VW Camper & Bus

ARCH ENEMY

Many of us remember when T4 vans were new, so it often comes as a surprise when you find one with some serious rot in it. Although you’d think that corrosion resistance would have come a long way from the Split and Bay days, it’s clear nowadays that T4s can rust almost as badly. The rear arch area in particular is a common dirt trap and while, in hindsight, prevention is better than cure by keeping your arches clean, chances are they could be dust by now. If that’s indeed the case, here’s how to carry out a proper, lasting repair.

01 Prepare

Before we can break out the grinder and welder, you’ll need to prepare for the job at hand. Sometimes it’s obvious that the rear arch needs some welding but in other cases, like the van here, it was just initially thought to be surface rust. You can use a wire wheel on a grinder or a wire brush on a drill to remove the paint and surface rust around the area to check the condition, but I prefer the woven fibre discs for an angle grinder; they make short work of stripping the paint, are less noisy and don’t

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