Rusty Roof Joints ??
- Thread starter RAW
- Start date
wildebus
Forum Member
My guess would be that the van was repainted and the rust was painted over and now is bubbling again.
not too bad considering the age of the van, especially for a Sprinter! (the roof paint is generally meant to be terrible on those)
What I would do (and maybe will on mine as I have a few bits of rust on my seams) is the following:
1) sand off the paint on the seams to expose the rust
2) apply some Hammerite KRUST. This does a good job of stablising the rust (it claims to convert the rust back to metal I think but that is a bit of hype). After a short time, the area goes from blue to black as it works, and then you can overpaint.
3) overpaint with solvent paint, not water-based (for old vehicles like ours are, I go for Cellulose-based paint that doesn't need any top coat)
As an example of using KRUST, I did the following on my 2005 RAV4 I bought in 2015
The fuel filler pipe is a known weak spot as it is behind a cover that fills up with wet mud that compresses against the pipe
WP_20150517_020 by David, on Flickr
I really didn't want to replace the pipework and it wasn't actually holed yet, so painted in in KRUST
WP_20150517_022 by David, on Flickr
Blue when it is applied and reacting
Then as it finishes reacting and dries, it goes black
WP_20150517_024 by David, on Flickr
In this case, I just painted it when dry in Hammerite paint - in your case, you would use solvent paint as it is visible
WP_20150517_030 by David, on Flickr
Bottle of KRUST is under a tenner and lasts ages.
not too bad considering the age of the van, especially for a Sprinter! (the roof paint is generally meant to be terrible on those)
What I would do (and maybe will on mine as I have a few bits of rust on my seams) is the following:
1) sand off the paint on the seams to expose the rust
2) apply some Hammerite KRUST. This does a good job of stablising the rust (it claims to convert the rust back to metal I think but that is a bit of hype). After a short time, the area goes from blue to black as it works, and then you can overpaint.
3) overpaint with solvent paint, not water-based (for old vehicles like ours are, I go for Cellulose-based paint that doesn't need any top coat)
As an example of using KRUST, I did the following on my 2005 RAV4 I bought in 2015
The fuel filler pipe is a known weak spot as it is behind a cover that fills up with wet mud that compresses against the pipe
WP_20150517_020 by David, on Flickr
I really didn't want to replace the pipework and it wasn't actually holed yet, so painted in in KRUST
WP_20150517_022 by David, on Flickr
Blue when it is applied and reacting
Then as it finishes reacting and dries, it goes black
WP_20150517_024 by David, on Flickr
In this case, I just painted it when dry in Hammerite paint - in your case, you would use solvent paint as it is visible
WP_20150517_030 by David, on Flickr
Bottle of KRUST is under a tenner and lasts ages.
SquirrellCook
Forum Member
Rust roof was the reason I scrapped my Mercedes 608. 
wildebus
Forum Member
Hi Robert @RAW,
I just called the paint guy I used and he is open for business and can do mail order.
As an example of the paint I am talking about, this was my 2000/W plate VW T4 that I had to fix some surface rust on.
image_21 by David, on Flickr
I got the green Cellulose paint from him, and applied it once fixed the rust. You will be hard pressed to tell in this photo what paint is original and what I resprayed I reckon (if you want to guess or you can tell me, I will let you know if you are right
)What I suggest you do is call him up and arrange to send a paint chip off your van so he can colour match it. He can then send you the paint (suggest Cellulose for you as well). He can supply as a tin for you to spray/brush, or ready to spray in an Aerosol. (if you get a tin, think you need some thinners to mix IIRC)
Call Allie Brown - Details here: https://www.yell.com/biz/alistair-brown-autopaint-galashiels-3339273/
SquirrellCook
Forum Member
Just a word of caution. If you apply cellulose paint over some other paints, the cellulose can act like a paint stripper leaving an unpleasant mess.
Millie Master
Forum Member
Sorry to throw a spanner into the works, but here are my thoughts on how to cure the dreaded tin monster before going any further.
Unfortunately these days for those who are used to shopping at Halfords and similar such companies, there are significantly better rust curing/preventing products on the market these days that are being very widely used in the classic car and similar user areas.
One of the companies producing absolute state of the art products is Bilt Hamber, a UK based and owned company who manufacture all of their brilliant products in the UK. They are not cheap, but they are fail safe.
As a company they are also very approachable and whenever I have had any questions to ask, they answer them in an amazingly helpful way which is so unlike so many companies these days.
I have just had a look through what they have on offer in their extensive rust treatment range and this one looks like it might be one offering you the kind of performance you are looking for Robert https://www.bilthamber.com/corrosion-protection-and-rust-treatments/hydrate-80
Another of their products which I have used extensively is their Dynax S-50 which is a thin rust curing/coating spray for spraying into hidden box sections, sills, door bottoms, Land Rover bulkheads etc. etc., it is in my opinion a truly brilliant product and one which is perfect for use in the inaccessible hidden depths of your Merc. Sprinter, such as all the doors (all 5 of them) etc. etc.
Phil
Unfortunately these days for those who are used to shopping at Halfords and similar such companies, there are significantly better rust curing/preventing products on the market these days that are being very widely used in the classic car and similar user areas.
One of the companies producing absolute state of the art products is Bilt Hamber, a UK based and owned company who manufacture all of their brilliant products in the UK. They are not cheap, but they are fail safe.
As a company they are also very approachable and whenever I have had any questions to ask, they answer them in an amazingly helpful way which is so unlike so many companies these days.
I have just had a look through what they have on offer in their extensive rust treatment range and this one looks like it might be one offering you the kind of performance you are looking for Robert https://www.bilthamber.com/corrosion-protection-and-rust-treatments/hydrate-80
Another of their products which I have used extensively is their Dynax S-50 which is a thin rust curing/coating spray for spraying into hidden box sections, sills, door bottoms, Land Rover bulkheads etc. etc., it is in my opinion a truly brilliant product and one which is perfect for use in the inaccessible hidden depths of your Merc. Sprinter, such as all the doors (all 5 of them) etc. etc.
Phil
SquirrellCook
Forum Member
The down side of any of these products is the amount of time required before you know it works. Looks interesting though.
wildebus
Forum Member
This is very true. Like so many treatments you don't know if it works and you can't be sure if it mattered or not. (bit like Homer paying for an enti-elephant deterent in the Simpsons. Was it worth the money? Well, he didn't get attacked by an elephant so it must have been?)
I used the KRUST treatment on the window cutouts on my LT which turned out to be very rusty when the windows were taken out (I am guessing when the holes were made back in 2003, little or no protection was used on the cut edges when converted from Panel van to Minibus?).
There were rust streaks down the paintwork in a few cases. I used KRUST to stabilize the cutouts back in Sept/Oct 2017 and so far to date no problems and no streaks.
RAW
Forum Member
Dear Phil (@Millie Master )
Thanks for the recommendations, I have bought a few things from them including what you mentioned plus trying the surface cleaner out.
As I am now pretty busy doing my CPC course I will look to get some paint sent off to the people @wildebus mentioned early next week. meant to call them today but forgot
Hope everyone is well
Robert
Thanks for the recommendations, I have bought a few things from them including what you mentioned plus trying the surface cleaner out.
As I am now pretty busy doing my CPC course I will look to get some paint sent off to the people @wildebus mentioned early next week. meant to call them today but forgot
Hope everyone is well
Robert
RAW
Forum Member
Will do - seems more expensive than products like Krust but I made a bit of money through selling stuff on EBay during this lockdown recently so that's getting mowed back into Van