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Wed May 14, 2008 7:18 am

I'm in the midst of refinishing the top and it's been going well. This has been one of those projects I've been avoiding because I was figuring on a mess, but finally decide now or never and really it hasn't been bad at all. I sanded the old top, washed it down with solvent and put down 3 coats of Interlux epoxy primekote (sanding between coats). That covered over and buried all that exposed fiberglass and gave a nice smooth finish; to the point where it looked like I could have stopped right there. I've been using a small 4" roller smooth foam roller with a bullet shaped end that lets you coat with virtually no stroke lines.....I think it's about as close to a spray finish as you can get without spraying.

But for sake of durability and hopefully not having to do this again for a long time, last night I put down the first coat of Brightside urethane paint. Had a momentary freak-out as I got tons of little air bubbles in the application. Luckily this is a very slow drying, self leveling material and at first I found I could go back over any little bubbles a second time after a bit of dry time and it would eliminate them. Then I found the bubbles will release themselves so although it looks pretty ominous at first, in the end the bubbles disappear and even as I was cleaning up for the night it looked great. This morning I confirmed that the finish looks great with no bubbles, just smooth gloss....I'm pretty particular and even I am surprised by how smooth and uniform and "factory-like" the finish came out.

One more coat of Brightside tonight or tomorrow and I'm done. Well, then putting the luggage rack back on, and the new seals, and cutting new interior roof panels and applying the headliner vinyl to them from Go Westy .......... then I'm done

Has anyone that's used Brightside added the finish flattening additive? I didn't because I wanted a surface that's least likely to build up dirt again, but even after one coat the top is mighty glossy using the Brightside straight. My one concern is I hope it doesn't look too odd with so much gloss on the finish.......I think the original top finish was probably not quite so glossy.

Anyway, if you are driving around with a weather worn, dirty, moldy top I can tell you that for about $100 in material (2qt.primekote, 1at. brightside, misc. sandpaper, foam rollers etc) and probably 15hrs. of elbow grease you can totally change the look to shiny and new without needing spray equipment

Wed May 14, 2008 7:44 am

Before and after pics would be appropriate here.

Wed May 14, 2008 9:02 am

harpua wrote: Anyway, if you are driving around with a weather worn, dirty, moldy top I can tell you that for about $100 in material (2qt.primekote, 1at. brightside, misc. sandpaper, foam rollers etc) and probably 15hrs. of elbow grease you can totally change the look to shiny and new without needing spray equipment

Or for about $15 worth of materials and a couple of hours, you can do the exact same thing with Rustoleum High Gloss enamel, available at any home improvement store for about $7 a quart. I did this with my '79 4 years ago. Still looks like the day I did it.

Wed May 14, 2008 9:38 am

<< Or for about $15 worth of materials and a couple of hours, you can do the exact same thing with Rustoleum High Gloss enamel, available at any home improvement store for about $7 a quart. I did this with my '79 4 years ago. Still looks like the day I did it. >>

You know, I initially considered just using a rattle can of some sort but figured it would not fill in the roughness of my worn top, and might chip easily, or flake off, or crack as the top flexed,. If the rustoleum has held up for 4years I guess my figuring was wrong. Oh well, I suppose I probably put in a few more evenings on this project then needed then but there are worse things I could have done with my time......

Wed May 14, 2008 9:41 am

That wasn't rattlecanned, it was rolled on using a 4" foam roller, much like what you describe using for your more expensive material. If you read my post again, it says $7 a quart. Spray cans don't come in quarts.

Wed May 14, 2008 1:09 pm

So would you use the rustoleum in the same way?Sand then paint.This sounds better to me I'm not looking for something too nice..

Wed May 14, 2008 1:16 pm

Fryedaddy wrote: So would you use the rustoleum in the same way?Sand then paint.This sounds better to me I'm not looking for something too nice..

I didn't sand the top. I washed it with bleach to kill all of the mosses that had started to grow on it from sitting, let it dry, then started rolling on the paint. It was almost 100 degress the day I painted mine, so two coats went on almost one right after the other. By the time I got to the end, the part where I started was dry enough to start the second coat. Here's the first coat going on, and yes, I did scrape the Westfalia sticker off the back and replaced it.

