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Date:         Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:56:00 -0700
Reply-To:     TC <trclark@SHAW.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         TC <trclark@SHAW.CA>
Subject:      Re: composite bodywork and painting questions
Comments: To: Ben S <phlogiston420@GMAIL.COM>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

> next question: i'm going to do a nice hack paint job over my hack > body work. i was thinking of using rust oleum rusty metal primer and > then some matte black brush applied paint. anyone know if this is > compatible with whatever vw paint i dont sand off? anyone have a rec > of good brand of paint? and on that issue read the $50 paint job on the mopar forum I have done that $50 http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682 the best effoert i saw documented http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html paint job with custom tinted (natch to the vw white on the 85's) rust rustoleum/tremclad Here is my adaption of the $50 paint formula I think its great for those of us that have 'working campers' and scratch it up a bit each year after the sliding door work this year I re-rolled the entire van from the contour pt on both sides to the rockers in a 3 days working 1 hrs a day I am sold :)

The trick is just getting the right thinning with the mineral sprits and from 5'-10' out you'd would hardly know it heck maybe tommorrow I'l post some pics but this year I got lazy & weather came on to fast so I never go to the 2000 grit buffing

_________________________________________ condensed this into a howto for my own needs prep the car with 80,100, then 200, finished with a 400, & all your bodywork, strip all chrome, bumpers, rubber, door handles, trim etc -small rope under rubber to lift it so paint flows underneath thin the paint with mineral spirits so it just about as thin as water, a little thicker. (try 4 parts paint 1 part thinner as your starting pt) NEVER NEVER shake the paint bubbles will occur paint at 10am, wipe each panel down with drying cloth soaked in mineral sprits prior to foam rolling paint a 2nd coat at 7pm wet sand next morning at 8am use a spray bottle with water & dish soap and keep the paper really wet, use bucket of water with drying cloth to remove wet sanding residue, repeat 3 times for total of 6 coats use 600 grit after 2 coats, 800 grit after 4 coats, and 1000/1500 grit after 6 coats depending on your elbow grease use a high speed polisher (Porter-Cable 7336 nice DA sander polisher), a buffing bonnet and 2 table spoons of the turtle wax polishing compound., run for 2-5 mins on a 3'x3' area, let machine weight be the guide ___________________________________________________________

wait 2 WEEKS in sunny weather to let paint harden up then wax to produce final finish

Hints then the front fenders, then the rear area around the window, then the roof and rear quarters all in one shot, then the doors last.

-line the roller tray with tin-foil toss the tin foil after each coat less contamination for each cost

-load up the roller before hitting the panel but then press all the paint you can out of that roller (or as much as you can do within about 10-15 seconds) then firmly apply it to the surface. If done right it will leave enough paint to cover the surface but wont show any signs of running at any angle the surface happens to be on. -work a pannel at a time, roller in one hand foam brush in the other -start rolling in the middle of the panel and lighten your touch toward the edge. -work in a starburst pattern from the center to the edges, crossing the star at intersecting angles to prevent hard lines from the roller's edges. -if bubbles appear (your pushing down to heavy OR Too much paint on the roller) roll with just weight of roller wait 2 mins they should settle out try to lighten your touch

-if paint runs on a panel it TOO thin be thicker than water -if you get TOO much Orange peel after paint dries you are TOO thick but some orange peel for 1st 4 coats it OK just wet sand it out even after 6 there will be some try 2000 grit & lots polish time to get it smooth

-if you get orange peel effect paint it too thick -use a foam brush to paint the jambs and tight spots -u have 10 mins to work the paint once its rolled on surface -if you wipe the last wet sanding with mineral sprits that will be the gloss after polishing -keep the buffing bonnet WET, have a spray bottle full of water and spray it on the bonnet each time load up the polish paste, be very generous with both.

Painting I also load the roller up quite heavily, then work it until the roller does'nt have so much paint in it and do the detail work after. once you spread the paint wait a minute or so and then just really gently run the roller using only the weight of the roller, on the sides just use very very light pressure as if it were the weight of it. How you thin the paint is critical, i have not had one paint run on any of the cars i've painted. To give you an idea, you really only start to have full coverage to where u can't see any body work or underlying color thru the paint until the 3rd coat after u do 2 coats, wet sand the whole car, then repeat, 2 coats, wetsand, 2 coats wetsand The trick is in how you thin the paint, get it as thin as possible without running, and the paint "self levels" it comes out like glass, wet sanding just makes it better,' when the paint is thinned your barley putting on any paint with each coat, so you really need to do about 6 coats to get enough of a base so you can wet sand and polish You only cover up the bodywork, underlying color until after the 4th coat, keep in mind that there is wet sanding in between each 2 coats. if you get bubbles when your painting your pushing down on the roller too hard, lighten it up a bit, let the paint sit for 1 minute after you've spread it out nice, then just run the roller over the area VERY gently using only the weight of the roller, then turn around, have a smoke after you've done the pannel, and when your done your smoke, turn around and you'll see it has "self leveled" before your eyes

Paint

Directions u prep the car with 80,100, then 200, finished with a 400, & all your bodywork, u must strip all chrome, bumpers, rubber, door handles, trim etc -small rope under rubber to lift it so paint flows underneath u thin the paint with mineral spirits so it just about as thin as water, a little thicker. (try 4 parts paint 1 part thinner as your starting pt) NEVER NEVER shake the paint bubbles will occur u paint at 10am, wipe each pannel down with drying cloth soaked in mineral sprits prior to foam rolling u paint a 2nd coat at 7pm u wet sand next morning at 8am use a spray bottle with water & dish soap and keep the paper really wet, use bucket of water with drying cloth to remove wet sanding residue, repeat 3 times for total of 6 coats use 600 grit after 2 coats, 800 grit after 4 coats, and 1000/1500 grit after 6 coats depending on your elbow grease u use a high speed polisher, a buffing bonnet and 2 table spoons of the turtle wax polishing compound., run for 2-5 mins on a 3'x3' area, let machine weight be the guide

then wax to produce final finish

i painted the whole car at one time, start with the hood, open it when done, then the front fenders, then the rear area around the window, then the trunk lid and open it, then the roof and rear quarters all in one shot, then the doors last. -line the roller tray with tin-foil toss the tin foil after each coat less contamination for each coast

-load up the roller before hitting the pannel -work a pannel at a time, roller in one hand foam brush in the other -start rolling in the middle of the pannel and lighten your touch toward the edge. -work in a starburst pattern from the center to the edges, crossing the star at intersecting angles to prevent hard lines from the roller's edges. -if bubbles appear (your pushing down to heavy) try to light roll with just weight of roller wait 2 mins they should settle out -if you get orange peel effect paint it too thick -use a foam brush to paint the jambs and tight spots -u have 10 mins to work the paint once its rolled on surface -if you wipe the last wet sanding with mineral sprits that will be the gloss after polishing -keep the buffing bonnet WET, have a spray bottle full of water and spray it on the bonnet each time u load up the polish paste, be very generous with both.


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