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Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:03 pm

6T5 square wrote: Hey Guys,

Nice thread here. I have a question. I have a 1960 bug I bought off of a second owner. There is not a dent in the car. I do want to repaint the whole car (black) But I'm getting two different opinions- one of my friends who owns a body shop says to strip all the paint off the car, self etch primer it and then give it to him to paint. When I told another friend the trouble I was having getting the old primer off the fenders with the aircraft stripper- he suggested just roughing up the paint, getting out some of the surface scratches and then painting it. Before I go any further, whats your opinion?

which of your friends is the professional? after you know that answer, go to a different reputable auto shop and ask them the best way to prep the car. Or even a auto paint supplyer. then you should know what your getting into.

Sat Aug 30, 2008 11:28 pm

flierbob here
I just became the owner of a 69 bug, has damage to the front hood.
creased on the left side and handle bent over, tha hard part is the center ridge is bent, the problem is how to get the double bend restored, what method should be used?
any help would be appreciated.

Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:56 am

Matt K.
Are you testing us? I think you are. [-o<
Throughout your thread you talk about patience when prepping, sanding, hammering etc. Well I think you are now seeing who can be patient for the rest of this thread to unfold - those of us left standing at the end will find out a great hidden secret! :-S
This has been a fantastic thread and I have learnt alot and am looking forward to futher posts/updates. =D>
Thank you so much.

Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:43 pm

I have removed seats and carpet engine tires and wheels and spare, gas tank and have serious rust to remove and replace with good sheetmetal.
Question is what do I do next. The pan is solid but the rocker and heater channel area are bad. It is a 67 daily driver during spring, summer and fall and now that winter has hit Missouri time to do much needed indoor restoration. Not looking for car show quality but am looking for solid daily driver. What do I do next? Take to local professional vw repair shop or buy a welder and learn to do my own repairs. Thanks and love reading about how many of you have repaired your rides.

Wed Dec 17, 2008 6:51 pm

Hope everything is well.
Looking forward to the finish of this awesome project.
Currently starting my own project, and I am in need of some more tips.

Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:32 pm

I continue to strip the body, in a few weeks a body shop will come and give me a price to do the rust replacement with new panels and heater channels, if too high I will attempt to do it my self. buy a lincoln mig angd learn to weld.
I will keep you informed, next is remove the body bolts to lift off the body. That may be tricky since I'm doing this all alone.
thanks all for your afvice
Richard O'Connell Viren jr.

Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:23 am

oconnell wrote: I continue to strip the body, in a few weeks a body shop will come and give me a price to do the rust replacement with new panels and heater channels, if too high I will attempt to do it my self. buy a lincoln mig angd learn to weld.
.

Have you seen the Bugme DVD's - these are quite good if you have limited experience, as I do, with repairs to floors, etc. :?:

Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:39 pm

Well i know it has been a long, long time since i have been on here and i apologize. So much has happened and i wont bore you with the details.

I still have the bus and has not been touched and as i do not have any computer access except once a week i have not tried to answer any questons.

I would like to still help if i can but my respose will be a little slow.

Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:59 pm

Purchased the Bug me Video #7 it is very helpful, only wish they would have done it on a complete car, like with the wire harness still in place.
I also thought they would cover how to replace the rear inner fender well area. Just finished drilling out the spot welds on each side under back seat. Updates as they happen.

Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
73 fat chick
67 bug

Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:11 am

Folks.....I just got lucky enough to borrow one of these things....and I am telling you the truth....it will WORK LIKE HELL. Ive never seen anything that will sweep something down to the bare metal without pittiing or damaging. Its absolutely amazing. It wont touch the rust...but it will certainly take paint off to the bare metal....and its not near the mess that sand blasting it....Im SOLD....and VERY IMPRESSED.

Wed Apr 22, 2009 2:40 pm

This is a great teaching discussion.

I am restoring a 1970 vert. It is Clementine orange. Not my favorite but I plan to paint it the same color. I bought the car with aftermarket fiberglass fenders, wide with fat tires and mags. I wanted to go back to stock so I bought an junker 73 for the wheels and fenders and any other parts i could scrounge. I discovered that the 73 had diferent lights on the back wings and I don't like that. I also noticed that they were not as thick of metal as the front fenders. Not good. I want my car to be solid. So I went to the junk yard and found two rear fenders that are just what I need. I have to go back and take them off tomorrow. Sorry for the long intro but here is the question.

The fenders I am pulling off tomorrow are thick metal but they do have issues. There are a couple of metal cracks that make them flop a bit. i know I need to weld those cracks. Should i also put a piece of metal behind them too for reinforcement. I am going to strip them over the week-end and begin the metal work.

