TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:16 am

I'm looking for ideal methods to strip, fill, and refinish the fiberglass top. I've searched but not many offer all the information on ONE SINGLE thread. Jeez.. lets cover all the bases in one post, or a FAQ where we list all associated build threads??

I've got a burgundy Multivan, and the top, all hardware and such are presently removed.. I've used cleaner wax on the top steel and gutters, it was really nasty.

My goal is to take my orbital, use a cleaner wax and deep clean the roof.. then use a polisher and wax the top really good.

As the tent is removed.. the top is down on a sawhorse worktable with a 4x8 sheet of plywood for the worksurface.

Anyone have experience with hand painting, specifically "Roller" painting their fiberglass top? Curious on finding out what supplies were used.. best rollers, items to avoid.

I'm really leaning toward Interlux Marine paint. But, I'm not SOLD on it. I'm trying to rationalize yea these boats sit in the sun, all day, in the elements.. why wouldnt this be good for the van??

VOC.. I'm also painting the INSIDE of the top, removing the fuzz.. and going to want to paint that, then install runners, and a false ceiling with insulation.. vs nothing there.. I seriously loathe the pitter patter, and want to offer the occupants upstairs 12v power, usb power, light, insulation... etc. The upstairs is sorta bland, boring.. needs a little love in my book.

So, back to the primary questions..

Is there an easy method (besides sanding) to remove the coatings inside/outside the fiberglass top? Chemical agents?

What sort of longevity are you guys seeing with Marine Interlux, what is the work time like? Any specific prep come to mind when doing a project like this?

Past that.. next issues are.. I really really really hate fiberglass work.. any way to keep the dust/particulate down while stripping the interior, exterior down to the fiberglass, to the point where I clean, degloss, prime and paint?

Thinking Interlux paints are expensive.. but nowhere near the cost of having someone else do the work..

Also, I have the tent in hand, and all new seals.. all the hardware, bars, and brackets are hitting the powdercoater.

Figured I want to go with a med grey to match the tent, fiberglass will be done in a matching grey.. all hardware powdercoated grey to match.

Pics to follow.

I have been searching for the last 1.5 year through daily posts, and keyword..

Thanks

Al

Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:34 am

Subscribed. I'm doing the same over the next 2 months. I was thinking of carpet on the inside of the pop top - like truck toppers. Should give a clean look and allow for some insulation between the fiberglass and carpet. Thoughts on that plan?

Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:37 am

I'm doing some furring strips so i can hang insulation and a false ceiling.

It will be accoustically sound, and insulated.. offering the upstairs occupants more comfort.

Updates to the top, will be another set of Yakima Gutter/feet for the rack.. wiring up through the bed aside the hinges, supplying switched power to Exterior LED Flood lights, 12 volt power to the Fiamma awning for awning based ambient LED light.. perhaps L and R speaker power for some speakers hanging from the

first things first. This top and refinishing it though..

Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:56 am

On the inside, while I had the roof off, I used some heavy duty cleaner degreaser and a pressure washer. When done, it looked like new. I did not do anything to seal it and it has remained mold free for 3 plus years.

For the outer top, any material removed will need to be refilled. So, I would keep the sanding/grinding to a minimum. Not because of the dust, but because of the body work required to give you a smooth even paintable surface. To paint it, it must be absolutely free of wax, oils and dirts. Otherwise the paint will not layout or adhere properly. I would think you'd get your best results with a spray gun, but have seen pictures of people's repaints using fine rollers etc.

If your top has the original white gelcoat, you may find that with a good cleaning with a pressure washer and some fiberglass wax afterwords, the result is fine. That is what I did with the outside of my top and it looks like new to me.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:59 am

First things, first.

Prepping the top exterior.
I do not beleive you can sand with an orbital sander.
The top has a slight texture to it.. Sanding will not take get the valleys, only the peaks... and you run the risk of breaking thru the surface coating to the fibers under neath. (which is not good)
Or you'd have to do a combo of sanding and filling.
End results may give you a smooth finsih, but a smooth finish will also show imperfections in the overall shape of the f/g top... Large areas will show warps, undulations, and twists. (The texture helps hide this.)

If the top is original finish, then consider a cleaning method, rather than sanding.. soft scotch brite pads. Abrasives, but not "cutting" with lots of material removal

Similar to finishing/painting non-skid decks on f/g boats.. Do some searching on boat forums for more ideas.

