I decided to redo a wall panel in the van and when I removed it I also removed all the floor coverings too and what did I find??
Slight surface rust in a few places but nothing serious
My question is whats the best way to repair it?
I have gone over the entire area with a wire brush and then with kero to make it VERY clean
Next I was thinking of spraying the enitre area with fish oil and then using a rust converter on the areas where the rust actually was, then metal primer and then a metal paint recommended by the fishoil/primer people
What do you think??
I was maybe going to drop it past a panel shop before I painted and ask them what they think.
Will the smell of fish oil eventually leave once its dried?
I will endeavour to find out how the water got there to make it rust in the first place too
I am currently order all new windows seals to replace the ones I have now but I am not certain that thats even how the water got in

Thanks

If you read on the fish oil can it says it can be painted over with a primer and then paint.

I would leave the fish oil until the very last, but then I'm not trained in the body shop trade.

Yeah, ask a pro and see what he says. Or go to the local library and borrow some books on panel work and painting. Do some research, don't rush!

high there,go buy some rust converter from supa cheap or smash suppliers.
there are a couple, but buy the one that converts and primer in one works great,
cheers
:beer

ENCOURAGE THE RUST TO SPREAD AND THEN GO FOR THE RAT LOOK

An easy way to fix it (and permanant too) if the spot's are to be covered by panels or carpet etc is to spray it well (ie very wet) with a phosphoric acid based rust converter. let it dry. lightly sand it and paint with hammered finish paint.

hammered finish paint does not need primer and is VERY tough so shouldnt need doing ever again

As i have only just found out... you can use lanolin instead of fishoil... they use this on aircraft & helicoptors in the navy... so i guess if it is good enough for them to use on million dollar crafts that go out to sea and around all the salt air all the time ... then i guess it is good enought for my VW ... oh yes ... and it dosen't smell like crap.. like fish oil dose.
cheers

57 Cal look:thumb

Yes Lanolin dries out also, but goes on a little thinner than Fisholine. Still does a good job. The question is once they dry to they still protect the surface effectively?? As with anything it will usually shrink when it dries and no longer completely seals the surface.
Another good protectant is Tectol. Goes on thick and waxy and doesn't completely dry.
But I'm not sure if any of these are best inside on the floor. Properly cleaned prepared and painted will last well, stand up to wear and tear better and won't be all sticky!!

Hi AZZ
I would like to tell you what I have done with my bus.
I have just had it resprayed, and the guy that did it, has done heaps of Kombi's for Alan Atkins (Stokers Siding) he told me about the problem areas that most Kombies have, and suggested that I perform a little preventative maintenence!
he said I should spray a mixture of Tectyl, (a Valvolene product) and fish oil into every hole in the bodywork that I could find, I used a neutral odor Fish oil, but the Tectyl has a waxy smell you can't avoid, but it is not too bad once you get used to it and I use a Vanilla magic tree (yellow one) this gives a coconut sort of smell, this masks it pretty good, you can get them from truck stops
I sprayed this into the
A pillers
front bumper mount cavity
Bottom of the front clip & side seams
The holes under the rubber steps
Both front doors
Bottom of the sliding door & rear door
Both rockers
Where the 2 plastic bungs are either side of the engine bay door at the rear
And any where else I could find holes!
I used a couple of methods to accomplish this you can hire a sray gun that is designed to spray sticky stuff and put a flexible hose on it to get in the holes, I glued a plug into the end of the hose, and made some holes in the side, so it would give me 360 degree coverage, and hose clamped it to the spray gun, in the smaller areas I used spray cans, with the little red plastic tube that you get with WD40, this will get into a hole of about 1-2 mill's I bent the end at 90 deg so I could get it to spray up in the hole. I think I managed to cover all the areas I sprayed!
It stunk pretty bad for about a week but it is mellowing out know and if it protects my Kombi from cancer attack I can live with it, I remember all those rust proofing mobs that were about in the 70's & 80's this is what they used to do, although they used to actually drill accsess holes.
Hope this helps, and it is really worth doing if you want to help your Kombi live as long as you!
Rob.......

There is some paint called "Metalfix Primer". It is specifically designed to go onto rust so you leave the rst there. It is also an etch primer so it seals well and it reacts and bonds to the rust too. It is very tough, can just be brushed on and then painted over really easilly. The engineering place I spoke to use it on everything becasue it is so tough and is perfect for any rusty metal. it saves heaps of work becaause you only need to get rid of flaking rust and paint. The best stuff you can ever use.

Azz,
I have been using fish oil since 1968 and the quality and the smell varies greatly...
I have just come across the best fish oil I have ever used. It came from Auto One and its name is Motorspray or Motospray , it dries within a day or two (at the moment) and dries hard.. it can be painted over later on... doesn't smell too bad.. actually I can't smell it at all.. whereas the one I have been using from Big W take weeks to dry.. which isn't a problem in areas You can't see or touch.. The fish oil stops the air from contacting the bare metal - No Rust - I painted under My chassis and the rear suspension with Black gloss paint about a year ago.. I have just painted it again with a brush with fish oil and its Very Glossy... I have been pouring the motospray fish oil into the cheap plastic spray bottles and spraying it everywhere... If I can't get in there... I drill a Hole and spray it in.. then block up the hole.. and I have just started using the expandable foam in Pressure packs... any holes.. a few weeks after the fish oil... spray the foam in the hole and it expands 3: 1 I have also been spraying fish oil around the roof cavity (Hoodlining not installed yet) for many months and now I am spraying the expandable foam to help stop any engine noise from coming thru the body... then I fish oil the foam.... :thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb:bounce:bounce:bounce

what lanolin does is put a wax coating there so water runs off it not stay there!!!!
cheers
rhys

Like I say, Metaslfix is an etch primer and also reacts with the rust to form a permanent bond. I just got it from the local paint it is fairly specialised; Bunnings and places don't have it so you will need to go to a proper paint shop. I use fishoil on bare metal and stuff but I am not one to ignore a good thing that works and saves time.

the prob with etch primer is that the zinc part of etch was removed because of numerous problems to humans and the environment, so in actual fact what happens is the water gets under the primer and eats away underneath while the primer just stays there and u not knowing!!!!
cheers
rhys
p.s. u can get odourless fish oil

My method is pretty simple and cheap. But has worked well for me for many years over here in Perth.
First wire brush . I use a coarse industrial wheel on a small grinder. Apply "Ranex" rust converter as directed on container. Then i paint over with "Croda" brand paint called Chassis black or Speed black. This paint sticks to anything , even powder coat.And its sold as an Industial paint for truck chassis. Great stuff
Choppa..

Ok- what I ended up with was the entire tray was covered in tar from a previous attempt to seal it- after 2 days of turps and a wire brush the tray was completely ready. Next I treated the rust spots with rust converter and then took a trip down to my local smash repair suppliers where I bought some 'seam sealer' which was this really thick paint stuff which seals but also acts as a sound reducer too. It took me about 2 days to put this stuff on too and now its ready to either paint or just put the rubber mat back on then my carpet. I have got a cavity wax too which I am currently putting in all my cavities.