Inside panels are clean, no issues. No orange spots in door jambs or in cargo area or in cargo under plastic wall covers.

I would think you would see some "visible" at least boiling up or lifting of the paint on the interior so you might be okay. The fact that the areas remained stable when you did the SprayMax thing is encouraging as well. That obviously sealed off the outside source of the oxygen which again means it was not coming from the inside.

I don't have holes anywhere, its all on surface.
My rust issue is very mild compared to many Sprinters, since I haven't been ignoring it for years and have been touching up spots so they don't grow bigger or worse yet a hole.

The objective of this repaint is to make a permanent rust repair ( so that I don't have to touch up every year) and make the van professionally looking:)

So far the plan is :
1. Sand all flat surfaces with DA 220 and curved/ shape areas by hand with 220.
2. Epoxy primer the areas that have bare metal (ordered in grey).
3. Glaze putty those low areas to make everything straight.
4. Epoxy prime the entire van.
5. I have Filler/Sealer Primer (5star Xtreme in white).
6. Sand everything with 400 OR 600?
7. Base ( 2-3 coats?) Already got OMNI Plus in Arctic white (original color).
8. Clear ( 3 coats?) Already got PPG.

Please let me know if you see any problems with my plan or add stuff.

It's going to be done in a friend's mechanic shop with lots of room, access to a big compressor they use for impact gun, tire mounting machine, etc. It's going to be around 70F in the garage.
I got two guns- ANESTA Iwata w/ 1.8 tip for primer and Tekna ProLite with 1.2 1.3 1.4 tips and T20 and T10 caps.
What combination of tip/cap would you use for base and what for clear?
I have half-face mask, clear glasses, plenty of orange gloves, a Kobalt DA sander, plenty of masking tape, plastic, might need to get masking paper, Dawn dish soap and PurplePower de-greaser, FastEtch to treat bare metal, acetone to remove that FastEtch, will get shop paper towels and a tack cloth, have lacquer thinner for gun cleaning, strainers, mixing cups, stirrers, multiple grades of sandpaper sheets, 220, 320, 400 and 600 for DA.
I will have to get something to practice on using the guns, will start practicing on a rear step bumper that is covered with a plastic cover.

Thank you all for your knowledge sharing!!!

Make sure the shop has CLEAN AIR, no oilers. you'll need a water trap and clean hoses.
Jay D.

Took most trim off, mirrors will get removed later (forgot long Torx set ah home).
Started sanding the forehead ( area above windshield) using a backpack vacuum to catch the dust.
Most of the roof looks OK with the exception of the seams.
Is it easier to repaint entire roof anyway or I can just sand the good horizontal with 600 and add clear to that big area when I am applying clear?

badsix wrote:Make sure the shop has CLEAN AIR, no oilers. you'll need a water trap and clean hoses.
Jay D.

Thank you, I ordered a filter!

Started sanding the roof.
Have a question. The seam sealer in the gutter is not original and not smooth, I don't want to disturb it much since it seals and there's no rust there, but cannot sand it efficiently - some sheen from remnants of old clear still showing.
Can I just spray a little U-Pol adhesion promoter into the gutter before shooting epoxy primer?

Thank you,
Val

I would try a scotchbrite pad and really rub it. then if you want use the adhesion promoter do so. I know it works for certain places its designed for but I would rather mechanically abrade if at all possible. if the adhesion promoter was that good we would never need to sand a car repaint job, just shoot it with a/p and spray color.
Jay D.

Scuff thoroughly with grey Scotchbrite to remove any oxidised surface, then paint over. No need for adhesion promoter - the seam sealer is formulated to be painted.

Be aware that sanding with P600 on areas that you only intend to clearcoat will result in sanding scratches showing through.

Thank you guys,
I scuffed the areas with grey and green pads today, looks a lot better!
I decided to scuff entire roof roof with 180-220 and prime only the areas that need it (seams and burn-through places) and base coat the entire roof and then clear coat entire roof. Less masking this way too!
I will have better results on the roof this way (compared to my SprayMax job years ago... spent a lot of money on those cans, might have just gotten spray guns and a compressor:) But at least I stopped the rust from spreading!
I will keep taking pictures of the progress and report back!