Rusty seams - easy fix

[Bond007]

Hi

Photo's of some typical rust showing on my van




So do you reckon these would be an easy fix with some vactan, or is going to need more serious work

Thanks

Sean

[Plasticman]

A tadd more Im afraid
mike

[chuckle-bus-tom]

Hard to tell from the surface. The only way to know is to get a wire brush out and get stuck in, with the vactan on hand to cover up anything you uncover or any bare metal. It's certainly not the worst case of seam rash from the look of the photos, but if you can get to the seams from the inside as well the full extent will be seen. For the full treatment a ginger hand with an angle grinder and thin disk can be used to get right down to the back of the seam. Vactan it up and re-seam seal!

[CovKid]

Agree, with both of you. You may be lucky and stop a good proportion of it and with a subsequent treatment (cos it nearly always comes back somewhere), hold it off for a long while. Certainly true of mine with some areas still clean after two years but others (particularly around petrol filler cap) more obstinate and likely to need new panels to sort properly. In the meantime I attack it with the Vactan to slow it down. Seams are very difficult because there are two sides and oxygen is the killer. You certainly need to get seam sealant out and really get into those tiny gaps with a thin scraper or suitably thin grinding disc (dremel might prove useful) before slapping vactan in there or you might just as well put sellotape over it and paint over that - if you see what I mean.

Thorough and persistent are the crucial words here. After that its new metal I'm afraid. But as I say, on the positive side, I've certainly stopped some rust patches in their tracks so it can be done.

[Bond007]

Thanks all

Exactly what I wanted to hear, or not, if you know what I mean

Sean

[CovKid]

Good luck fella - remember, thorough and persistent. Show it who is boss Sean and take no prisoners! You want something like an rotating sanding disc or similar so you can get down to the trouble. Not great time of year to do it as damp from the air will be a prob.

You could try a rust remover too - then vactan.

Ralph

[billy739]

you need to get to the rear of the seam , especially around the filler neck. scrape/dig off the factory sealer- there will prob be a hole already!

[Bond007]

Thanks again all

[chuckle-bus-tom]

Good weather forecast for this weekend

[Miketaboo]

Hi,
I'm also planning to do this job over the next week or so and i've found this thread really useful, i'm got to the interior of the panel and i'm don't think it looks to bad,but what is the best way to cure the rust thats there, do i use rust killer then vactan or just vactan, after i've done that do i use any other product on top?
I've got vactan and i've bought myself a dremel to do the exterior, is there any other items required? I'm planning to insulate the van at the same time.
Cheers
Mike

[chuckle-bus-tom]

Mike,

Vactan is a rust convertor, so will need some rust to act on. Just wire brush the loose rust off and then Hoover out before brushing the vactan on. Once dried (about an hour or two depending on the heat) you could spray waxoyl on the inside of the panels before insulating with space foil.

[hairyuk]

i used an angle grinder with a thick wire wheel on it to go down the seams then a small screwdriver to dig out sealer and loose rust, then as there's no actual cure for rust (vatacan may slow it down but rust is like cancer) i used a grit blaster to get it back to bare silver metal then gave it all a good liberal coat of red oxide primer. you may find like me that holes will appear and repairs will need doing.