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So i pulled the guts out of my V-90 this weekend, cleaned and painted everything, and tried to patch up the rust under the evaporator, but it was pretty much gone.  There were a bunch of pin holes and two or three dime sized holes that i was just barely able to JB weld. There’s not much good metal left under the evaporator area  so i gently scrubbed at the rust, but realized quickly that it's not gonna take much more pressure to make that whole rusted part drop out. So plan b (band aid fix) was to paint over the rust (i know, it's gonna come back) just to try to help a little for now. The rest of the floor area not under the evaporator is fine and cleaned up well as is the rest of the liner.

So my question is……. could i get a sheet of galvanized steel from Lowes, cut it to the size of the floor in the tank, make a new drain hole, angle it just slightly towards the drain hole, and "glue" it to what’s left of the good portion of the rotted floor using construction glue or liquid nails? Obviously  making sure to completely fill the area between the rotted floor and the underside of the new piece and sealing the edges to keep any moisture from getting between the pieces.

I know it's not technically "correct" but i figured it'd be a cost effective long term fix? Especially for a machine that's not worth a whole lot to anyone but me, and that is likely gonna stay in my house to be used on a daily basis for a long time to come.

         Patch what you need to so the water runs over it,  but try to keep the original drain setup.

So you're reccomending just patching over the badly rusted area but not the entire "floor" of the tank?

You could also use POR-15 to seal off the bottom, use fiberglass mesh or even drywall tape to bridge the larger holes then spread the POR-15 over the entire floor.  Paint it with some grey hammertone when it dries and you'll be all set.

That's an even better idea. Is that basicaly epoxy?

For the most part, but it is not a two-part solution, you just paint it right over the rust with minimal surface prep, it adheres better to the rusty surface.

Sounds great, thanks! :happydrinkers:

+ 1 on POR-15 here.  I've used it with fiberglass to repair non-structural bits (inside trunk wall, etc) in some of the cars I've restored over the years.  Great stuff.

You can get a 'starter kit' on eBay at a decent price, complete with the pre-treatment solutions that would be plenty to repair what you are after.

One friendly bit of advice - please please please - use it only in a WELL ventilated area.  The fumes from POR-15 are seriously toxic.

Jim

Will do! The room it's in leads to the backyard. I'll drag it out back and do it out doors. How long does it take to set up to the point i can put everything back together?

3-6 hours depending on the humidity.  You should be able to buy the Starter Kit for about $25 on eBay and go to town with more than enough. 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xpor15+starter+kit&_nkw=por15+starter+kit&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Don't bother trying to save the leftover POR-15, it's cheap enough. 

Seriously - read the instructions, it is not just "paint it on and go".

http://qr.absolutecoatings.com/QR-assets/downloads/POR15/POR15-Description.pdf

Awesome thanks!! :happydrinkers:

+2 on POR

Do not get it on your skin or it will be there for a month!

And don't wear anything you like, I just coated the underside of my lawn mower with the stuff. Works great but I now have a pair of jeans with a hard black spot on the leg.

Thanks for the EBay link jholmgren! I picked some up and i'll get to work next weekend!

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I think I’m going to wait until the end of the summer when it's cooler outside (which is where I’ll be doing all this) pull the liner, and replace all the insulation and do the hammer tone painting of the liner and shelves at the same time too vice just do the POR-15 on the bottom rust. There's some rusted through spots on the sides and above the compressor too that need to be addressed that were caused by this as well, and obviously the  only way to get to that it to yank the liner. So i might as well do it all and do it right the first time.

I'll report back with pics comments when that time comes!