(I have done several boat hulls. I have not done my Westy top, yet)

Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:25 am

oh yea.. I'm takin it right down to fiberglass.. that oem texture.. paint.. comin right off. Fresh primer, or a floater resin coat, and paint is what I'm envisioning..

I've heard horror stories about trying to sand fiberglass, finish work.

The reason for doing this prep level, the chassis and top is a Burgundy color, but the fiberglass was white at the factory, the Burgundy paint has worn off over time, and gotten really pitted, nicked.. you can see the white base color, and its just not lookin great.

I dont want to try and color match.. so I'm going to go grey, and do a grey matching stripe mid body.. and black rockers.

It needs a serious dose of love.

I just brought my karcher to the site where I'm workin on the van.. plan on using Trisodium phosphate, and bleach, getting it clean, then peeling the fluff off.. and beginning the removal of the texture, doing the spot filling, then the resin coat.. and then paint. (atleast that is what I think has to be done so far) feel fre to correct me if there's a better process.

I was also going to stop by a marine supply shop and talk about the products they carry, how well they work with UV.. what sorta VOC I'm facing.. a Low VOC is ideal inside.. so.. I'm unsure at the moment how that part is playing out.
Thanks,
Al

Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:44 am

dubbified wrote: ... that oem texture.. paint.. comin right off. ...
My understanding was that was part of the fiberglassing "process", that "gel-coat" layer was the applied when the whole thing was molded. I, too, have done lots of searching and reading, both here and in boat forums, and I had the impression that you could not simply add another layer of gel-coat to it. I am pretty sure that there was no paint or anything applied after the top was finished. I would love to be wrong: years of power-washing, scrubbing and waxing every spring is no fun, and even after a full 8 hour day of working on it, the results are less than optimal. I sure hope you come up with something nice, and easy to copy!

As for the furring stips and false ceiling, be sure and double check the current space/clearing. Mine sems pretty tight up there.

Since you are in Seattle, you might want to talk to THESE people for some ideas.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:51 am

You're crazy to do all that work. The top is textured and was not originally painted. Just clean it and paint it the color you want. No one will ever see slight gouges or chips after you paint it. No reason to make it smooth, re-gelcoat or anything like that, especially with a 1990 van like yours. Now if the top wasn't original but an ad on, who knows what it is. I had my top painted and clear coated. There were some inperfections, but it's not noticible now. I guess some people have more time than they know what to do with. Getting it down to the fiberglass is just not the thing to do.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:19 pm

PDXWesty wrote: You're crazy to do all that work. ...
A "crazy" Vanagon owner? Who would ever have thunk ... My top is well "worn" into the fiberglass, and just "painting" it would be an option, for those who have more time than they know what to do with ... do it now, and again in the summer, and again in the fall ...

Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:36 pm

haha.. yes, I get that. I almost consider that a compliment considering the "average" sort these days.. :)

I have scrapes from parking structures. nI should say the OEM texture is coming off, literally RUBBING off. I think it needs to be taken down to prime and recote on a solid surface that will last..

These following pics dont clearly show the areas where burgundy paint has oxidized away or the other issues.. yet another reason to recoat.

The top is presently sitting on a bench where I'll snap some pics. I even found damage on the backside of the fiberglass where the roof rack was hit by something most likely a parking structure, damaging the fiberglass/cracked minorly.. will have to reinforce.

pics I had of the lackluster fiberglass...

Using this stuff only caused the paint to slough off.. and didnt do much for me.

I want it to be fresh lookin for my spring breakout.

Again, the motivation of this post isnt to build up or gain anyones approval.. its to find out how people did this process, and how it looks, if they would do something different if recoating again.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:02 pm

Mine is an 86 Weekender, and it was brown with the light tan roof. I wanted the top to match the body. I had no problem sanding it smooth with an orbital, then block sanding the first primer coat to smooth things out. We painted it the same as the rest of the van with urethane base/clear. Results are great, now I just wash it and wax it like the rest of the van.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:20 pm

That sounds real nice.

I would consider painting as I will have acess to a booth, but was going to save that for the raptor lining project Im doing shortly.

Paint wise, what kinda $$ did that project run you?

I do like the idea of a solid color match.. but also reason behind going grey was to reduce heat sink.. burgundy tends to soak it up bigtime and get real hot. Figured I could reduce some heat by going lighter.

