Rustproofing Van Floor (RAM ProMaster Van Conversion)
You can save a lot of money by choosing a used van for your conversion - the one downside: scratches and rust that might need to be remediated.
Minor scratches aren’t a big deal, but exposed metal, holes in the van floor, and rusty patches - are all the beginning of something much worse. Left untreated, rust can spread, eventually causing serious damage in your van’s body, eventually failing to pass inspection or severely reducing the resale value.
So if you bought a used van with some scratches, holes, and rust on the floor - read on.
Luckily, rust-proofing your used van is quick and easy (once the van has been cleaned out).
First, make sure to thoroughly clean the interior of the van and wash the floor with windex or denatured alcohol to remove any grease or oils.
Here’s how to rust-proof your van in under an hour.
Tools & materials needed:
Denatured alcohol & wash cloth
Coarse sandpaper (100-grit)
A cheap brush (POR-15 will not be easily cleaned off your brushes, so don’t get something expensive)
Steps:
Prepare the surface. Once cleaned - scan the van floor for any scratches that expose bare metal, holes, or spots where rust may be starting to form. Also pay attention to places where paint might have bubbled.
Use the sandpaper to remove as much rust as possible, for areas without rust, simple clean them and scuff the surface around the damaged area. The great thing about POR-15, is it acts like a binding and sealing agent with rust, so you don’t have to remove every little bit of rust - try to get as much as you reasonably can.
Vacuum the inside of the van thoroughly to remove the rust and paint dust from the sanding process.
Wear a face respirator with proper filtration as POR-15 vapors are incredibly harmful to inhale.
Mix POR-15 by shaking the can vigorously or stirring. Apply a generous layer of POR-15 to all of the previously-sanded areas. Apply enough paint to saturate the areas with exposed metal, but don’t apply so much that it starts to form puddles or drip.
Leave to dry for at least 24 hours for best results (in cooler weather, full curing might take as long as 48 hours)
Once dry to touch - use JB Weld to patch any holes your van floor might have. This is incredibly important in order to prevent your insulation and subfloor from collecting moisture.
Congratulations! You’ve rust-proofed your van floor. For those of you who are type A - a coat of factory-matching paint over POR-15 will make the van floor look brand new again. Technically-speaking, you can skip the color-matched paint and go forward with insulating your van as POR-15 forms a protective coat that will be resistant to moisture.
