TheSamba.com :: View topic - Removing aftermarket paint to get OG paint

Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:08 am

So we took the leap and started this on our Bus.

The red comes of pretty easy....it's all rubbery and gross, dunno what they used to paint it!! The white is really tough though.

But there is loads of filler under the red and white. It seems the bus was prepped pretty well but then just painted with really bad paint :x

The original top is kind of like a creamy white...There is blue underneath that but only a very thin layer....So think the bus was originally blue/white....But it was a Kombi and I thought those were mostly single color.

Thu Aug 25, 2011 12:52 pm

moogie32 wrote:

Realy awesome job and description of the process!

Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:00 pm

Wow! :shock: Sweet! And agreed with Islero on the description of the process. I might have to try that trick since I thought I was going to have to do a total repaint! I didn't know you had the same issue, till I went back a few pages.

Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:41 am

Nice!

Tue Aug 30, 2011 4:44 am

Our bus seems to be blue on the bottom and creamy white on top....But under the cream/white is also blue.

Where 2 toned busses painted the entire bottom color first and then the top?

What color would you say this is under the white:

Sun Sep 04, 2011 3:11 pm

I was in my garage a few weeks back looking for something to do. I started to pick away some of the blue paint on my bus at the top of the screen post - I'd chipped some blue off last year and found the original L345 grey under it. So after a couple of hours I'd stripped the screen post and decided to carry on after reading this thread. After many hours work using Nitomors paint stripper, I've just finished the front end. I'm happy with how it turned out - just got the rest of it to do now.
[img]
[/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]

Sun Sep 04, 2011 8:22 pm

6voltbus wrote: [/img]

Lookin good!! :shock:

Wed Sep 07, 2011 4:07 am

Looks fantastic, 6voltbus! Can't wait to see more. How did you blend your paint in?

Wed Sep 07, 2011 4:14 pm

Thanks for the compliments guys. I bought a tin of L345 grey but either my old paint had faded or the new paint was too dark as it didn't match too well. I took a small amount of paint then started adjusting it with white and yellow untill I was happy with the colour match. I only wanted to paint the areas that had been bare metaled so I used a small airbrushing gun to spray it. I tried to just overlap the old paint with light coats of paint to avoid leaving a line - it took 2 or 3 attempts before I was happy with it. After it had dried I carefully polished the paint back to blend it in. It did take a while as I'm not a pro painter but getting the colour right is important if you're just doing a small area on a large panel. The smaller stone chips I did with a small brush then polished them later. It isn't a show quality job as the paint is 53 years old and going thin in a few places. I just wanted a tidy looking VW with as much original paint as possible.

Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:30 pm

Islero wrote:
Realy awesome job and description of the process!

Thanks, Islero! :D

ratherb-buggin wrote: Wow! :shock: Sweet! And agreed with Islero on the description of the process. I might have to try that trick since I thought I was going to have to do a total repaint! I didn't know you had the same issue, till I went back a few pages.

Just find a paint match to what's on your bus now and not what the formulation was originally - reds are notorious for fading - I don't know how easy matching it will be - good luck and let us see your results, ratherb!

Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:06 am

Man this is depressing. All you guys have this awesome OG paint under the new stuff. I'm finding more bondo that paint :cry:

Fri Sep 09, 2011 3:39 pm

I had some bondo on the nose of mine and I think there is some on the rear corners too. Hope the sides aren't too bad. Just glad every stone chip wasn't rubbed back to bare metal or there would be very little paint left. Hope you find some good paint Roadhawg.

Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:42 pm

Roadhawg wrote: Man this is depressing. All you guys have this awesome OG paint under the new stuff. I'm finding more bondo that paint :cry:

Don't despair Roadhawg - there were areas of my ghia (especially the back) that had a lot of dent repair - keep on moving and you're bound to find areas less affected. My rear decklid had a lot of bondo covering the whole section under the license plate and I was lucky enough to find another original decklid in the pacific blue which I swapped with what I had. Just keep in mind that your VW probably wouldn't have been repainted if it didn't have to be....

Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:08 am

Ya I guess we just gotta keep going... I mean it's not like we can go back now! :lol:

The other upper rear corner is actually realy nice with hardly any filler or sanding spots, so that brought hope. I'm just putting off going past the seam where the corner meets the bus side....coz that's a big daunting panel man!!! :shock:

Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:13 am

moogie32 wrote: Islero wrote:
Realy awesome job and description of the process!

Thanks, Islero! :D

ratherb-buggin wrote: Wow! :shock: Sweet! And agreed with Islero on the description of the process. I might have to try that trick since I thought I was going to have to do a total repaint! I didn't know you had the same issue, till I went back a few pages.

Just find a paint match to what's on your bus now and not what the formulation was originally - reds are notorious for fading - I don't know how easy matching it will be - good luck and let us see your results, ratherb!

Thanks Moogie! That's the plan! Just need to finish getting my 68 Euro Bay back on the road and then it's full speed on the 61! I need to have it looking nice by next May. I'll keep posting as progress ensues!

Mon Sep 19, 2011 1:35 pm

I have had relatively good results with these plastic razor blades.

Spray on grafiti remover from Home depot ( yellow can) and use the razor blades to remove 90% of the paint- The rest I have been using a scotch gaurd (green).

http://www.amazon.com/Hardline-Products-Scraperite-Orange-Plastic/dp/B0022ZI0JY

My paint has relatively good fading underneath- What has been your guys' process to removing any swirls/buffing/waxing.

Are we still just color sanding with a high grit- then buffing with wax?

Tue Sep 27, 2011 11:46 am

Get this... PO's brother SPRAY PRIMERED my whole beautiful '74 Westy because he planned on painting it flat black and putting a big skull and crossbones on the side. :-s

Here's how it sits today...(It's the white one)

I know it was Rustoleum Spray Primer and called Rustoleum. They recommended their product called "Power Stripper", but I'm thinking I may want to try something a little safer first. With it just being primer maybe acetone will work.

Would you guys recommend the graffiti remover? Looks like there were 100 different ways to use it in this thread. A lot of the primer is slowly chipping off revealing the nice orange underneath, so I'm thinking it will come off pretty easy with the right product. [/img]

Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:05 am

So the Klean Strip graffiti remover is discontinued. Anyone tried the Goof-Off brand graffiti remover?

Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:43 pm

Bought the 15 Window Delux, as I knew there was OG paint underneath it.

Started a trial with a offcut that we cut out from a damaged section and found 4 layers of paint using a plasic scraper, razor blade and Nitromors paint stripper.

The Mouse grey is V good underneath but It is going to take me a while, I estimate 200 hours+ (I have all winter). I agree, great bonding time with the bus and the results always speak for themselves on OG buses.

Sun Oct 09, 2011 2:30 pm

DodgyDawson wrote: Bought the 15 Window Delux, as I knew there was OG paint underneath it.

Started a trial with a offcut that we cut out from a damaged section and found 4 layers of paint using a plasic scraper, razor blade and Nitromors paint stripper.

The Mouse grey is V good underneath but It is going to take me a while, I estimate 200 hours+ (I have all winter). I agree, great bonding time with the bus and the results always speak for themselves on OG buses.

Be carefull using a razor blade as the Nitromors softens the original paint and it's very easy to cut into it. I've been using plastic scrapers - the ones you get for applying filler. You can still cut into the original paint with these if you leave it too long so only do small areas at a time. I'd estimate a bit longer than 200 hours - I've spent nearly that doing the front end, dog legs, door shuts and surrounds and passenger door. Still, like you I've got all winter and I'm happy with what I've done so far. Good luck.