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Date:         Mon, 28 Feb 2005 10:58:46 -0800
Reply-To:     Zoltan <zolo@FOXINTERNET.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Zoltan <zolo@FOXINTERNET.NET>
Subject:      Re: people who dont fix their seam rust....wasRe: Dent pulling in
              rear corners?
Comments: To: JordanVw@aol.com
Comments: cc: vanagon@yahoogroups.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Well spoken. I also envision the seams to be sand blasted, treated with por15 and have a tape over it to stop water entering again. That calk in between the panels got so old and hard after so many years that it has cracked and has no more elasticity, letting in any kind of liquid to do any damage. It is best to consult a good body guy, what to do best. Maybe the whole calk has to be taken out and put new one in. But how? Is there a way? I can imagine to take all the calk out and sand blast it between and treat the place with anti rust agent. And then what? If I want to prime and paint, I could end up with some lines and edges with a little different color that would look strange all over. It would probably need a full paint job. Am I right? I have not seen seam rust being treated without looking ugly. Sure, there is no more rust but now the car looks terrible. Worse than it looked with all the seam rust. I think, that is the real reason plus the lot of work and money that goes with the good full paint job. But I agree fully, that the heavy rust and the deterioration of the body is a greater looss than a blown engine or transmission that can be replaced while the body is only one and irreplacable. I would prefer to find an acceptable way that would still look well without having a full paint job done. Let's see if any of you can come up with one that would be accepted by most. Zoltan ----- Original Message ----- From: JordanVw@aol.com To: zolo@FOXINTERNET.NET ; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Cc: vanagon@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, February 28, 2005 9:30 AM Subject: people who dont fix their seam rust....wasRe: Dent pulling in rear corners?

In a message dated 2/27/05 4:18:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, zolo@FOXINTERNET.NET writes:

So, I would leave it until.

rust doesnt sleep.

i am always astonished at the number of folks who come here to pick up parts from me or people i see at vw shows.. most of their vans are in good running condition, some have engine conversions, etc. and most have dumped $$ into their vans mechanically. but nearly everyone has some MAJOR seam rust going on.. open, untreated metal, bubbling, rusting away, no attempts whatsoever made to stop the cancer from spreading..

i always ask them.. why are you letting this go? they say, "im saving up for a total repaint, eventually, when i can afford it, but the mechanicals come first".

understandable.

BUT.. you dont have to take it to a bodyshop or be a bodyman to STOP the RUST YOURSELF!!

ALL vanagons get seam rust. its inevitable. PNW, ...East coast (obviously), ive even seen SoCal vans with seam rust. doesnt matter where its from. if you drive your van in the water, salt, or park it outside, it will eventually get seam rust. its just a design flaw, and something we have to accept with these vans. only the few who live in arid climes can escape this problem.

so, why are people intimidated by simple surface rust/seam rust repair???????

its not that had to do. even do the minimal.. scrape the rust bubbles off..sand with a piece of sandpaper.. and treat the metal with 'extend" or 'rust mort" or 'rustoleum rusty metal converter" ...do SOMETHING.. something..other than just letting it go..

do something to prevent it from getting worse!!! if you wait till you can afford a total repaint then your van will be so rusted and full of holes that it won't be worth fixing!!

i have a friend with a '87 westy weekender.. he is local to me.. same deal.. he dumps $$ into this van mechanically..but doesnt have 10 minutes to sand down some rust spots and apply some rust coverter to keep it from getting worse.. he says he wants to wait for a total repaint. he's like "i want to do it right, so i'll wait"

now he has rust HOLES in the rear seams.. and his "repaint" job is now going to involve EXTENSIVE METAL REPLACEMENT.. which he cant afford either..sooo basically, the van will never get fixed, and he will have a great running vanagon that wont pass PA state inspection and will have to be junked because it is full of rust holes..

"i want to do it right, so i'll wait"...translates into " now ive waited, and my van's so rusted its not worth fixing"

come on folks..my 10 year old cousin can fix some ream rust.. its not hard to do!! doing SOMETHING is better than not doing ANYTHING!!!!

just some friendly FYI.. ps, this is not directed any any one individual, it is directed to EVERYONE out there who is just "letting their seam rust go, until the day they can afford a total respray"

because that day will never come.

chris


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