on 29/3/03 10:46 pm, Road Trip wrote:

> Well maybe. But we have MORE vanagons here in the northwest than anyplace
> Ive seen, more constant rain and moisture, and I almost NEVER see seam rust
> or rust like that in our vans.
> -s

Here in not so rainy but still damp Victoria, it is not an uncommon site to
see the tell-tale signs of lower panel rust.

When I re-painted my van, almost 3 years ago, I stripped the interior and
dealt with the initial stages of wall rust. The main problem was a the joint
between the floor and wall.

I ground the surface rust out and used rust converter followed by rust paint
then wax/tar. I also sealed the services and fridge exhaust with caulk as
Chris has previously mentioned.

I insulated the wall with self adhesive roofing material, then fibreglass
pink, then a poly vapour barrier. I glued down the vapour barrier around the
services ports so that if they did leak the moisture would not be trapped in
the insulation  Of course I realised the problem with the vapour barrier, ie
trapping moisture. I have checked (last year), and all is dry. Will check
again this year when I replace the fridge cooling fin fan.

Alistair

--
'82 Westy -> diesel converted to gas in '94
albell@uvic.ca
http://members.shaw.ca/albell