I once bought a ‘78 Westfalia from one of those =
used car dealers in Southern California that operate out of an industrial un=
it and advertise in Auto Trader. It had a brand new Earl paint job complete =
with a stripe kit. It had some orange peel but looked OK for a $ 1500 bus. F=
our years later it had as much surface rust as paint visible. And I lived in=
Southern California! I don’t think I would take any vehicle, that I c=
ared about it’s long term welfare, to a cheap auto painter. I loved th=
at van though.
I have painted a few cars, motorcycle’s, jet skis, bicycles and indus=
trial design models in my time. After the last car I painted, and changed th=
e color on, I vowed never to do it again. In my experience it is a lot of wo=
rk and very time consuming. A few bits if wisdom: Preparation and cleanlines=
s are key to success. Use only the best materials. Painting is a skill that =
is difficult to master, so practice before you paint your beloved Vehicle. Y=
ou must have a clean, well lit and ventilated place to spray in. Don’t=
do it in your driveway. Rust removal is difficult to do properly, in my opi=
nion, better left to the experts if you can afford it.
I have an ‘86 Synchro Westfalia. When it receives its new coat of pai=
nt next year it will be at a reputable (probably expensive) body shop. It=
217;s true in auto body work that “you get what you pay for̶=
1;.
Regards,
Jon
Joe,
I'm not body-shop expert. I don't even pretend to play=
one on TV. But good Lord, man, if you're going to sink as much time a=
nd effort into prepping your Westy for Maaco or Earl, why not go the extra f=
ew feet and complete the job yourself? You're going to need about thre=
e-quarters of the tools anyway...
In order to give your repaint the best chance for reasonably=
long-term survival, you're going to have to do a lot more prep than just wa=
shing the bus. Attaching the rust means grinding the area down to bare=
metal, treating it with some kind of rust inhibitor, priming, and sanding i=
t. If your bus has more than just a spot or two of seam rust, this who=
le process can become a major undertaking.
Never having had any dealing with either of these two busine=
sses, I really can't comment on what they do and how they do it. There=
are, however, reputations and second hand information floating about the li=
st that leads one to fairly scream, 'don't whatever you do, go to these plac=
es!' To get a decent paint job, the your bus is going to have to strip=
ped of all attachments - mirrors, molding, bumpers, windows - prepped - mean=
ing taken down to bare metal - primed, sanded, base coated, and finally top =
coated with a quality paint. And this quality job is not available fro=
m a franchise without paying a hefty price for it. The paint job you'r=
e looking for is not available at the price you're paying. You're goin=
g to get a van that's been shot with a top-coat and that's about it. Y=
ou'll be lucky if they mask everything properly.
As an alternate, consider doing the job yourself by enrollin=
g in a BOCES- or continuing education-type course at the local VoTech school=
. Or perhaps contact the local VoTech to see if they would like to hav=
e a class project - painting your bus.
Sorry this is a little long winded. I've gone thru thi=
s before. Lowest price I received for a quality paint job was $4200. &=
nbsp;Macco, on the other hand, quoted $700. Haven't gone either way, b=
ut I am saving some $$$ for another vehicle (hopefully a MB 240D or 300D) so=
I can take my bus off the road and finally get the rust under control. &nbs=
p;And it looks like I'm going the VoTech route...
Alan Bosch
& Phred ('88 Wolfsburg)