So now that I have been crawling around the van for about a week, I have noticed a pretty significant amount of rust..uhmm....Everywhere...So..I was wondering about buying 10 cans of undercoating and just blasting the whole frame..will that work? Nothing has really rusted through, but we are moving North from GA, and I would like to van to be ready for sallt and snow..

Suggestions VERY welcome

 

No "just blasting the whole frame" if you have "rust..uhmm....Everywhere" is unlikely to do much good & can actually cause harm. Undercoating sprayed over rust is like a bandaid on a bullet wound. Trying to stop rust requires lots of careful & time consumng surface preparation. Dirt & loose rust must be removed 1st & it's difficult to do well, especially in hard to get at seams & crevices that rust likes most. It's 9 parts preparation to 1 part coating.

Besides, the frame is massively thicker than the body panels & not usually subject to rusting thru. It's rust perforating body panels that lets water & corrosives in, that then eat away essentially untreated thin steel from the backside that's the bane of vehicles "getting older".

If you've got the energy to pressure wash, needle scale & wire brush "uhmm....Everywhere" there's rust, down to sound steel, you'd be better off trying stuff like POR-15 by brush. These low viscosity paints do a fair job of soaking in & penetrating where no spray "blasting" typically reaches. It's a dirty job, but "blasting" w/spray undercoating from below often misses the spots that need the most help.

I'd start w/critical things 1st. Look for rust on brake lines, the oil pan, gas tank & any body section that will be perforated by rust, like drip edge & rocker panel. If you're worried about Econoline's stout ladder frame rusting out I'd be concerned about roadworthiness.

 

To be honest, I really was not too concerned about the frame, its just intimidating looking at the entire undercarriage and its all covered in surface rust. I understand the principles behind surface preparation when it comes to inhibiting corrosion, and I'm sorry I didnt explain that in my first post. I am guessing from your reply that the frame would be the last thing to worry about. As far as the panels and such are concerned, the wheel wells have some rough spots, and so do the areas above the back doors, I was honestly thinking that maaco would do a pretty decent job on those.

My #1 concern is definately roadworthiness, we bought the van to replace our 2010 Odyssey which is getting a little tight with 5 kiddos!

Thanks

 

When you replaced a 2010 Odyssey w/an Econoline that's "getting older" how old are you talking?

IMO "blasting" undercoating out of spray cans is OK for cleaned open areas, but can be very limited when it comes to hitting the confined areas where dirt/salt/moisture accumulates & rust loves to develop.

When I think of "maaco" I think of quickie bargain priced paint jobs that never even look "at the entire undercarriage".

 

The Van I bought is a 1997 E-350 extended clubwagon with the V10. We replaced the Ody to get out from under a car payment, I am in the process of medically retiring from the military. The Van it self is in great shape with the exception of what was noted earlier..

I would love to do the body work myself, just worried that I dont have the experience neccessary to do any of it. My preservation experience has been on board submarines, where the general consensus was that another layer of paint helped hold the ship together!

Are there any chains that you would recommend? or should I try and find an independent to do the body work?

Thanks

 

check out " Eastwood's " they have a rust killer product that you could try, I used it on a floor pan that was almost rusted through and it stopped the rust and left a hard durable surface, you can put in over rusted areas.

Eastwood Rust Converter - Convert Rust in One Step

 

I second on the rust converter on solid rusty metal. Prep per the instructions. You can then coat it with paint or I prefer spray on bed liner from a spray can. The other thing is to spray the insides of the doors, rockers, etc. with some heavy oil. Delute it with some solvent and then spray in inside the doors. It will seep into all the small gaps and keep moisture out. Some of the best material to spray into the voids is wax. A low melting temp. wax sprayed in there will then firm up and stay put. Seals as well as oil but won't leak out to stain your driveway. Used by some OEMs.
I know my older VW race car has it.

 

EM1/SS: First, welcome to the Forum and thank you for your service.

Living in the NorthEast I can sympathize with your concern and have done a lot of that work myself. Your options are 2:

A- Entire DIY, with several products, POR and Eastwood were mentioned too. Rust Bullet is also a good product. IIRC, someone else in this Forum recommended Chassis Savers. You should research these systems, because they have similarities, but different approaches as well. Decide on one. I have worked with POR and Rust Bullet. I prefer Rust Bullet, I found it easier/cheaper to use. Read thru their material, they tell you how to prepare properly for their respective products.

B- Your 2nd option is to go to a place like Rustop and get it done, preferably annually.

Do a little reading and go ahead and do it. I usually do rustproofing in Aug, Sep after beach trips. I also do $ 10 chassis wash after every snow storm.

 

Another thing that improves rust protection is underbody panels. Many people use them for improving fuel economy, but that also protects lines, brackets, tank, etc from the elements.

I did some of these panels myself, primarily to protect my under-body 2nd battery, HVAC lines, new brake and fuel lines from road debris as well. The best material I found was Coroplast, but sure take a trip at Home Depot or a Signage shop and check out what materials you can use. Exhaust can be covered with perforated material or netting, since it needs airflow to cool. Coroplast is cheap, easy to work and pretty resistant to the elements.

 

media blast the rust right off then coat with the eastwood stuff and you're set for a long time.