Ford E350 drip rail rust

wera917

New member
Hello Everyone, my name is Mike been a member for a while but this is my first time posting. First, thanks to everyone that contributes to this forum, the build threads have helped me tremendously with my humble plain jane motovan build. Now..onto my problem. My van has the drip rail rust cancer, right now it's only surface rust. Local body shops do not want to give me an estimate saying they do not fix rust so it's on me. I have researched the best way to fix this and found so many conflicting solutions I'm not sure where to start, POR-15? Epoxy Primer? etc.. My goal: stop the rust, keep the van presentable.

My plan, with questions:

1. Remove silicone/caulk from drip rail with drill/wire wheel and other means.
2. Sand down surface rust with DA sander and by hand, what grit to use?
3. Treat area with some sort of cleaner unsure of what, mineral spirits?
4. Spray with epoxy primer, unsure of best kind to use?
5. Follow up with a decent top coat, unsure of what to use here as well.

This is my general outline; you guys can probably tell I do not have body work experience however I will take the time and have the patience to do this right; van must last me a long time.

A few pics:

Plain Jane, under the radar, van is loaded down with bikes in this pic
36123059446_410886d775_z.jpg

Rust :(

35995445582_3d0d3bb188_z.jpg

Thanks everyone for any suggestions :beer:

Mike
 

rex_1_mn

Observer
I have a couple spots much smaller than yours but I am considering POR 15 then to the body shop for a top coat. I have had great luck with POR on a Skoolie floor as well as axles and underbody parts.
 

Kenyi

Observer
Hi Mike,

I'm having the same problem.
What I was thinking is using UPOL raptor liner/bed liner over the roof and use there's etching primer on the rust/metal surface. There's some of the members that have used some brand of bed liner on there vans and it looks really good. What I'm not sure is if it's necessary to add caulk on the drip rails or is the Raptor liner enough to support the roof rack brackets and not crack.
 

wera917

New member
Thanks for the replys. I found a thread on the sportsmobile forum where someone used a bed liner type product, they did not add caulk to the drip rails just coated them with the liner. They were using roof racks as well.

Mike
 

Oldcarnut

Adventurer
I would sand down and remove as much rust as possible before applying anything on top of it. Only way other than complete removal of rust is POR 15 which you can paint on top of the rust and it will neutralize it. Otherwise you're just covering up the problem and not stopping it the rest will continue, just underneath.
As for the sanding part, 120 grit would work and leave good bite for top coat. Good luck with your project and do you have any interor pics with and without bikes?
 

86scotty

Cynic
Thanks for the replys. I found a thread on the sportsmobile forum where someone used a bed liner type product, they did not add caulk to the drip rails just coated them with the liner. They were using roof racks as well.

Mike

Mike, that was probably me, but I didn't just dump Raptor Liner on top of rust. I have Raptor lined a couple of vans that were rust free. I have also sanded down and prepped a van for a customer and I did the whole POR15 treatment on it. It's bulletproof and that's what I would recommend. I can't tell from the pic how much dirt and how much rust you have but you may be able to get by without removing all of that factory seam sealer goo that is in the gutter. It's not just caulk, much tougher than that. I have also used Tremco Vulkem on a van or two, before I started using POR15. Whatever you do, get it stopped soon!
 

wera917

New member
Thanks everyone, I ordered the POR-15 kit today:cleaner/degreaser, metal prep, rust preventative coating, and top coat.

Scotty86 thanks for the response I think that was your thread; what you see is almost all rust in my pic van roof was just washed.

Oldcarnut I have some pics of the inside I'll dig them out, I can fit three dirt bikes or two roadrace street bikes in the back without issue. I keep the van simple and under the radar due to having so many bikes stolen over the last few years, things have gotten out of control. Depending on where I'm going I'll use a made up church magnet sign on the side for additional under the radar help. Silly but..hey I think it works.

Plan is to start this weekend if weather permits, taking my time to methodically sand, prep, fix and repair the roof. I will document what I do, maybe this well help others learn from my rate of success.

Mike
 

BobbyJones

Observer
Depending on where I'm going I'll use a made up church magnet sign on the side for additional under the radar help. Silly but..hey I think it works.

Ingenious. Thanks for this. Much better than commercial markings...as long as you've got windows.
 
Last edited:

dar395

Adventurer
Ingenious. Thanks for this. Much better than commercial markings...as long as you've got windows.


Crap if I had the church sign up I'd need to turn off the rock and keep the cork in the wine! Butt on the other side of things; as we moved from the panel van over to the 15 pass window van we find that we can just about park anywhere and not a "soul" would saves us from our parking spot, if your looking at under the radar type of van it's windows all around with not much added that's the way we park.
 

wera917

New member
Sucks one has to go to such extremes but undetsood. Are you able to leave the middle seat in?

Yep I have the middle seat sometimes I take it out and use a make shift bed contraption I made. I built a wall behind the middle seat to separate the bikes from the front. For years I used a pick up truck and trailer for hauling bikes, they kept getting stolen at the hotels or in my driveway. Last time thieves used cordless cutters to cut through three locks including a NY Kryptonite chain lock. I'm probably more paranoid then most.

86 Scotty Thanks for posting the sportsmobile link!

Mike
 

86scotty

Cynic
I had a CBR9 stolen off an open trailer in broad daylight in the parking lot across from the Daytona 200 one time, during the race! They cut the locks and lifted it up off a sided trailer into a pickup. If they want it, they're gonna get it unfortunately. I think you'll have much better luck with a stealth van.

What cracks me up is that people can't help but stick their stickers all over any flat surface. If your van or moto trailer has moto related stickers all over it every thief knows it's a goldmine in there! I like my stickers too but I put em on the toolbox or the cooler instead of using them as 'steal me' signs on a moto hauler.
 

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