You never know until you check. Someone started rambling a few weeks ago 
about rust treatment...that led me to the local toxic shelf at Wal-Mart 
where I found this stuff called "One-Step" which claims to turn rust into 
primer. Yeah, right. What it seems to do ...and I'm no chemist... is stop 
the oxidation process and seal the rust. I guess you could call that 
primer, but it seems like a reach to me. (*WARNING: If you check into 
this, read the label; it's kinda scary...rantings about "blood problems" 
in laboratory animals. Maybe this will go the way of halon?)

Anyway, I realized that my rusting bus might have a chance for long life
if I could stop most of the rust, so I decided to go for it. 'Sides, this
One-Step only costs $3.5 a can; not much to loose for the experiment. (I 
already have protective gloves, goggles, etc. If you don't, be sure to 
read the label.)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
So far, so good. I started in the cargo hatch above the engine
compartment.  I knew there was rust there under the cushion. Darn, it goes
under the fold-down seat...so I took that out. Oh, man, here it goes under
the closet...out with the closet. I kept going and now my westy interior
is in the garage along with the plywood floor and wall panels. What I
found were spots of rust and lots of white paint. Seems some PO must have
been THE actual IDIOT even Muir could not reach. Looks like he/she saw rust
spots forming and sprayed paint over them (probably chanting "rust, rust,
go away" and smoking seeds and stems). 

In pursuit of my experiment, I've discovered some very interesting things:

1. Louvered windows aren't hard to remove, but they're a little tricky to
reinstall. Top goes in first, but not too far. (And missing half of the
screws in that louvered window may account for the rattle I'm always
hearing.)

2. Leaky vent-wings will lead to ...or at least contribute to rust holes 
in the floor/side of the bus. (I'm gonna have to replace this; any tips 
on economical solutions appreciated. Seals and parts for these are 
expensive...I'm thinking of getting a solid glass window and loosing the 
vent wing. Not a GOOD option, but one I can afford.)

3. My bus must have spent some time partially under water. I keep finding
fresh water clam shells. Of course, these could have been implanted by
some furry inhabitant (or maybe the DPO got the munchies REALLY bad one
time), but they do show up in the d*mndest places...like inside the
auxiliary heater duct. Hopefully I've found the last one. 

4. I've piddled around with body repair on the bus since I got her last
July, but I really didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. With the 
interior out, I feel like I am. (I would love to just strip everything 
off the bus: engine, tranny, shifter linkage, lights, top, etc. and 
tackle the body; then reassemble. Too bad I don't have a good setup to 
do that.) Of course, I'm working from the inside out, but now, for
example, instead of seeing the rust hole in front of the rear passenger
wheel from the outside only, I can see both sides and make a valid
assessment of the damage. 

Later today, I'm planning on removing the roof panels. I know these will 
be a pain to reinstall, but they're a little warped and part of my 
process is to remove the fiberglass/asbestos insulation. I'm planning on 
doing the foam insulation thing.

I have definitely embarked on a summer project. I wish I could take time
off and just work on the bus until she was completely healed, but I know
this isn't possible for me. 

I'm happy to report that (contrary my earlier thoughts) my bus probably
isn't doomed to rusting away into oblivion...at least not in the next 10
or 15 years. 8) Joe

----------------------------------------------------------
Joseph F. Fournier II <jfourni@comp.uark.edu> 501.575.7353
<a href="http://comp.uark.edu/~jfourni/"> Joe Fournier</a>
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