RUST!

[ArmandTanzarian]

Hello all,

I've just bought a five year old GTS300. The plan (at the moment) is to ride it to VWD in Croatia next month.

Mechanically its perfect with a full service history. I got it for a very good price because the underneath is pretty nasty. The steel is still sound but the paint has long gone and there's one very small hole.

I've attacked it with a wire brush on an electric drill and I'm going to paint it with a Phosphoric acid based treatment once I've removed as much as I can.

Has anyone got any recommendations of what to paint over it after that? I appreciate that ideally it wants stripping and blasting but this is just a quick fixer upper to get me to Croatia and back and then through an MOT or two.

[ForemanBob]

I'd use Tetrasyl Stonechip paint.... its anti rust and work chip or flake...

[onthelam]

Get it wet blasted and then paint it with Hammerite stone chip. . Surface prep is the key. Don't bodge it otherwise you'll only have to wet blast it again.

[psychedelicropcircle]

5 litres of unleaded and a match would suffice....

[bristolmod]

I don't know anything about Vespas at all- is that a box section thats rusted?

If so I fear you may be wasting your time unless you can treat the insides of the box as well.

TBH thats shocking in a vehicle of just 5 years old in this day and age- it would appear that there is no rustproofing at all! I've had 50 year old Lambrettas in original paint which are far far better than that.

Chris

[GLscoot]

I would start with 'Krust' as it converts the surface rust back to useable metal. I don't know the technical side of this process, but it does work. Then use whatever paint finish you want. I would also finished it off with a good dose of ACF50.

[ArmandTanzarian]

The previous owner had it serviced regularly but never washed it. As it was his daily transport it accumulated 5 winters worth of salt and other road crud. That said. the rustproofing on modern Vespas is more or less non-existant. I think its a proud Italian tradition that peaked with 1970s Lancias.

It is a box section, my plan is to deal with the outside and then drench the insides in ACF50. This isn't a long term purchase. It has to get me to Croatia and back and that's about it. I'll probably sell it for what I paid for it and someone will get a mechanically sound but somewhat scabby scoot with more rust protection than it came with when it left the factory.

[ArmandTanzarian]

The previous owner had it serviced regularly but never washed it. As it was his daily transport it accumulated 5 winters worth of salt and other road crud. That said. the rustproofing on modern Vespas is more or less non-existant. I think its a proud Italian tradition that peaked with 1970s Lancias.

It is a box section, my plan is to deal with the outside and then drench the insides in ACF50. This isn't a long term purchase. It has to get me to Croatia and back and that's about it. I'll probably sell it for what I paid for it and someone will get a mechanically sound but somewhat scabby scoot with more rust protection than it came with when it left the factory.

[Toddy]

5 litres of unleaded and a match would suffice....

[shocky]

Thats not unique to the gts range piaggio have long been stingy with paint my last 5 year px looked like that the mudguard bubbled along the seam and the lower headset was riddled with scabs of paint that in a breeze would float away I treated my gts when I had it (11 months old at the time) inside with waxoil and underneath with that horrible black tetroyseal stuff 6 years on no rust to talk of