Rust and respray

Day Lewin

Hi boardsies...

My dear old campervan van has a bit of rust in the roof, showing through the paint. A bit on the bonnet too.

I love my van - a Citroen Relay conversion - but I know very little about cars in the mechanical sense.

Can this rust be treated and the van resprayed with a different colour?
What firm does this work? Dublin-ish, if possible.

autumnalcore

Day Lewin wrote: »

Hi boardsies...

My dear old campervan van has a bit of rust in the roof, showing through the paint. A bit on the bonnet too.

I love my van - a Citroen Relay conversion - but I know very little about cars in the mechanical sense.

Can this rust be treated and the van resprayed with a different colour?
What firm does this work? Dublin-ish, if possible.

You're probably talking €1100 to have the roof and bonnet resprayed.

Preparation is the hard bit as the roof is always covered in a mixture of algae, moss, lichen etc.

If its the top of the roof I would sand and treat the rust and roller it with rustoleum combicolor.

Powerhose to remove thick deposits then scrub with a good cleaner e.g fenwicks does a good job on algae, moss etc.

https://www.halfords.ie/camping-and-leisure/caravan-and-motorhomes/fenwicks-caravan-cleaner-1l-220921.html

I would probably still degrease at this point, 'elbow grease' you can buy in deals mr price etc. if actually very decent contains same phosphates you get in expensive degreasers.

Then you would need to scuff the roof with scotchbrite or similar pads.

Then you sand the rusty areas before applying rust converter to the rust spots once all the rust has turned blue black, lightly sand those areas before overpainting the lot with a couple of coats of combicolor.

Day Lewin

autumnalcore wrote: »

You're probably talking €1100 to have the roof and bonnet resprayed.

Preparation is the hard bit as the roof is always covered in a mixture of algae, moss, lichen etc.

If its the top of the roof I would sand and treat the rust and roller it with rustoleum combicolor.

Powerhose to remove thick deposits then scrub with a good cleaner e.g fenwicks does a good job on algae, moss etc.

https://www.halfords.ie/camping-and-leisure/caravan-and-motorhomes/fenwicks-caravan-cleaner-1l-220921.html

I would probably still degrease at this point, 'elbow grease' you can buy in deals mr price etc. if actually very decent contains same phosphates you get in expensive degreasers.

Then you would need to scuff the roof with scotchbrite or similar pads.

Then you sand the rusty areas before applying rust converter to the rust spots once all the rust has turned blue black, lightly sand those areas before overpainting the lot with a couple of coats of combicolor.

Wow, thank you for the comprehensive and thorough reply!

This sounds really effective. The result must be as good as new.
(But a LOT of work, LOL!)

I'll do it if I have to - but I was wondering are there any companies that do it?

pongo69

hi try hammerite smooth straight on to rust i did my bonnet and it looks good

Alkers

autumnalcore wrote: »

You're probably talking €1100 to have the roof and bonnet resprayed.

Preparation is the hard bit as the roof is always covered in a mixture of algae, moss, lichen etc.

If its the top of the roof I would sand and treat the rust and roller it with rustoleum combicolor.

Powerhose to remove thick deposits then scrub with a good cleaner e.g fenwicks does a good job on algae, moss etc.

https://www.halfords.ie/camping-and-leisure/caravan-and-motorhomes/fenwicks-caravan-cleaner-1l-220921.html

I would probably still degrease at this point, 'elbow grease' you can buy in deals mr price etc. if actually very decent contains same phosphates you get in expensive degreasers.

Then you would need to scuff the roof with scotchbrite or similar pads.

Then you sand the rusty areas before applying rust converter to the rust spots once all the rust has turned blue black, lightly sand those areas before overpainting the lot with a couple of coats of combicolor.

I would do this but instead of sanding and treating rust I would get it cut out and welded, then paint it yourself. I'd you sand and treat it, it will come back in a couple of years.

I've combicoloured my whole van, it looks decent, nowhere near showroom but if it's an old van that you're not keeping immaculate I'd highly recommend it

autumnalcore

No way is it worth welding the roof noone can see it if the rust is very bad you just go over the roof with chlorinated rubber or similar and it will outlive the van by a couple of decades.

jmreire

Can you post some pics? Cutting out metal sections in any car / van / camper etc. is a really skilled professional job,,,and it's expensive too. There has been a lot of clean down rusty spots and repaint post's on here...and that's what I'd recommend too ( assuming that that its only surface rust, and without large holes in the metal.? But like I have said,,,some pics would help.

pongo69

jmreire wrote: »

Can you post some pics? Cutting out metal sections in any car / van / camper etc. is a really skilled professional job,,,and it's expensive too. There has been a lot of clean down rusty spots and repaint post's on here...and that's what I'd recommend too ( assuming that that its only surface rust, and without large holes in the metal.? But like I have said,,,some pics would help.

look on youtube all you need to know

Day Lewin

It all sounds a a bit daunting for my limited DIY skills.
I was hoping somebody could recommend a good company that would do this - sand down, treat rust, respray - if necessary, the whole van.

I don't think the rust has gone right through the metal - I really hope not - how would I know?

Pictures attached. Bonnet.

bother, trouble attaching.

Day Lewin

Next pic...

Day Lewin

And the roof - was treated before but didn't last.

jmreire

Day Lewin wrote: »

It all sounds a a bit daunting for my limited DIY skills.
I was hoping somebody could recommend a good company that would do this - sand down, treat rust, respray - if necessary, the whole van.

I don't think the rust has gone right through the metal - I really hope not - how would I know?

Pictures attached. Bonnet.

bother, trouble attaching.

That's all surface rust, most of that will clean off with a good sandpapering, priming and repainting. Based on the pics, its not a bad case. I've seem worse, and much worse than that.

jmreire

pongo69 wrote: »

look on youtube all you need to know

No need for TouTube, I've worked at this job, in the trade.

Day Lewin

jmreire wrote: »

No need for TouTube, I've worked at this job, in the trade.

Can you recommend someone that I could gladly pay to do it?

jmreire

Day Lewin wrote: »

Can you recommend someone that I could gladly pay to do it?

Pm me, about where you are, and I'll see if I can help you.

I wouldn't paint rust. It's not a lasting repair. Abrasively clear the rust, then seal, then paint.
My van looks best when it's dirty.

Don't use easy sand filler..it absorbs water. Use a closed cell type or resin. Like P40.

If you are gonna paint rust Vactan is the job it's a chemical neutraliser and primer in one. It actually sticks to rust better than metal.