Interested In Advertising? | Contact Us Here
Warning!

 

Welcome to Clean It Up; the UK`s largest cleaning forum with over 34,000 members

 

Please login or register to post and reply to topics.      

 

Forgot your password? Click here

Poll

Waterproofing van

Advice on waterproofing a van internally
28.6%
2 (28.6%)
Paint or professionally covered
71.4%
5 (71.4%)

Total Members Voted: 7

john paul

  • Posts: 17
Vehicle waterproofing
« on: October 02, 2016, 10:07:24 pm »
  Best way to waterproof the back of your van?

Smudger

  • Posts: 13439
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2016, 10:41:41 pm »
We had our newest sprayed with some sort of polymer looks really great and is totally waterproof ( it's what they spray the back of pickup trucks with )

Darran
Never argue with an idiot, they will only bring you down to their level, and beat you with experience

EandM

  • Posts: 2182
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2016, 10:43:20 pm »
We had our newest sprayed with some sort of polymer looks really great and is totally waterproof ( it's what they spray the back of pickup trucks with )

Darran

Bedliner ?

CleanClear

  • Posts: 14745
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2016, 10:56:59 pm »
  Best way to waterproof the back of your van?

Best way to waterproof the back of your van is make sure you have no leaks, Yes, its possible. I don't know anyone who has water spilling about on their van floor. But i know plenty who have spent a fortune in the event they do.........
*Status*--------Currently Online---------

SB Cleaning

  • Posts: 4287
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #4 on: October 03, 2016, 05:26:49 pm »
  Best way to waterproof the back of your van?

Best way to waterproof the back of your van is make sure you have no leaks, Yes, its possible. I don't know anyone who has water spilling about on their van floor. But i know plenty who have spent a fortune in the event they do.........
I have the odd leak here and there and it's never caused any problems in the 3 vans I've had...

Complete waste of time and money painting/lining the back.

Smudger

  • Posts: 13439
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2016, 05:48:33 pm »
  Best way to waterproof the back of your van?

Best way to waterproof the back of your van is make sure you have no leaks, Yes, its possible. I don't know anyone who has water spilling about on their van floor. But i know plenty who have spent a fortune in the event they do.........

i suggest you look at some of the back threads many on here including me have left the van filling to return to six inches of water in the footwell  :-X

in therory the odd drip here and there wouldnt cause a problem, but certainly with staff and doing a large cross section of services puddles and spills are a regular thing id rather spend £400 now waterproofing the van than find its rotted out prematurely a few years down the line.

Darran



Never argue with an idiot, they will only bring you down to their level, and beat you with experience

Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2016, 06:25:45 pm »
My advice for what it is worth..........
Remove any ply lining you have on floor ( that can hide and mask spillages ), and leave it at that.
I know others will advise you to protectakote, speedline etc. and I have in the past and in my opinion it was a waste of my time, effort and money.

Unless your van is a pile of rust in first place then the floor will be painted, that in itself should be enough protection, invest in good leak free fittings instead at a fraction of the cost and if worried about scratching or chipping  the floor lay a rubber mat down.

cgh window cleaning

  • Posts: 547
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2016, 07:56:04 pm »
Most on here will say it's not worth it but if you plan to buy a decent van thats cost you good money and the amount most claim on here to earn £500 to get the van properly lined  is not a lot.
It won't just stop rust but when you go to sell it on a quick wash down it will look as good as new and it won't smell of damp like most window cleaning vans.
I had mine applied with speed liner.

Susan Dean (1stclean)

  • Posts: 2064
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #8 on: October 03, 2016, 08:43:13 pm »
as above speedliner all the way we have had around 14 of them done over the ybears , we are running one that been fiber glassed as well with mixed results ,

Smudger

  • Posts: 13439
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2016, 09:07:58 pm »
Yes the floor is painted however water does not just lay on the flat part of the floor it works its way into panels where they are only spot welded together leaving the water to sit and attack these joints and voids

We had ours line-x 'ed great job non slip full protection

Darran
Never argue with an idiot, they will only bring you down to their level, and beat you with experience

CleanClear

  • Posts: 14745
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #10 on: October 03, 2016, 09:30:31 pm »
  Best way to waterproof the back of your van?

Best way to waterproof the back of your van is make sure you have no leaks, Yes, its possible. I don't know anyone who has water spilling about on their van floor. But i know plenty who have spent a fortune in the event they do.........

i suggest you look at some of the back threads many on here including me have left the van filling to return to six inches of water in the footwell  :-X

in therory the odd drip here and there wouldnt cause a problem, but certainly with staff and doing a large cross section of services puddles and spills are a regular thing id rather spend £400 now waterproofing the van than find its rotted out prematurely a few years down the line.

Darran

I seen your later reply too. I largely agree. There's a few things changed over the years....i imagine most of us now do not have RO's in our vans so no incessant dripping. But in anycase as you point out...even if you got drips and wet on the floor, where it all gonna go ? Thats why i'm a big anti proponent of painting your van floor and a foot up the sides with Protektacote, its just a waste of money. Speedliner, or fibreglass shells i've no experience of , they look great. I've found just curing leaks solves any problems your going to have. And lets face it, most of us now know that pure water is not really the acidic rust eating dirt eating beast we all thought it was. To really eat through your van floor you're gonna need to add virosol or G101, what ratio i'm not sure !!!    ;D  You get the point.......
*Status*--------Currently Online---------

Spruce

  • Posts: 8465
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #11 on: October 03, 2016, 09:53:19 pm »
  Best way to waterproof the back of your van?