Still.. I'm curious if you have a posting or pics, of your process, or finished product!

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:27 pm

It sounds like your are he## bent on doing this. The product you need is called Duratec. It is a sandable gelcoat primer sealer product. You prep your surface as much as you care too, and then lay this product down. It is based on a polyester resin and you mix hardener to get it to setup. It lays out nice, fills low spots and sanding marks excellently and then you block sand it out for you final paint surface. You paint with your choice of paint. Even automotive enamel will stick to it. http://www.duratec1.com/dp04.html

There is no need to grind down to the mat unless you are trying to repair cracks. For regular gelcoat to setup, it should not be exposed to air. It is more suited for molds where you spray it on first. Then glass over it. I have a lot of experience working with fiberglass and the itching is just part of it. Wear a dust mask, blow as much off as you can, then take a "cold" shower. This will close the skin pores then you take take a warm shower.

The best way to apply Duratec is with a GelCoat gun. You can brush it, but will not get the results you want and will need to block sand the brush strokes. This is the product you should use.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:41 pm

Yea.. I'm not a flight of fancy sort.. committed.. well I've premeditated this project since I purchased the van April '10. I knew it was comin.

I wanna be proud of my ride, others proud to rock out in the van when we take it on vacations, weekend trips.. the like.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:42 pm

PDXWesty wrote: You're crazy to do all that work. The top is textured and was not originally painted. Just clean it and paint it the color you want. No one will ever see slight gouges or chips after you paint it. No reason to make it smooth, re-gelcoat or anything like that, especially with a 1990 van like yours. Now if the top wasn't original but an ad on, who knows what it is. I had my top painted and clear coated. There were some inperfections, but it's not noticible now. I guess some people have more time than they know what to do with. Getting it down to the fiberglass is just not the thing to do.

agree 100%, yes, it is that bad, lots of work for little to show...unless you like looking at the top of your van from the window of your house :lol:

clean and repaint, don't touch the fiberglass would be my advice.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:45 pm

did you paint half your house, half your bathroom?

You did paint the ceiling did you?

Its kinda like that. I am not painting the van, but I Should be.. I'm taking the less effort role and doing the top, leaving the crap Maaco paint on there.. coating the rockers. I'll touchup the rest. Mainly the Maaco paint is showing signs of poor prep, big swirls from a orbital prep.. singlestage shows it.. but it is an offroad vehicle.. I expect the paint to look good from 20 feet.. and well that top.. isnt lookin good.

So, yes, I'm taking the easy route!

If I wanted to cause myself pain.. being the top off..not much else to take off.. I'd sand the entire friggin thing down.. go use my booth access, and paint the whole damned thing..

dont get me started.. :roll:

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:47 pm

yes, I did paint the house, the ceiling, but I didn't remove the ceiling texture, that was my point, sorry for getting you started, sorry, I didn't mean to be mean, sorry for being sorry. :)

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:56 pm

oh man.. I'm laughin.. See I had just recently overcome a personal struggle with the notion to repaint.

I do have several reasons to repaint the whole damn thing..

All seams need scrubbed cause the seam sealers have cracked and are falling out at places (no rust visible from well lit under 4 inch away view),

Then.. it already has that crap maaco paint on the chassis (not the top), and the PO damage to the antenna hole that needed to be welded up, patched. There is litterally rusto paint atop of that.

Yet.. I can negotiate my dremel tool, picks, masking the seams, cut the crap seam sealer out, use my dry steam cleaner to blast out the seams, apply the rust preventer, reseal the seams, and then use a detail gun, remasking the seam, and shooting with colormatch.

I AM being lazy on that note. I really dont want to paint the whole thing.. My arms hurt just thinking about it.

A repaint is going to cost me in supplies.. I can do that next year. :)

Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:57 pm

Did the top already have a coat of paint on it that's now peeling?

My top had the same faded look as yours, only in grey. A simple cleaning with degreaser and scotch pads, then a coat of paint made it look new. Perhaps there's more than we're seeing in your pictures.

Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:02 pm

The body from Gutter down has been recoated by a singlestage.. which looks OK.. passable in my book.

But the top has never seen any love, no protectant or wax visible.. and is in poor shape. using the product from Gowesty literally caused the fiberglass paint to slough off.. basically the fiberglass color cote just died.

I'll get some well lit pics of the shell..