Surface Rust

I need to get my roof sealed up pretty soon now that the van lives ten minutes from the ocean. It all appears to be surface rust and I'm wondering about the best way to deal with it. Get some stripper and go down to bare metal? Use a DA sander on the surface rust then spray or roller on a rust converter paint? There is one thing I am unclear on: My buddy thought all the red color was rust but it looks like a primer coat to me. Just the bright orange looks like rust to me but maybe the red hasn't oxidized enough to turn bright orange? My buddy said the black underneath the gold color and the red is actually factory primer from dipping the whole body. I am pretty sure this is the original paint job and I want to preserve the patina for a while. Well, at least until I win the lottery and do the frame off restoration!

where can I order 18 cans?!?!???

Sandyvan I believe you can get that at any auto store or even Walmart or homedepot. I would just hit it with a fairly fine sand paper with a palm sander, wipe clean and spray

Oh yeah and get some self leveling seam sealer for your drip rails. With us so close to the ocean you don't want salt water sitting in those rails!

I think the sealer in the drip rails is in good shape.

I need to find something that comes in gallon cans though because I need to do the whole roof.

while it won’t maintain your time gained patina, what about por-15 whitecote. that stuff comes in gallon or quart and is extremely durable (not cheap). there are some benefits to having a white roof and the stuff dries flat and has a professional looking finish that would likely outlive the van, never have to mess with it again.

http://www.por15.com/WHITECOTE/productinfo/WCG/

In the local hardware store I saw a quart can of Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer - I had seen it online. I need to investigate if it is a rust converter, and what colors, though I could go over it with another color of top coat. As far as the patina, I'm really just interested in everything below the roof. The roof has so much red primer showing through it doesn't look that cool. I'd like to try and match the body better, even though it would be pretty obvious it's a new coating.

how bout just repainting, gold, add some flatting agent to match rest of van?

the rustoleum heavy metal primer is not a rust converter. you’d still need to treat the rust before using it. it’s more like a real thick primer in a rusty brown color. you should be able to go over it w/ just about anything.

back2thewoods wrote:how bout just repainting, gold, add some flatting agent to match rest of van?

Yeah, I need to research my paperwork and VIN, see if I can ID the paint code. I was thinking of prepping it myself then having Maaco mix up the color and shoot it on. Or maybe I can do it myself with an LPHV gun and not get it all over the garage?

austinmodhouse wrote:the rustoleum heavy metal primer is not a rust converter. you’d still need to treat the rust before using it. it’s more like a real thick primer in a rusty brown color. you should be able to go over it w/ just about anything.

So if I can believe their marketing, this Rust Reformer product

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=363

will be the stuff to put on first, sounds like it will serve as a primer too. Or I could put a coat of good old grey car primer on over it for good measure, then choose a final color coat. The roof is not perfect dent wise so I don't want to spend a fortune on it at this point.

I just did that recently to mine since it was going to be sitting outside for a year or two before I could get it painted.

I hit it first with a plastic paint stripper brush that I got at a hardware store that you connect to a drill. It is like a round wire brush, but plastic instead.

Here is a link to a similar one
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Marine/Home/Products/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S4K7000000_nid=GS8TFKH2XQgsRJ5GMFSMV0glZW45RRK60Lbl

They also make these to use in an angle grinder. Since I was in the middle of a field with no power, I used my battery-powered drill and the drill version.

I wiped it clean with a dry rag.

I sprayed Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer on top.

One hour later I put on a coat of Rustoleum Gloss White.

An hour later I did another coat of Gloss White.

I used cans since my van is sitting in the back of a farm. The llamas, sheep and other critters kept coming over to see what I was doing.

This paint likes to have a primer.

But even if you do use this paint without a primer (like to save the patina) this kind of paint needs to be heated up to completely cure the paint. Somehow you would have to heat up your roof to 600 degrees for 30 minutes or else the paint would never fully cure. This is true of all of the high heat paints.

There are plenty of clear spray paints that are not the high-heat variety that could be sprayed on leaving the rusty patina.

donivan65 wrote:This stuff will seal anything,,,,,,,High Heat Clear Coat,,,,,

It is good stuff but I kinda think that they are stretching the truth a little on the 2000 degree. That is hot enough to melt steel

sandyvan wrote:

austinmodhouse wrote:the rustoleum heavy metal primer is not a rust converter. you’d still need to treat the rust before using it. it’s more like a real thick primer in a rusty brown color. you should be able to go over it w/ just about anything.

So if I can believe their marketing, this Rust Reformer product

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=363

will be the stuff to put on first, sounds like it will serve as a primer too. Or I could put a coat of good old grey car primer on over it for good measure, then choose a final color coat. The roof is not perfect dent wise so I don't want to spend a fortune on it at this point.

I don't know if the spray can version is any better, but I tried the brush on stuff on a set of Corvette Rally wheels. It will work OK if you were planning on painting with a brush.
After applying it It left the black colored brush marks everywhere. They were almost impossible to sand. After using that I ended up sandblasting the rims and it still didn't come off. I'm glad I only tried it on one rim.

johncj5 wrote:

sandyvan wrote:

austinmodhouse wrote:the rustoleum heavy metal primer is not a rust converter. you’d still need to treat the rust before using it. it’s more like a real thick primer in a rusty brown color. you should be able to go over it w/ just about anything.

So if I can believe their marketing, this Rust Reformer product

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=363

will be the stuff to put on first, sounds like it will serve as a primer too. Or I could put a coat of good old grey car primer on over it for good measure, then choose a final color coat. The roof is not perfect dent wise so I don't want to spend a fortune on it at this point.

I don't know if the spray can version is any better, but I tried the brush on stuff on a set of Corvette Rally wheels. It will work OK if you were planning on painting with a brush.
After applying it It left the black colored brush marks everywhere. They were almost impossible to sand. After using that I ended up sandblasting the rims and it still didn't come off. I'm glad I only tried it on one rim.

Are you referring to the Rusty Metal Primer or Rust Reformer that you used on the wheels?

sandyvan wrote:Are you referring to the Rusty Metal Primer or Rust Reformer that you used on the wheels?

The Rust Reformer. Sorry I didn't realize that i had 2 quotes in there.