Date:         Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:48:44 -0400
Reply-To:     Dennis <guskersthecat@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dennis <guskersthecat@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Painting Vanagon Fiberglass bumpers

In order to do a good job, (given the 16X24 garage with 8ft ceiling I
painted it in), I would have had to remove it.  That was a little too much
grief and low on the priority list.  After many years of messing with
mechanical things, I've learned that if you are contemplating a hack job,
best to leave it until you can do it properly :-)  One of these days I'll
remove and paint it.

Something I forgot to mention.  The previous owner had used silicon based
dressing (eg. ArmorAll) which was a real headache for painting.  Despite
cleaning with silicon removing pre-wash, I still had fish eyes everywhere.
For those of you not familiar, this manifests itself as spots where the
paint seems to be repelled leaving small-cratered areas with no paint.
There are additives to reduce this but really, the best solution is proper
prep.

Had to re-sand, and re-spray.  If there is any question that silicon has
been near the bumpers, make sure you thoroughly and repeatedly clean them
with a good silicon removing pre-wash.  You'll probably need to visit an
autobody paint retailer for this.