valex wrote: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.

Too coarse for basecoat. P600 is fine for a solid colour like white.

Good decision on doing the whole roof though. Trying to do spot repairs and multiple clear coat blends on a roof would be a nightmare.

Have been sanding the van for a few days now.
Please look at the type of rust I am dealing with. Progression of pictures shows that the spots are barely visible, but when I scrape a bit with a small pick, you see small rust spot under primer.

The pictures are backwards, the lowest one is first (above)

Sometimes its a barely visible scratch.

Am I doing everything right?
I have to remove every singe one of those before epoxy primer, correct?

One area on a rear door they were so numerous, I decided to strip that area to bare metal.
Overkill or good?

All my pics are sideways, sorry...

I shot a video to understand better what I am talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyrMZKlQWSY

valex wrote:Overkill or good?

No, you're doing fine. Make sure they're well feathered, then epoxy.

I am sure some areas will need glaze putty, I am planning on that. Is it better to do it after epoxy and before filler primer?

This is how the van looks like right now.

Unless you're planning on showing it I wouldn't spend the huge amount of effort it would take to get those panels dead straight. Further, those great big flat panels will vibrate and flex all over the place so the last thing you want is any kind of thick coating that will end up cracking with the movement. That's not even thinking about the cost of a glaze putty or even spray bog that will mostly end up as dust on the ground.

Do your basic metal work to fix any dents that need fixing and then epoxy. Block to denib as necessary and go with your top coats. You can fill over epoxy if you want - just recoat that area with epoxy after blocking flat.

This job already looks like it's growing beyond your original plan and, believe me. has the potential to turn into a Golden Gate Bridge painting project if you let it get out of hand. I get that you want to nip the rust in the bud and want a van that is presentable, but, at the end of the day, it is still a utility/work vehicle. I'd even consider going with 3 coats of single stage urethane rather than basecoat/clearcoat. If you use a quality product it will work out cheaper and you'll still get the protection you want/need, while halving the work.

Thanks, Chris!
I already have a gallon of epoxy 1:1, so 2 gallons sprayable.
And a gallon of clear, which might not be enough.
The local store is not open, but I can text the guy what I need and make an appointment to pick it up.
There are no dents to use filler, maybe just one spot, the rest is just putty I was thinking, since areas where I am taking it to metal will be a hair lower.
It is a work van, over 300K miles, doesn't owe me a dime. The main objective is to stop the tiny rust spots from re-appearing in a couple of years AND to make the van look presentable.

My biggest question is if its necessary to remove all those tiny rust spots hiding below primer... I am afraid that some don't show on surface, but might be under paint and not visible...