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Wed May 14, 2008 1:31 pm

Interluxe is definitely the way to go. Alot of people will tell you otherwise but it's your bus and I believe since Interluxe was made for fiberglass you're better off in the long run. Personally I am glad I did :D

Wed May 14, 2008 1:45 pm

James Dwan wrote: Interluxe is definitely the way to go. Alot of people will tell you otherwise but it's your bus and I believe since Interluxe was made for fiberglass you're better off in the long run. Personally I am glad I did :D

Interlux is made for boats. I don't know about you, but I don't plan to tip my Westy upside down and try to skim it along any lakes anytime soon, so I used a far less expensive alternative that so far has withstood 4 years of abuse in a very changeable Upstate NY climate. It's seen 100 degree summer days and -20 degree winter nights. Snow, wind, rain, hail, sunshine, it's seen it all and hasn't flinched. It's still just as shiny as the day I put it on. It hasn't cracked, chipped or peeled one bit. I guess if you have money to throw away, then use whatever paint you feel is best, but for me, the results speak for themselves and I have less than $20 invested in it. Sorry to hijack the thread, but there are far more economical alternatives than using expensive boat paint. It's overkill.

Wed May 14, 2008 2:30 pm

VDubTech wrote: James Dwan wrote: Interluxe is definitely the way to go. Alot of people will tell you otherwise but it's your bus and I believe since Interluxe was made for fiberglass you're better off in the long run. Personally I am glad I did :D

Interlux is made for boats. I don't know about you, but I don't plan to tip my Westy upside down and try to skim it along any lakes anytime soon, so I used a far less expensive alternative that so far has withstood 4 years of abuse in a very changeable Upstate NY climate. It's seen 100 degree summer days and -20 degree winter nights. Snow, wind, rain, hail, sunshine, it's seen it all and hasn't flinched. It's still just as shiny as the day I put it on. It hasn't cracked, chipped or peeled one bit. I guess if you have money to throw away, then use whatever paint you feel is best, but for me, the results speak for themselves and I have less than $20 invested in it. Sorry to hijack the thread, but there are far more economical alternatives than using expensive boat paint. It's overkill.

I too used the Interlux, in my case the premium yacht enamel, not the Brightside (it was on sale). I am very happy with the results. It's been said many times that the vast majority of the work and expense of a good paint job is in the preparation. I considered the many hours of cleaning, sanding, and prepping my top to be an investment. It seemed prudent to me to protect my investment with a better quality paint. I have found the shine and resilience of the Interlux to be fantastic.

Vdubtech, I realize you offer your experience with Rustoleum every time a top painting thread comes up. No doubt your experience with the paint was a good one. With very little prep you were able to roll on the finish and it yielded a good result that has met and exceeded your expectations. I'd like to suggest that your results may be atypical, meaning not everybody will have the same good experience as you. Most tops will require more preparation and will have finishes that have deteriorated more than yours. I believe that the small difference in price (say $100 instead of $20) is worth it to guarantee the longevity and extreme gloss offered by the Interlux. I suppose if all you are going to do is clean the top and paint it, it really doesn't matter what paint you use.

Oh, and the OP mentioned he used Interlux Brightside. This paint is not designed for water immersion, and is to be used only above the water line, on the top sides of boats, so your "skimming along lakes" analogy doesn't apply.

Wed May 14, 2008 2:53 pm

I second the rustoleum. Works great, looks great, and holds up very well. If you do the prep, it will look just as good as using a higher priced product. I did not prep mine in any way (I didnt even clean the damn thing), and it still looks good 2 years later. We will see in two more years, but if it looks bad, Ill just paint it again.

Wed May 14, 2008 4:47 pm

I just did my top this past weekend using the "Rustoleum method"...actually I did the smaller luggage rack part last fall, and just did the larger pop-up part this weekend. I took it to the carwash and hosed it off real good... I didn't have any mold to deal with so I just washed and rinsed it. Then I rolled on the rustoleum using a 4" foam roller. The part quart that I had left over from the fall seemed a little thick, so I thined it with acetone. After it dried, I ran my electric hand sander over it with about a 600 grit sandpaper. I repeated this for another two coats, then I sanded with 1200 grit and gave it one last coat. I think it looks pretty decent, but only time will tell how long it holds up.

Wed May 14, 2008 7:07 pm

I believe that a great paint job on a westy deserves a top that looks as good. The fiberglass paint is the way to go .

In my case the paint job was ok, but the top had some overspray from the PO. ??. Used the Rustoleum method with zero prep. 3 years in the Arizona sun. Never garaged. Need to touch up one side due to a low hanging branch on a trail. Still looks good, espcially after a wash.

