Date:         Mon, 18 Mar 1996 09:21:01 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         dlytle@as.arizona.edu (Dyer Lytle)
Subject:      battery tray rust removal



Hi all,

Over the last week I spent a number of hours cleaning up the battery
tray in my '66.  Thought I'd write a note to the list describing my experience.
I am preparing to put an engine in 'Red', my 1966 standard microbus.  The
long block is being built in California and I'm hoping it will be here within
a month.  So now's the time to get the engine compartment clean an tidy.

Two weeks ago I pulled out the gas tank, cleaned it inside and out and
repainted it grey, then I cleaned out all the dirt, sand, grunge, etc.
that I found in the engine compartment.  While I did this I found that
the only rust present was around the battery tray.

I found that, while the battery tray itself was solid, there was a coating
of rust on the tray as well as on the surfaces around the tray (inside the
right, rear, corner of the bus, on the wheel-well and the area between the
battery and the engine seal).

Surface rust, no holes.  I don't have to replace the panel, easy....

Or not.  (!)

Now I know why people use sand blasting equipment and/or miracle-cures like
Extend or POR.  Yikes, what a pain in the butt!

I used a combination of "Navel Jelly", sandpaper, wire brushes, wire wheels
on power drills, etc. and it took quite a lot of work.  Eventually, I got
all the rust off of every surface I could find, down to nice bright shiny,
(pitted in the area directly under the battery), metal.  Then I sprayed a
couple coats of a rust inhibiting primer.  Finally, I re-sealed the body
seams around the tray with some auto-body caulking compound.  I may give
it a coat of shiny enamel once the caulking is completely dry.

During my experiments at removing rust, I found that the most effective
treatment I tried was to coat the rusty areas with Navel Jelly and then use a
very stiff wire brush, the typed used to clean up welds, to scrub as
much rest and scale away as possible.  Then leave the Navel Jelly on for
at least 30 minutes, then wash with water. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Also, anybody know a good place to get tail-light to body seals (rubber)?
The best price I've seen is "Wolfsburg West" for $9.50 each.  Also, is there
any source *at all* for the little rubber cover on the back of the license
plate light, that covers the wire connections?

Cheers,

 -Dyer


------------------------
Dyer Lytle              
dlytle@as.arizona.edu   
http://as.arizona.edu/~lytle
HST NICMOS Project      
Steward Observatory     
University of Arizona   
------------------------