Rust underneath van moulding

Hi again. My second topic tonight. I have a 1996 vw t4 talent and have discovered a small patch of rust coming from underneath the plastic(or fibreglass) moulding at the rear. Its the piece that extends all the way down the van and covers the guttering etc. How rust has got here i dont know, but i suspect it might have got scratched on fitting. Ive taken the van to a local bodyshop and he said that he could only treat and spray the bits that he could get at. As the rust is coming from underneath the moulding along the guttering the only way to do it properly would be to remove the moulding. This looks like a precarious job to say the least and if it broke i doubt that i would get a replacement. Anyone any ideas? Anyone know a repairer that would consider the job? Anyone know if the moulding comes off easily and without breaking? Cheers again.

It's a difficult one to answer, as A-S had several different ways of fixing the black gutter cover strip (assuming that's what you're referring to) at that time.

On my '99 Transit based high-top it was fixed with stainless stand-offs and plastic bolts and could be removed (fairly) easily, but VW based high-tops of around the same period seemed to have them bonded in place.

You're quite right that if it gets broken in an attempt to remove it there is little chance of sourcing a replacement, and if it's bonded in place there's little chance of getting it off complete.

Are there any fixings visible at all? Library photos of the Talent seem to show some evidence of bolt/screw heads at each end where it curves round at front and back, but nothing along the sides, so it doesn't look too promising...

Hi Railman
I've experienced this before. Often the moulding has cut into the paint when fitted and then the rust starts. At the end of  the moulding there is a drain slot, this gets blocked with leaves, water sitting in the area and the problem gets worse.

These mouldings are a pain to remove as the original fixings are not obvious. I kept my problem from getting worse by cleaning out the channel and regularly applying waxoyl into / onto the area. Alternatively I would contact the A/S service centre an intrust the removal to them.

Regards
John

Hi all and thanks so much for your replies. The moulding in question does have visible fixings. It has one at the front with a screw cap and what seem to be six circles covered with a strip of original tape along the side. Im wondering if these are the other fixings. Anyway i dont think that im going to attempt to remove it and i think that going to autosleepers would be mega expensive.Looks like il have to let the bodyshop do the best they can but its guaranteed the rust will return. Thanks anyway. Cheers.