Best way to waterproof the back of your van is make sure you have no leaks, Yes, its possible. I don't know anyone who has water spilling about on their van floor. But i know plenty who have spent a fortune in the event they do.........

i suggest you look at some of the back threads many on here including me have left the van filling to return to six inches of water in the footwell  :-X

in therory the odd drip here and there wouldnt cause a problem, but certainly with staff and doing a large cross section of services puddles and spills are a regular thing id rather spend £400 now waterproofing the van than find its rotted out prematurely a few years down the line.

Darran

I'm famous for doing that. I'm too easily distracted.

The car derived vans are the issue as the van floor is higher than the footwells. We found the ideal situation is to fiberglass the floor and a short way up the sides to create a bathtub so all spillages will go out through the rear doors.

My Citroen Relay has the cargo load floor lower than the front footwell so a filling overflow will go out the doors anyway.

I would always paint with a non slip protective paint. We have successfully used Protectakote in the past. I would not leave the van floor just factory painted if you get into the back of it for any reason.

When I was a new van salesman all vans came with a 'bare' floor. I climbed into one to show a customer. My shoes were wet and I slipped landing half out of the van on my back and banging my head on the tarmac. I was bruised and in pain for quite a while. Never sold that customer a van either.

So I agree with Barry Scott about removong the ply floor but disagree with his not painting the floor with protective paint.

.
Success is 1% inspiration, 98% perspiration and 2% attention to detail!

The older I get, the better I was ;)

CleanClear

  • Posts: 14745
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #12 on: October 03, 2016, 10:44:22 pm »


I would always paint with a non slip protective paint. We have successfully used Protectakote in the past. I would not leave the van floor just factory painted if you get into the back of it for any reason.



Actually Spruce, that the exact reason i gave up using protectakote, it just wore away, I had a tranny van, it just wore out bare. I now have a Berlingo, unpainted. I've yet to see the steel or what ever it is under the paint. Obviously i can't walk about in it, but never the less.......the tranny i could.
*Status*--------Currently Online---------

Smudger

  • Posts: 13439
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #13 on: October 04, 2016, 07:00:54 am »


I would always paint with a non slip protective paint. We have successfully used Protectakote in the past. I would not leave the van floor just factory painted if you get into the back of it for any reason.



Actually Spruce, that the exact reason i gave up using protectakote, it just wore away, I had a tranny van, it just wore out bare. I now have a Berlingo, unpainted. I've yet to see the steel or what ever it is under the paint. Obviously i can't walk about in it, but never the less.......the tranny i could.


thats a bit like comparing apples to oranges
Never argue with an idiot, they will only bring you down to their level, and beat you with experience

Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #14 on: October 04, 2016, 08:42:10 am »
I can understand the benefits of Speedliner and it being a quality and professional product, if you have bought a brand new van and have the budget it is probably a small price to pay and a good investment. Protectakote on the other hand is not.
Given its DIY application you can either spend a good weekend doing a top job or a bodged one depending on preparation, application and your attention span to seeing the job through. I'd sooner lay down a rubber mat if non slip is a requirement - cheaper, instant, removeable and changeable if/when to another vehicle. There is a huge difference in quality between the two products. Personally I've never had a brand new van and never intend to ( if I did I would probably Speedliner ) . I would never use Protectakote again and would sooner leave the floor in factory condition for resale ( just use a rubber mat and/or keep the ply to replace when you sell on ).

Klean07

  • Posts: 3228
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #15 on: October 04, 2016, 08:50:58 am »
One of my competitors has installed stainless steel kickplate to his van floor looks impressive though not sure if its the answer!
kkleanwindowcleaning.co.uk

Og

Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #16 on: October 04, 2016, 05:31:26 pm »
Mmmmmm Ali checker plate

Mick Kent

  • Posts: 1380
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #17 on: October 04, 2016, 06:03:55 pm »
I have never done anything to the back of my vans regarding waterproofing or painting. Never had any problems or issues at all. Defo a waste of time and money.

Smurf

  • Posts: 8538
Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #18 on: October 04, 2016, 06:10:11 pm »
I have never done anything to the back of my vans regarding waterproofing or painting. Never had any problems or issues at all. Defo a waste of time and money.

+1

I've always had oldish vans so not that worried the back gets wet now and again and like Mick never had any issues. 
Mind I tend to keep well away from rust buckets like older transits as they soon rot out.

8weekly

Re: Vehicle waterproofing
« Reply #19 on: October 04, 2016, 06:13:44 pm »
I have never done anything to the back of my vans regarding waterproofing or painting. Never had any problems or issues at all. Defo a waste of time and money.

+1

I've always had oldish vans so not that worried the back gets wet now and again and like Mick never had any issues. 
Mind I tend to keep well away from rust buckets like older transits as they soon rot out.
+2.