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Seems that im rotting out at each of the main support beams in the rear of the truck. The beams themselves are not rotting, just the sheet metal in the bed. I'll need to cut it out and patch it over. It appears that all of the plastic caps that are supposed to be in the lubrication holes are lost and no one has injected anything into the support members in quite some time.

Couple questions: Where can i get replacement caps for the lubrication points and what should i use now that its has not been maintained in an unknown length of time?

Rubber plugs from the harware store seem to work fine on mine. I would try and get a soda blaster tip in there (even cut an access hole if needed) and blast all the rust scale out. Then use water and wash all the soda way. Once dry I would flood the area POR-15 to encapsulate the metal. This is what I always do to my VW's that suffer from this. On your truck I would then apply the recomended waxoil
One of the buses I did this way ten years ago sits outside, is driven near daily and to this day has no signs of new rust comming through.

That sucks! I fought the same symptoms over the years with many failures and some successes. Yes, you need to remove and replace unsound metal, then provide suitable coatings to ensure that the rust does not reappear. The problem with the spaces you describe are the seams, where the rust is in the seams and its difficult to impossible to get to them all.
I've tried many products; por 15 (difficult as you cant just topcoat over it) which I had poor results as it peeled over time; RustBullet (better than POR, and can topcoat without any special primer), and Eastwood encapsulator (best of the 3 I tried). I've had the best results with rust "converters" which chemically change the rust and acts as a primer as well, then topcoated with Eastwood products. Then, apply some "Waxoil" or brand name preventative treatment over that. I used Eastwood products with a special wand that gets into very tight places. They also have plastic plugs for where you may want to drill access holes, apply products, then seal with the plugs.

Good luck; I wish I had made minimum wage for the hours I've spent fighting this.

This summer, I finished up my rust projects and bonded aluminum plate to the floor and seating surfaces.

regards,
Michael

I've used "cold galvanizing compound" (a zinc filled paint) with great success; rust will not form (or not continue to form) until the zinc is all used up. But the biggest advantange is that the zinc will prevent rust within, oh, about 1/2" or so (maybe an inch) of were the zinc is actually at; so "pin holes" and "holidays" in the coating are a non-issue.

I've read that you want a cold galvanizing compound with a minimum of 95% zinc content, but lately I haven't been able to find stuff beyond 93% (this may be a Kalifornia thing). Still seems to work great; and on some of my outdoor projects I haven't even put on a top coat of real paint with no rust after 3+ years. And if you say that my success is due to living in So Cal, our town gets 3/4 of the rainfall that Seattle gets (just not spread out over 10 months).

Jimm:
Can your cold galvanizing paint withstand heat (muffler, barbeque, etc..)?

Can your cold galvanizing paint withstand heat (muffler, barbeque, etc..)?

No, I don't think it can withstand high temps.

Any suggestions as to what equipment/fittings to use to spray or inject the rust preventive material into the body through the body cavity holes? I thought I'd try a Waxoyl substitute that's made by mixing some wax toilet bowl rings with minerals spirits and 30W oil.

Seafoam spray comes with a loooong straw http://www.seafoamsales.com/sea-foam-spray.html (14-16 inches or so).
I took the straw off the seafoam and put it on a can of Corrosion X (http://corrosionxproducts.com/corrosionxhdpage.htm -I'm sure it would fit other brand spray cans as well). After I pulled the plugs, the straw reached just over 1/2 way between the access holes and allowed me to give a good spray in all the hidden areas. It's flexible enough to pass around corners, angle up and down to adjust the area sprayed. Don't have any long term results, but have been using it for 2 years on various stuff. Doesn't tolerate the heat of the muffler, but sticks well to everything else. Goes on like honey and dries to a waxy film.
Took me 2 cans to do a complete job.
Ed

I have been using this stuff: http://boeshield.com/features-benefits/

Regards, Kevin

This Eastwood product looks pretty good - check out the video:

http://www.eastwood.com/internal-frame- ... t_id=25961

Here's another video that pretty must has me sold on the Eastwood treatment regime for more accessible areas.

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-rust-convert ... rosol.html

Haven't tried anything yet.

Ben

EDIT (11/23/11) Changed my mind. I started another thread about "body caulk" and Shawn's reply led me to do more research. Seems like Shawn is spot on - get rid of the rust. Someone over at the VW Forum did a five-year study of several commercial rust treatments that led to this conclusion:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... &start=200

Ben