about in the channel where the water would run
down while parked? You can see when it's stripped the spot welds
where the gutter is attatched. I sand blast as much rust out as
you can get out and the last time I used Eastwoods version of
A por15 product. I then tac coated and used seal sealer. Only problem
is that I dont buy into the por15 hype that it will encapsulate the
rust and not return. This was a van for a customer that was
done to their spec. They wanted me to use the rust encapsulater
on it. I did see this van recently for some work and the paint is still
holding up good and they live on the shore.
No matter how you approach it that seam is hard to clean out
and would be a lot of work to pull apart. Good thing is its
a solid area that can take a lot of heat from the sandblaster
without having any warping issues.
Chef I found the original purchase slip for the awning. Can you message
me your address so I can send it to you?

*Please note I am not a shop but do maintain the few Vanagons
in my area. These vans are what I refer to as my customers*
_________________
Bill M
87 Westy

[RBEmerson]

I'm not sure how much this photo will help but...

The lighter, almost blue, line on the left is the main door seal. The darker line on the right is seal I think you're asking about. At least that's what's on our '90 Westy.

PM me if you need the original picture or more info.
_________________
Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can change, and wine to accept the things I can't change.

[Ahwahnee]

If I'm picturing the correct seam -- there should be a trim piece that covers it. Between removing all the rust you can see, sealing, painting then installing that trim with some silicone sealant I would think it would be pretty sound.

http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=3796&category_id=&category_parent_id=

Also available in black.

[RBEmerson]

I'm not sure that's the one Chojinchef is looking for. The GW part is the black stripping on the left side of the door opening in my photo above. I think he's looking for a part on the door. Or not...
_________________
Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can change, and wine to accept the things I can't change.

[chojinchef]

Tiny picture, but this illustrates what I am talking about. Although the picture is a bit wonky, you can see the corner of the vent window.

You can see the hint of rust on the raingutter to the right on the picture. It goes all the way up to the roofline.

I know I can spot blast this with good results, but prevention of future outbreaks seems to be key with these vehicles.
_________________
Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.

[RBEmerson]

OK... the answer to your question is "yes, there should be a seal there." Where you show the rust line, that's where the darker seal is in my picture. HTH
_________________
Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can change, and wine to accept the things I can't change.

[chojinchef]

My door seals press against the bottom of this channel. The rust is on the outer most side of the channel.

Some may get covered with the trim piece pentioned in prior post.

Sandblast what I can get, and hope for best. DOnt want to seal anything in there. Rust never sleeps.
_________________
Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.