THANKS!

Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:26 am

Try the soda blasting setup. You can get it from Eastwood...or even harbor freight. And you dont have to buy the hi dollar soda from eastwood. Find a big local fertilizer provider and ask for bicarbonate soda....it will work. This thing will sweep the paint and primer right off the fenders and body. It wont do much for rust.....you'll have to swap to sand for that. But it will certainly save you some real back breaking work as far as removing paint...and without using stripper too. There's something about the soda that keeps the rust from coming back immediately. I Blasted the under hood area, interior and dashboard in my 61 over a month ago...and its still bright metal. Which is good, but also tells me all that metal needs one hell of a good cleaning with thinner before priming...I mean whatever it is that keeps it from rusting, may keep paint and primer from sticking too. Give it a try

Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:59 am

D&D 1961 VW,

I do have a harbor frieght nearby. I do go there for lots of stuff. I have never thought of trying to do the blasting myself thinking it to be too prohibitive. I did take my front hood and engine cover to a local guy at a junk yard who does that and it was not too expensive. But i wanted to try the chemical route on the fenders. I did calculate that I saved a bit but not enought to make it worth all the time and effort it took for me to do it myself.

How much did this soda blaster set you back? I am having trouble spending too much on tools. I keep telling my wife this is better then going out and having a car payment, and when it is over I will have ONE COOL CAR. She is on board but as I add more tools I am beginning to feel like I am breaking the family budget for my own fun. And it is FUN!

Anyway, I only have a small pancake compressor at this time. I did use it to spray the primer on the hood and it worked fine. Running all the time. But I tried an air tool and it was a joke. I know a compressor upgrade is in the future if I keep on going with this. I know I could get one from craigs list for less though.

Here is a picture of my car as of the end of April.

Sat Aug 08, 2009 6:43 pm

70_clementine_vert wrote: D&D 1961 VW,

I do have a harbor frieght nearby. I do go there for lots of stuff. I have never thought of trying to do the blasting myself thinking it to be too prohibitive. I did take my front hood and engine cover to a local guy at a junk yard who does that and it was not too expensive. But i wanted to try the chemical route on the fenders. I did calculate that I saved a bit but not enought to make it worth all the time and effort it took for me to do it myself.

How much did this soda blaster set you back? I am having trouble spending too much on tools. I keep telling my wife this is better then going out and having a car payment, and when it is over I will have ONE COOL CAR. She is on board but as I add more tools I am beginning to feel like I am breaking the family budget for my own fun. And it is FUN!

Anyway, I only have a small pancake compressor at this time. I did use it to spray the primer on the hood and it worked fine. Running all the time. But I tried an air tool and it was a joke. I know a compressor upgrade is in the future if I keep on going with this. I know I could get one from craigs list for less though.

Here is a picture of my car as of the end of April.

..........Nothing is more rewarding than doing the job yourself.....dont get discouraged, its a big learning experience

Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:36 pm

Hey Matt. Going back to the beginning here, as I'll be doing some stripping to bare metal. You didn't really explain the process back then, and forgive me if you did later, but how did you use the three tools you had pictures to get to bare metal? Did you wire wheel, then sand it smooth with the discs? Did you just wire wheel?

Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:48 pm

Good question, as I am about to jump feet first into a major body work project. I know very little on the subject and refuse to pay some dude big money for him to cover it all up with a shiny coat of paint not knowing what lies underneath it all. Plus I like doing my own work. Gives me something to do after work.

Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:44 am

Is it possible to take the body off the pan without dropping the motor? Never done either and think it might be a lot easier for me with very little room in my garage.

Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:46 pm

AWC wrote: Is it possible to take the body off the pan without dropping the motor? Never done either and think it might be a lot easier for me with very little room in my garage. Agian, The Bugme video has the answer.. areal classact on how to pull the body.. In the pan replacement video.. If you spend the money and don't think it worth 3 or four times for the pan off deal alone.. well you are odd...

Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:34 pm

Just picked up the Stinger 5000 Uni-spotter for some front end metal working- this thing is amazing, what a time saver. Really easy to use and works great.

Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:02 am

Hey guys i got a question. So i'm 15 and i have this

http://www.autotoolworld.com/Sharpe-Manufacturing-5250-PAI-Gun-Cobalt-PG-90_p_99761.html

and a decent compressor. my buddy has a paint booth and i have a place to spray primer/paint.... i am going to do the body work on my bus but i'm sketched out about doin the paint.... some people say its reallllly hard and some people says its not... Do you guys think its waste of time for me do my paint? or should i just pay someone to do it, but im on a tight budget thats why i'm asking.? I have worked with spray guns before keep that in mind.... Thanks in advance ! :D