Small rust spots

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by MadFrankie, Sep 9, 2019.

  1. Hi all,

    I've noticed a few small pin hole rust spots developing just below the front window sill. I already know that I'm going to need to replace the front clip as it has a few other pox marks and a bent bumper from the previous owner but I want to delay that as long as possible as it will develop into a 'if I'm taking the front clip off and repainting, why don't I do the whole bus and then while I'm at it I might as well refurb the engine and then loom and the...and the...and the...'

    At the moment they are only oin head sized but is there anything filler related quick and easy I can do to plug them / stop them getting bigger too quickly?

    Would putting a cover on the front help or do they just soak up moisture and make things worse???
     
  2. It would help if you posted up a pic or two.
     
    F_Pantos likes this.
  3. They will be coming through from inside to out.
    What you see on the surface will only be small in comparison to what’s underneath.

    Stick some pics up
     
    Iain McAvoy, F_Pantos, Day and 2 others like this.
  4. Sometimes the rust starts on the inside and perforates through to the outside So what looks a pin hole turns out to be a larger patch. If you carefully take off the paint bubble with a small screwdriver you can treat the patch with Kurrust or similar and touch it up. This will buy you some time before the inevitable.
     
    ginger ninja, mgbman and F_Pantos like this.
  5. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    Or get a tin of filler, tap at each zit with a ball pein hammer until the holes stop getting bigger. Treat inside and out with Kurust. Fill and paint. The hammer makes sure you have little pits that are easier to fill.

    *note in extreme cases all that remains standing is a frame around a big hole..
     
    ginger ninja, art b, Poptop2 and 2 others like this.
  6. Bhubesi

    Bhubesi Supporter

    Give it a squirt of WD 40 once a week.
    Tony
     
  7. Here you go...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Finger pointing at the hole for sizing reference, (and no I don’t have massive fingers / am not Donald Trump or Jeremy Beadle)...
     
    Popsy and Purple like this.
  8. matty

    matty Supporter

    Do not touch it with anything sharp

    You could coat the lot with bathroom silicon
     
  9. Good you posted up some pics of the pin holes. What you have is the all too common rusted window surrounds. Water gets in under the seal and rusts away the steel.

    What are your plans to fix it? There are options depending on what you want.

    As a temporary measure you could put thick adhesive tape over it, rust bubbles to glass to keep water out. Then when you are ready you could do a permanent repair.
     

  10. That is not small pin hole rust !
     
    Poptop2, Gingerbus, paradox and 3 others like this.
  11. It's serious rot.
     
    Pickles, Gingerbus, paradox and 2 others like this.
  12. A little more than pin holes.
     
    Gingerbus, F_Pantos and snotty like this.
  13. There’s only one actual hole, the rest is ‘just’ rust at the moment.

    What I want to try to do is slow down as much as possible the rest of the rust from becoming holes.

    I know I’ll have to do something major about it soon but as I said I’m looking at this as the doorway to possibly getting the whole clip replaced and then a full respect etc.
     
  14. The problem is you wont stop the rot under the seal, water will drip down inside there and will rot out the vertical edge of the cab floor etc. I would get the front done to stop further rot and worry about the rest later
     
    MadFrankie and mgbman like this.
  15. Water has got in over a long time and caused major rusting. Its not happened overnight and you would have seen the bubbling paint and cracking long ago. You could get inside the cab and take off the kick panels and see the extent of the rot behind.
     
  16. That’s proper rotten mate if you start poking at that in the slightest it will all crumble.
     
    snotty and mgbman like this.
  17. That's what he is afraid of, opening his can of worms.
     
  18. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Of all the panels on the van the front clip is probably one you can replace without ending up going all round the van replacing panels (e.g. If rear arch needs work, then usually you'd end up doing work on the corner and the adjoining middle panel etc).

    I'd anticipate you needing a new front panel, most likely the upper windscreen panel that sits behind it and possibly work to the deformation panel and valance that sits behind it depending on how long rust has been eating into it. A winter job perhaps, ready for next spring?
     
  19. Dubs

    Dubs Sponsor supporter extraordinaire

    I can only echo the folk above really. The inside will be rotting out to the extent where covering it up on the outside will have little to no effect on slowing it down . :(

    Park it up for the winter and get stuck in, it is the best bit about owning a camper after all! :thumbsup:
     
  20. The front clip has always been a bit bubbly as it came across from America without a windscreen as it broke early in transit.

    It also had a bra on the front which I guess was to hide the chips and rust - and probably helped speed up the rusting process.

    The van has been under a canvas JK van cover the past year as I’ve had other life stuff to sort out so I’m sure that may also have accelerated it.

    The paint bubbling just rubs off and the metal underneath is rusty but solid, (with a gentle push to check), and that pin hole is the first one that has actually broken through.

    Inside looks pretty tidy, no rust behind the kick panels up to the instrument panel.

    There is a little rust I can see at the top of the panel, (obviously inside where I can see the rust outside), but without removing the panel I can’t see how bad it is. I’ll have to take some time and see what I can see with a bit more investigation.

    So, what are the suggestions, obviously long term it’s replace / cut out and fix but short term what can I do?

    Rub off the bubbles paint, treat and cover up or something better?

    Some more pics.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     

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