Refinishing a Rusty Floor

[ValDog]

Howdy!

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions or advice regarding paint for refinishing the van's floor.

I'm fixing up an E350 into a camper, and need to tackle the rusty interior floor at the moment. (the pics attached are of the rust removal in progress.)

I am in the process of grinding/stripping the rust right now, and will follow up with some rust converter primer. After that... Well, two options stand out but I don't know which is better. Any thoughts?

1. Rust-oleum Industrial Enamel (or some auto-gloss spray paint, also by rustoleum.) - This floor is going to be covered after all, so I think this paint will be fine. (even though it is rattle-can.) The major goal is refinishing the original interior to be free of rust, not to have a pretty floor.

2. Hammerite Rust Cap - I hear amazing things about the durability and rust stopping ability of this stuff... But is it worth the price? And is it really a durable epoxy-like finish?

So that's my conundrum. Do I spend more and brush on the Hammerite? Or do I go cheap and use the spray enamel? Keeping in mind that the refinished floor will not show - it will be covered in wood flooring in the end. (or vinyl tiles...)

What have you used to refinish parts of your interior?

 

[Malibusurfer]

I have used POR15 and had good luck with it and also "Raptor" brand which is a bedliner kit ( or any kit at your local paint jobber) you can roll on yourself or spray (reduced down). If it is going to be covered, I'd go with POR 15, then scuff it up with scotchbrite pads, then lay a beliner material over the top. It will also help with noise and heat retention some...

 

[spencyg]

Are you going to leave the corrugated floor exposed during the camper build? That is going to extremely hard on your feet and will transfer large amounts of heat/cold from the outside. It would also be very difficult to keep clean. My recommendation would be to clean up the floor with a wire brush as best you can and vacuum / wash it out very well. After a good dry, I would look for some "Rust Converter" from Napa or equivalent. That changes the remaining rust to a hard non-oxidized primer which both stops further rust creep as well as provides a very good primer base. Do a couple coats of this followed by BRUSH ON Rustoleum of your color preference. Gloss is typically harder so it might last longer. After that is all done, I'd seriously consider laying down some 1/2" plywood on top of that metal followed by your choice of floor coverings. Laying down some 1/8" foam between the metal and the plywood would go a long way toward conductive heat loss as well as some vibration and noise dampening. Floor covering could be carpet, bamboo, tile, etc.

Good luck.