Rust bubbles under paint

Thin bits of metal and bright blue light. Including glass & trim.

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Goyen88
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Rust bubbles under paint

Post by Goyen88 »

Hello,

I am new to the T25 world and have tried to do as much research as possible before purchasing. I’ve recently viewed a T25 Caravelle (1987) and I have a few concerns with slight rust bubbles and blemishes under a paint job completed a around 4 years ago.

The van runs great and has a new MOT but I would appreciate any feedback on these bodywork/rust bubbles before committing. I’ve tried to include some photos and a description.

Mechanically the T25 great it’s just the bodywork I’m worried about.

Driver front arch
Image

Drivers step
Image

Front panel seam below windscreen
Image

Above filler cap
Image

Passenger Step
Image

Front panel next to indicator
Image

Below window near wiper arm
Image

Inch hole on the inner back bottom panel. Not structural
Image

Sill
Image

Stesaw
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by Stesaw »

Rust is a constant battle, I'd get that windscreen rust sorted asap, that is a problem area as water can sit under the seal if you are lucky it won't be that bad but the longer you leave it the worse and more expensive it's gonna be! There isn't much you can do about seam rust other than cutting all the rust out and replacing with new. Well you can take the old sealant out, clean it best you can and put some rust converter in before resealing and repainting. 
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davidoft1
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by davidoft1 »

In the scheme of things that’s verging on rust for a t25, as above it’s a constant battle , the screen rust is worth addressing, I would say none of that’s going to give you much trouble for a few years, it’s not like buying a modern car , almost all of these have rust, how much is the van ?

Goyen88
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by Goyen88 »

Thanks for the advice chaps! I’ve been speaking with a friend in a bodyshop and they reckon the front window would cost £500 absolute max to sort. Does that sound about right?

The van is up for £9k at the moment. The mechanics are great, recon engine from justkampers and the interior is mint too. Just this bodywork rust that’s got me doubting.

Thanks again for the feedback so far!

davidoft1
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by davidoft1 »

Goyen88 wrote: 08 Jan 2021, 22:59 Thanks for the advice chaps! I’ve been speaking with a friend in a bodyshop and they reckon the front window would cost £500 absolute max to sort. Does that sound about right?

The van is up for £9k at the moment. The mechanics are great, recon engine from justkampers and the interior is mint too. Just this bodywork rust that’s got me doubting.

Thanks again for the feedback so far!


I would say that’s about right for the screen probably be half that, that’s quite high money, is it a camper or a standard caravelle ? Try to get a grand off if you can , sounds cheeky but start low , you can always up your price

Goyen88
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by Goyen88 »

Thanks for getting letting me know the screen cost sound reasonable.

It’s not a camper just standard Caravelle GL. Looking to get a rack and roof tent on it for camping. It’s from a dealer so I guess it’s got it’s mark up. I’ll definitely try to get the price down.

Thanks again!

davidoft1
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by davidoft1 »

Goyen88 wrote: 09 Jan 2021, 00:28 Thanks for getting letting me know the screen cost sound reasonable.

It’s not a camper just standard Caravelle GL. Looking to get a rack and roof tent on it for camping. It’s from a dealer so I guess it’s got it’s mark up. I’ll definitely try to get the price down.

Thanks again!

Either get the price down or get them to do some of the repairs, although always best to get the repairs yourself so you know what you’re getting, offer £7000 due to bodywork, I would say you have between £1000-2000 in bodywork to be done well

TONYT25T25
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by TONYT25T25 »

The rubber mats on the steps hide a lot underneath them but are normally stuck down so you will have to pull them up to get a good view, worth looking underneath the van below them also as this may indicate a problem, which is repairable.
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300CE
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by 300CE »

The bodywork doesn’t look bad at all and can easily be sorted and as long as its a keeper it can be dealt with over time.

I reckon up to £500 is about right for the windscreen as they’ll have to prep & paint that front panel as well so will be able to do that bit of rust above the headlight. A new seal will need to be factored in as well.

The other minor detail you will have is the shiny new paint against the other areas that will have faded - you could get the bodyshop to machine polish the remaining paintwork to rejuvenate it and that would be a lot cheaper than a repaint and the results can be fantastic.

If you can afford to, I’d get all the issues sorted at once as this will be end up being cheaper than getting different areas completed at different times.

As has been confirmed above, you’ll always be chasing the rust on these buses and you’ll never find one without it! Always keep your bus clean and waxed as that will keep the paint looking fresh once the work is done.
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Goyen88
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by Goyen88 »

Thanks again for all the advice guys!

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T25Convert
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by T25Convert »

As above, nothing terrifying there. There is some rust, but you'll get used to that!!

Worth just checking underneath. I've seen a few where people have tarted up the bit you can see, but haven't followed through with the underneath. I'd check front jacking points, the sills and the bit where the rear swing arm attaches for any mega crustiness. 

I have a '89 caravelle and can highly recommend it...
RIP - George - 1.9DG '85 AutoSleeper Trident - rusted away

George Second - 1.9DG '89 Caravelle

Michael4
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by Michael4 »

When we got our van I considered spending £££s on rust, arches, steps etc but then I changed my mind and spent significantly less changing the garage door so that it can stay in the dry. 

The rusty bits haven't got much worse or maybe I have just learnt to live with them. 
1985 1.9 DG Devon Moonraker with solid sided pop top

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Splurt
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Re: Rust bubbles under paint

Post by Splurt »

Mine was very similar when I purchased it in 2011.  Six years later it was beyond repair.  Mechanically sound, but the bodywork was completely shot.  In fairness I had used it throughout the winter (driving on salted roads) and it was never garaged.  

In hindsight, I should have had any bubbles addressed at the time and a few gallons of cavity wax applied.  It looked great and I couldn't bear to  wire brush all the seams and take away from the overall look of good paint.  I was also of the opinion that there was no point in applying wax treatments without a full body restoration.  Although this would be the ideal way to go about things, a thorough dry and rough brush down before application of wax would have been enough to prevent a lot of further damage down the line.  That and a dry garage.

I now have a very clean bus that lives in a dry garage and doesn't get driven in the winter time.  And it still rusts!  Its a constant battle but if you can spend time every year on preventative maintenance, cleaning and waxing you should get more time than I did!
Ryan

89 - 1.8T AGU - SA Syncro - Hightop Camper 

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