Floor prep and paint

Before we could even think about insulation, flooring or starting the interior build, Brummli’s original metal floor needed some attention.

Years of working life had left it dirty, scratched and with quite a few areas of surface rust. Nothing particularly worrying, but this was the perfect opportunity to deal with it properly while the van was completely empty.

Starting with a Proper Clean

The first job was simply getting everything clean.

We washed the entire cargo floor with the Kärcher, removing years of dirt, dust and grime. Once everything had dried, we could finally see exactly what we were dealing with.

Removing the Rust

Next came the less glamorous part.

Using a steel wire brush attachment on the drill, we worked our way around the floor and removed all the loose rust and flaky paint. Every rusty area was taken back until we had a solid surface to work with.

It took a bit of time, but there is little point covering everything with insulation and a new floor if rust is quietly carrying on underneath it.

Plugging the Old Holes

As with many working vans, there were also several holes that had been drilled through the floor over the years for previous fittings and equipment.

Anything we weren’t going to use was plugged and sealed. Apart from making the floor tidy again, we didn’t want unnecessary holes allowing moisture, dirt or road spray into the van later.

Treating the Remaining Rust

Once the preparation was finished, we treated all the affected areas with rust converter paint.

This gave us an additional layer of protection and dealt with any remaining corrosion that couldn’t be completely removed mechanically. We then left everything overnight to dry properly before moving on to the final stage.

A Fresh Coat of White

The following day, we painted the complete floor with Hammerite steel paint in white.

And what a difference it made.

What had started as a tired-looking commercial van floor suddenly looked clean, bright and almost new again. More importantly, we now knew that the metal underneath our future camper floor had been properly cleaned, treated and protected.