Great quick improvement, especially if you are just fixing it up to sell.

Wed May 14, 2008 8:40 pm

So I'm probably going to deal with my top this weekend. I had wanted to go the interlux route, but I don't have a place I can work on the top for multiple days and the interlux route seems to require a day for each coat; this is not an option for me. I need to handle the whole thing in one day. Enter the rustoleum!

Here's my only issue. The center of my top has some fibers showing, and the roof rack has a fair amount of little cracks on it. Is there a certain kind of primer I can use that a few coats will fill these cracks and cover the fibers? I don't need it perfect. I'm willing to do the prep work, I just don't have the time to use fiberglass epoxy.

Thu May 15, 2008 5:02 am

VDubTech wrote: James Dwan wrote: Interluxe is definitely the way to go. Alot of people will tell you otherwise but it's your bus and I believe since Interluxe was made for fiberglass you're better off in the long run. Personally I am glad I did :D

Interlux is made for boats. I don't know about you, but I don't plan to tip my Westy upside down and try to skim it along any lakes anytime soon, so I used a far less expensive alternative that so far has withstood 4 years of abuse in a very changeable Upstate NY climate. It's seen 100 degree summer days and -20 degree winter nights. Snow, wind, rain, hail, sunshine, it's seen it all and hasn't flinched. It's still just as shiny as the day I put it on. It hasn't cracked, chipped or peeled one bit. I guess if you have money to throw away, then use whatever paint you feel is best, but for me, the results speak for themselves and I have less than $20 invested in it. Sorry to hijack the thread, but there are far more economical alternatives than using expensive boat paint. It's overkill.

To each there own, I don't plan on skimming my Westy across the water either but everytime someone mentions something other than rustoleum you seem to ram it down there throat for some reason. I'm glad your happy with your top. I am glad I am happy with mine. So why all the hate?

Thu May 15, 2008 5:32 am

Well. I decided for the rustoleum also. If there is no one that has proof that it is no good then why not? Even if you had to do it again in 4 yrs.It would still not bust my budget. I know one thing. The economy is in bad shape and those benjamins are flyin.

Thu May 15, 2008 6:24 am

<< Here's my only issue. The center of my top has some fibers showing, and the roof rack has a fair amount of little cracks on it. Is there a certain kind of primer I can use that a few coats will fill these cracks and cover the fibers? I don't need it perfect. I'm willing to do the prep work, I just don't have the time to use fiberglass epoxy. >>

I think to do it "right" and bring the fiberglass back close to factory new condition you do need to use an epoxy filler coat to cover over those fibers and cracks. From the other posts here I take it if you want to minimize time and money spent you can probably put multiple coats of rustoleum over it and call it a day. Personally, my bus is with me for good and though not perfect, it is unmodified and very close to original so I wanted to restore the top in a way that is close to what came from the factory. What turned me off to rustoleum is the fact that that stuff won't stay on my lawn furniture for a year so I couldn't see putting in the effort to paint it onto my bus top.......it sounds like I'm wrong, but as I scrape off all the loose paint from my outdoor table again this spring I just feel like my bus top deserves something better.

Thu May 15, 2008 8:33 am

Harpua,

I'd love to see a couple of photos of the painted top. I've got a quart of Interlux and new seals in the garage just waiting for me to find the time.... I need to pull the luggage rack to fix some cracks and replace the tie downs as well.

Thu May 15, 2008 12:08 pm

harpua wrote:
I think to do it "right" and bring the fiberglass back close to factory new condition you do need to use an epoxy filler coat to cover over those fibers and cracks.

Ok, so how about I use an epoxy filler type primer (if such a thing exists) and just use Rustoleum for the paint. It's mixing the east of rustoleum with the "back to factory" prep work.

harpua wrote:
Personally, my bus is with me for good and though not perfect, it is unmodified and very close to original so I wanted to restore the top in a way that is close to what came from the factory.

I agree, mine is with me for good as well. Unfortunately, I just don't have a spot where I can facilitate painting the top over the course of a few days or a week. I don't have a garage, or a carport, or anywhere to do this! I'll be painting it in my girlfriends back yard, and her garage is full of crap so I can't leave the top to dry between coats over night. If I had the space to do it, I would be using fiberglass specific products hands down.

Anyone have a garage I can use for a few days in southern california???

Mon May 19, 2008 7:55 am

I tied up a tarp and put the top on saw horses. Maybe you could string one up?