Yeah, that's the right way to do it. I went with the wire brush, wire wheel,
Picklex metal prep with a Por-15 paint coat, tie coat, Resto-Grip filler and
StraightLine finish filler.  I'll be poking it every summer and I'm sure
I'll need to replace the panel at some point.

Try Cip-1 for sheet metal.
http://store.cip1.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/XXX-85A.pdf

John Meeks
'91 Vanagon MV
Northern Michigan

Vanagon Rescue Squad
www.vanagonauts.com

On Sun, May 22, 2011 at 8:58 PM, craig cowan <phishman068@gmail.com> wrote:

> I've got a similar hole in the arch right behind the driver.
> I attribute it too the sunroof drain right there, and salt.
> It's a big one though. I'll be fixing it soon I hope. Anyone have any donor
> metal? : )
>
> -Craig
>
>
>
> On Sun, May 22, 2011 at 8:17 PM, John Meeks <vanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> So... while prepping for a rear trailing arm rebushing project ( that's a
>> whole other story, the moral of which is 'kids, don't try this at home if
>> you drive in brine for part of the year.' ) I removed the fiberglass
>> cladding just fore of the rear passenger side wheel. What I found was not
>> a
>> bit pretty. An 8" rustout of the outer sheet metal right above the
>> trailing
>> arm/jack point.
>>
>> https://picasaweb.google.com/112346123305551852781/SaltbeltRustyParts#5609690386532659922
>> ( Warning!! Content is disturbing ).
>>
>> I've removed the cladding from both sides of the van between the wheels
>> and
>> they ain't going back on. I kinda like the retro late 80's look anyway.
>> I'm
>> doing the bottom rails including the jack points and trailing arm bolts in
>>  Por-15 with a flat black topcoat.
>>
>> If anyone wants the panels I removed. just send me a pmail and I'll be
>> happy
>> to ship them to you. They are in fine condition. Pix on request.
>>
>> I'll post the bushing story after I have a pro alignment and drive a bit
>> more. I used Powerflex bushes (thanks Chris (Loogy on theSamba) ) on the
>> upper control and the rear trailing arms. First impressions: SWEET!!!
>>
>> John Meeks
>> '91 Vanagon MultiVan
>> Northern Michigan
>>
>> Vanagon Rescue Squad
>> www.vanagonauts.com
>>
>
>