Vactan?

[Mr Soft]

Hi all,

I've found a spot of rust on the lowest part of my tail gate, about the size of a pound coin. Is Vactan the best product to use, or is there a better alternative?

Thanks

Bob

[ghost123uk]

Vactan is reckoned to be the best. Just spend time getting rid of as much rust before you paint the Vactan on. Follow the instructions carefully. Do not put a contaminated brush into the bottle, put some of it in a jam jar lid or summat then throw away what you don't use. A little goes a long way. It has a limited shelf life too, so only buy the minimum size bottle.

[Mr Soft]

Vactan is reckoned to be the best. Just spend time getting rid of as much rust before you paint the Vactan on. Follow the instructions carefully. Do not put a contaminated brush into the bottle, put some of it in a jam jar lid or summat then throw away what you don't use. A little goes a long way. It has a limited shelf life too, so only buy the minimum size bottle.

Cheers!!

[Wychall]

Bare in mind that the rust is likely to be coming through from inside the tailgate so it is worth taking the inside trim off, clearing any crud from inside, dosing with vactan and then slopping in some waxoyl or similar to slow down the rust worms appetite.

[Mr Soft]

Cheers Brian, that was the plan. Also need to see where the ingress is, maybe the badge, wiper grommet or washer pipe leak.
Do you know if it's ok to paint over the Vactan or does that affect the properties of the Vactan?

[CovKid]

You can paint over Vactan no prob although if spraying you'll need to get it smooth in the same way you would primer. The best thing about Vactan is that it has an acrylic binder so you can use it like a paint and it'll shrug off the weather. allowing you time to see if the rust has actually been stopped before you actually do any cosmetic work. This applies to seams too.

[Mr Soft]

Thanks CovKid!

[Pablo85]

Re Vactan, I've seen someone post on here the other about not putting the brush in the bottle or pouring back into the bottle what you don't use after you've been painting the rust.
I did this on Saturday..... Have I ruined the bottle??
Thanks

[ghost123uk]

Re Vactan, I've seen someone post on here the other about not putting the brush in the bottle or pouring back into the bottle what you don't use after you've been painting the rust.
I did this on Saturday..... Have I ruined the bottle??
Thanks

Aye, that was me.

Don't know if you have ruined the bottle. The problem is that the Vactan performs a chemical reaction with Iron Oxide and converts it into summat less harmful.

How a Rust Converter Works in Theory

Rust converters are designed to neutralize existing rust as well as prevent it from advancing its damage. The active ingredient in most rust converters is Tannin, in the form of tannic acid. This tannic acid combines with the Iron Oxide to form a more stable compound called Iron Tannate, which is typically black in color compared to the reddish color of rust. Many commercial rust converters will include both a polymer to act as a protective layer, and an additional acidic compound designed to accelerate the chemical processes related to the tannic acids. One such acid, known as Phosphoric acid may also work as a rust converter itself, by reacting with the Iron oxide and converting it to black ferric phosphate.

By putting a brush or "used" liquid back into the bottle, the Vactan in the bottle will start reacting chemically with any rust present on the brush / used liquid. Chances are, as long as not too much rust was introduced into the bottle, the reaction will cease once all the rust in there has been converted, and you will still have plenty of the active ingredient left. Still not recommended to do that though

[Pablo85]

Thank you for coming back to me. Didn't know if I was gonna need a new bottle before the weekend!