Oh No... What now - UPDATED !!!!!

[phil]

Winter has been tough on my van.  Look what has happened. Now what do I do?




It looks like I am going to have to do some body work and painting.  The paint people around here are not to good with VW colors.  Does anyone know of  a good "online' paint supplier?

[rmace]

Phil rub the rust stains off with rubbing compound, then keep wax on all the rusty parts. That will help keep the air away from the rust and get you through this season. That way you can do it over next winter. As long as you have the paint code# anybody can mix the paint. If you have a problem with it let me know I have a guy that can do it. later the Con Kid

[phil]

Thanks Rich. I'll take your advice. Rubbing compound and wax sounds like a good idea. It may get me through this years camping season.

[Jim K]

There is a link to a paint supplier on the GoWesty site.
Just need your paint codes for a match. Have a variety of application methods available.

[MrLiMBO]

I'm pretty much in the same boat.  Check out my rust woes in the "VW stuff for sale" section.  I'm thinking of selling the EV to buy a Vanagon.  But the deal I was trying to work out didn't work out so I'll probably start grinding and prepping the van for a new paint job.   Seam rust never sleeps and you can never get it completely, so the best you can hope for is an impasse.  You fix it and it doesn't get any worse the next time it pops through.

I didn't think you drove the van during the winter?

[phil]

Well, I used a polishing compound and got some of the rust stains reduced. I think I'll get one of those cheapo dremel type tools from Harbor Freight Tools and knock down the rust in the seams. Then I'll touch them up with touch up paint. If I get ambitious I may even pull out the paint gun and start practicing for a bigger job.

[rmace]

Rubbing compound is better for stains. Don,t use a grind stone, it will eat to much metal up. Try a 36 grit sanding disk, it won,t eat as much metal just the rust. Use an acid ecth primmer you can get it in spray cans from napa then primer then paint. They make filler primer it will help fill in the holes. Make sure you use the acid ecth on any bare metal. hope this helps the Con Kid

[phil]

I probably should have used the rubbing compound but I just used the polishing compond. The paint on my van is so oxidized that I was afraid I'd go down to, or through, the factory primer.

Good idea about the acid etch primer and the filler primer. I used them before years ago.

Oh the woes of rust.

[MrLiMBO]

Rubbing compound is better for stains. Don,t use a grind stone, it will eat to much metal up. Try a 36 grit sanding disk, it won,t eat as much metal just the rust. Use an acid ecth primmer you can get it in spray cans from napa then primer then paint. They make filler primer it will help fill in the holes. Make sure you use the acid ecth on any bare metal. hope this helps the Con Kid

Rich,  I'm wondering how you feel about POR 15 VS Acid etch primer?  I've used POR 15 before, but I'm not that impressed.  It seems to work better on steel frames and such instead of sheet metal body parts. I know a few guys that put POR 15 on their truck frames and even after a couple of New England winters still look good.   I used it on the van a couple of years back, but as you can see, it came back.

[Red Baron]

Though I have never have tried it, I looked at some samples done with it at Chuck Pisconski's booth at the recent Auto Swap Meet held at the Big-E in West Springfield.

You can check it out on Chuck's Website. It might be worth a try.
http://http://www.masterseriesct.com/

[phil]

Ahhh Choices... good.
Regardless of what I use there will be an "appearence" problem.  The original paint is so oxidized that when I spray new paint around the repair, the new paint will stick out like a sore thumb.  Unless, of course I paint the whole panel, in which case the panel will stick out like a sore thumb compared to the panel next to it.  See what I mean? I can going to have to live with some mis-match color. I don't mind. So, it won't be perfect.  I can handle that.

[Red Baron]

After you get the rust taken care of, don't fuss with anything less than a complete paint job. Your choices are:
1) Maaco
2) Earl Scheib
3) Do it yourself with three or four cans of Rust-Oleum Spray Paint or for a better look, have your local auto paint supplier mix your VW color and spray it yourself. They can also supply you with a self contained spray gun kit that uses a pressure cartridge.

http://http://www.prevalspraygun.com/home.htm

Don't forget to mask your windows and trim and spray down wind so you don't coat your neighbors house and cars.

[Red Baron]

I forgot to mention the "Duct Tape Body Shop"
http://http://www.ducttapeguys.com/bodyshop/index.html

Where would we be without this stuff, "Duct Tape", "Super Glue", "5 minute Epoxy" and  of course "Bond Do"?

My guess is they're all headed for the re-cycle crusher eventually!

[MrLiMBO]

After you get the rust taken care of, don't fuss with anything less than a complete paint job. Your choices are:
1) Maaco
2) Earl Scheib
3) Do it yourself with three or four cans of Rust-Oleum Spray Paint or for a better look, have your local auto paint supplier mix your VW color and spray it yourself. They can also supply you with a self contained spray gun kit that uses a pressure cartridge.

http://http://www.prevalspraygun.com/home.htm

Don't forget to mask your windows and trim and spray down wind so you don't coat your neighbors house and cars.

I agree with Nevin.  Get it painted.  If you have a small compressor, like for using a nail gun, you could paint the van.  You can get the paint color mixed with the code at a place like NAPA.  I'm not sure if a place like NAPA will do it, but you could have them mix in the thinners,  hardeners and such just before you're ready to paint.  My feeling is you'll need a body shop to do that.

I've got a guy near me that does a '20 footer' paint job for 500 bucks.  If you haven't heard the term '20 footer' it means the car looks great from 20 feet away.  When you get up close, you'll see the imperfections in the paint.  

90 percent of a good paint job (and the price) is in the prep work.  If you do it yourself and get it decent, I have a good feeling you'll find a guy like mine who will finish the job and  paint the whole bus for 500 to a 1000 dollars.  

I've been debating whether I wanted to do that myself. I was looking for a decent vanagon to replace the EV with.  The conclusion I've come to is I'm going to have to get out there and grind away the rust and get it ready for paint.  I can't seem to find a vanagon that doesn't need a ton a work or a sh** load of cash to buy. So I'll be sticking with the van I have for now.

[MrLiMBO]

I forgot to mention the "Duct Tape Body Shop"
http://http://www.ducttapeguys.com/bodyshop/index.html

Where would we be without this stuff, "Duct Tape", "Super Glue", "5 minute Epoxy" and  of course "Bond Do"?

My guess is they're all headed for the re-cycle crusher eventually!

 A quote from my loving Daughter Angela:  'Duct Tape is like the force.  It has a light side and a dark side and holds the universe together'.