I used an air cutting tool that was basically a very thin disk to remove
all the old rust from the seam.  ive heard a dremmel can be used too.  i
then painted it with rust mortor (as in dead rust) which is an acid that
is sold under a variety of names.  It turns any remaining rust black and
supposedly changes the chemical composition of the rust and kills it.  I
then put some caulk deep in the seams.  Then i hand painted the seam area
with metal primer.  Then i sprayed it with custom matched paint in a spray
can.  Took a long time but did'nt cost that much ($50 whole van) and rust
has yet to reappear, however its only been 1 year.

Did similar work under the windows in a few spots.  Problem was that holes
developed when i removed the rust so i patched them with auto body
filler.  Not the best way.  Somewhere there was a how-to on how to repair
the window rust.  using a little bit of welding. Anyone remember that one?

Hope this helps
Andrew Fox
86 Westy
Fort Collins CO

On Fri, 21 Jun 2002, Robert Norman wrote:

> I used a brush on rust destroyer available from my local FLAPS... Can't remember what it was called now, but it was a greenish, foul smelling liquid. After digging out the seam sealer, and wire brushing the loose rust, I liberally coated the area with this stuff.  It turned the rust into black iron oxide, thereby neutralizing it. Afterwards, I resealed the seam.  It's worked well so far.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Bob Norman
> St. John's Newfoundland
> 81 Westy
>
> >>> Dylan Spurgin <vanagon@MAIL.SPURGIN.NET> 06/21/02 03:34PM >>>
> If I ask too many questions, don't reply. :)
>
> I'm working on getting my van ready to paint. My brother is going to brush
> paint the van (he's an "artist") using touch-up paint provided by a friend
> in the body-shop business who is going to spray a clear coat on after the
> paint job.
>
> My job is to take care of the rust. And there is lots of rust. Every seam,
> it seems, is rusted. (http://www.spurgin.net/images/van/DCP_0095.JPG) I've
> removed the old trim and every rivet hole is rusted as well as underneath
> almost every window. (http://www.spurgin.net/images/van/DCP_0096.JPG)
> (http://www.spurgin.net/images/van/DCP_0080s.JPG)
>
> Right now I'm sanding down to the bare metal around every rivet hole and
> every little nick in the paint that has rust under it and then feathering
> and priming with spray Rustoleum primer.
> (http://www.spurgin.net/images/van/DCP_0072.JPG)
>
> My question is what to do about the rust in the seams and under the
> windows? I know any rust at all is BAD but I don't believe this warrants
> pulling all the panels and having them sandblasted. Is this the only way?
>
> Oh yeah, and ETKA? Can someone give me a link? I'm lost on what this
> resource is that is mentioned so often.
>
> TIA
> Dylan
> 81 Westy
> spurgin.net/westy1.htm
>