[T3] battery woes... Re: I pulled my Interstate battery july 12th to check the level , found the Interstae MT-42 was leakin

[William J]

 I  have more of an issue with a new interstate battery leaking in the first 
place.
As I said since 85 when I got this car and had replaced batteries through 
the years and never had one leak .

 When I got this car it already had some surface rust , not thick rust . If 
I had wire brushed it and painted it back then it would still look like new 
. Half the area was still factory paint. In fact the surface rust it had 
never got worse . On my 73 SB the floor under the battery about 7" x 4.5" is 
stamped about 1/8" lower than the rest and it had no rust at all it was 
mainly where the battery bottom touches the floor pan and the factory paint 
was not very thick at least in the lowered area so I assume the paint wore 
though because even though it had the stock hold down and nut the previous 
owner didn't use it and enough time of even slight battery movement would 
wear through the paint. The surfast rust was the result of bear metal and 
either damp air or battery fumes from the vents . Also when I got this car 
the fresh air box drain was plugged  so when I wet sanded it to paint the 
car the floor was full of water so I pulled all the carpet and dried it as 
well as the floor and the tar matt is still in tact and no surface rust any 
where just under the battery and the front hold down . Used compressed air 
at work to blow all the water out from under the tar matt since the floor 
has ribs and it still looks fine.

 When ever I get around to it I'll just wire brush the rust off and prime 
and paint and it will be good enough. It's not like most states who use salt 
to melt snow and ice or salt air that rusts cars here in Hollywood ,CA . I 
see old cars with no rust at all even with chipped paint some from the 60's 
that are far from restored  In IL every car was rusted in a few years.

 I can't tell what a battery matt would do the description does not say.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Forsmo" <gbforsmo at gmail.com>
To: <type3 at vwtype3.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2017 3:29 PM
Subject: Re: [T3] battery woes... Re: I pulled my Interstate battery july 
12th to check the level , found the Interstae MT-42 was leakin


> IMHO, (being a "dyed-in-the-wool stocker") adding an accessory like a
> Battery Mat is more of a Band-Aid than a fix.
> Sufficient, long-term repair of a leaking battery case may be fraught with
> repeated problems, down the road.
> 1.)  For the cost of a new Group 42 battery, leaking should be a thing of
> the past.
> 2.)  Preparing the "rusted" floor pan, even if it's minor, should be
> accomplished ... first.
>
> My choice of fixing the floor pan is POR-15.
>
> We *successfully* repaired the battery compartment of our diesel-powered
> motor home with POR-15 on March 13, 2008.  9 years later the 5-step, 
> POR-15
> still looks like new.  The battery compartment floor is ~26" X 22"and 
> holds
> 4 batteries.  The steel compartment floor had "rusted", & about 5" up the 
> 3
> sidewalls.
>
> The first order of business was to:
>
> Remove the 4 batteries and all battery hold-down clamps
>
> 1.)  Wire brush the floor and sidewalls & vacuum clean
> 2.)  Brush, roll or spray on a liquid, degreaser Marine Clean, ... rinse a
> let dry
> 3.)  Brush, roll or spray on Prep & Ready to etch the metal, .... rinse 
> and
> dry
> 4.)  Brush, roll or spray on the POR-15 and let dry
> 5.)  Brush, roll or spray on a good quality Enamel Paint.
>
> I would use POR-15 again, with confidence, that it would last for a long
> time.
>
>
> -- 
> Gary "Frito" - '69 Squareback, FI, MT, One-owner
> Rockport, TX (winter)
> Lake Geneva, WI (summer)
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