Date:         Sat, 1 Oct 2011 04:48:51 -0700
Reply-To:     Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Bronze Beige Metallic Stinkbug & Painting Cost
In-Reply-To:  <1805290290.39918.1317421505546.JavaMail.root@sz0063a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Ah, the joys of being non-garaged.  Like you, I must also work uphill in both directions, but I hope that you have a paved driveway and not gravel.  That upcoming exhaust job is looking ever more thrilling.

Stephen

--- On Fri, 9/30/11, J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET> wrote:

From: J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Bronze Beige Metallic Stinkbug & Painting Cost
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Friday, September 30, 2011, 6:25 PM

OK, so I take today off because the weather here in Virginia is supposed to take a turn for the worse this weekend (you Canadians-please keep your cold air up there! Thank you!) and todays forecast was pretty nice. I had some bodywork and painting I needed to get done, and since I am restricted to working outdoors my time to get these things done is running short. The bodywork went OK, I had some small areas of seam rust and then the PO's son had put a nice long gouge in the midsection on the drivers side. My goal today was to paint the entire drivers side of the van, but I figured I may not have enough paint so I decide to do just the door and the midsection. After the tedious process of masking everything off I mix up my paint and start spraying. It's actually going fairly well ( I seem to specialize in 50/50 paint jobs-looks good at 50 feet or at 50 mph). The paint is going on really well, no runs or heavy spots of metallic like I sometimes get. After
 the second coat I notice something right under the drip rail-its a $@#! stinkbug in the fresh paint! I don't know how widespread the stinkbug problem is, but here in N. Virginia was have thousands-no millions of the damn things. They get in to everything, our houses, cars, attics. The stinkbug doesn't seem to be messing up the paint, and since he is now Bronze Beige metallic he doesn't seem to be moving at all, so I leave it alone. Now, I've been painting my '85 Weekender a section at a time, and even though my paint job quality isn't going to win me any awards, WOW, I'm spending a WHOLE lot less than the prices I've been seeing mentioned here. $6,500.00?? We're talking engine conversion money here! If only I could paint indoors-after the 3rd and final coat I'm looking it over and quite proud of the job I've done. I start putting all my equipment away, however, and a slight gust of wind catches the plastic tarp I used to cover the rear quarter panel and
 blows it around onto my fresh paint! AARRRGHHHH! Oh, well, in a couple of weeks I'll probably be able to buff it out with some 1200 grit paper and some polishing compound. Jeff 




Jeff Stewart