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

Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:54 am

well as my good friend mr dawson above,has thrown down the gauntlet i thought i better pull my finger out.started today with this

ended up after an hour and a half with this

very pleased with the progress,this side has a lot less bare metal spots and a lot less primer so the paint was coming straight off. had to stop as i was getting blisters from the scraper i use.
just wish i'd done it earlier :roll:

Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:16 pm

A quick update on my progress. Stripped the passenger door - 2 areas had been bare metaled so had to do some paint blending there. Same goes for the cargo door - no rust though and original panels so I can live with that.

Mon Nov 07, 2011 8:50 pm

6voltbus wrote: A quick update on my progress. Stripped the passenger door - 2 areas had been bare metaled so had to do some paint blending there. Same goes for the cargo door - no rust though and original panels so I can live with that.

Looking Great! =D>

Wed Nov 09, 2011 6:49 am

What works in primer? I've been removing the dark green, but nothing touches the thick primer. more pics in the link below....

more pics http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=477853&highlight=

Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:27 am

Paint stripper and fine steel wool have shifted that on mine,try on a small spot.the og paint is really tough and has been unafected on mine

Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:47 am

I have been using the steel wool and oven cleaner method, just does not touch the primer.

also tried graffiti remover. I will try some paint stripper.

Wed Nov 09, 2011 10:57 am

I always have a bucket of water and a rag next to me and clean the panel off straight away just in case :wink:

Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:08 pm

That primer has been a problem for me too. If it didn't scrape off after 2 or 3 coatings of paint stripper, I carefully sand it down with 1000 grade wet and dry. It seems to have eaten into the paint.

Fri Nov 11, 2011 5:46 pm

This product takes anything you want off one layer at a time. It worked on primer with no problem and so long as it's removed in a timely fashion will not ruin the paint underneath. I highly recommend it!

Mon Nov 21, 2011 3:19 pm

I've had great success with steel wool and aircraft paint remover.

Takes a bit of work to get through multiple layers, but it is very gentle on the OG paint.. :)

Sun Dec 04, 2011 9:24 pm

My pics disappeared way back there but I have everything in my Samba gallery now. This was using Jasco Green Strip and a stiff nylon brush, washing everything off with a mild cleanser after each section. Buffed with 3M Perfect-it 3000 and a waffle foam pad on a rotary buffer.
The roof was the only really tough section - everything was super-baked on.

Before:

Progress:

After:

Wed Dec 07, 2011 3:52 pm

I've had really good luck using CitriStrip.
Before-

After-

Here are a couple showing the mess involved-

All in all I'm pretty happy with how well this stuff works. It WILL soften OG paint if you leave it on long enough, so be careful

Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:10 pm

Culito wrote: My pics disappeared way back there but I have everything in my Samba gallery now. This was using Jasco Green Strip and a stiff nylon brush, washing everything off with a mild cleanser after each section. Buffed with 3M Perfect-it 3000 and a waffle foam pad on a rotary buffer.
The roof was the only really tough section - everything was super-baked on.

Before:

Progress:

After:

This one has Finally made me a believer in trying to bring back original paint!

Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:13 pm

Culito wrote:

You have to ask yourself why a bus with paint like that got re-painted in the first place. That is absolutely beautiful.

Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:23 pm

Ok so I just read through 10-15 pages of this thread... hope to read the rest at some point.. but in a bit of a hurry to try and strip some of what looks like rattle can primer off a 69 savanah beige bus I recently picked up.. from the sounds of what I have read it looks like I am lucky because only about 1/3 of the bus has the primer on it while the rest is og... pretty ratty looking bus but, solid enough that I'm hoping to get it on the road again. I saw a lot of examples of stripping paint, but what about just primer... Is graffiti remover the best way to go for primer? My guess is it wil work but will very quickly work through the primer? So don't let it sit very long?

Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:27 pm

moogie32 wrote: This product takes anything you want off one layer at a time. It worked on primer with no problem and so long as it's removed in a timely fashion will not ruin the paint underneath. I highly recommend it!

HAHA should have read all the pages... looks like this answers my question... Sounds like it will work well on primer! now I have to find some...

Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:08 pm

Depending on the graffitti remover brand, it may go SUPER fast through primer and start eating the original paint so I would be very careful at first and be ready with the hose.

Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:51 pm

Another quick update on my progress so far. Got the passenger side of the bus done now - found a few big areas that had been bare metalled and filled for only minor dings that needed repainting but luckily no rust even in the rockers. Vents took ages to strip but only need a few small chips touching in. Moving onto the rear now and expecting to find some bondo in the rear corners which I'll dig out and see what damage is under it.

Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:12 pm

Started on the rear corner - was expecting some bondo and repairs lower down. It didn't let me down - 5mm thick bondo and 12 holes where the slide hammer has been used and signs of it having some big old tail lights fitted in the past. I got the hammer and welder out and got it looking a bit better without bondo this time.

Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:30 pm

Wrenchman12 wrote: moogie32 wrote: This product takes anything you want off one layer at a time. It worked on primer with no problem and so long as it's removed in a timely fashion will not ruin the paint underneath. I highly recommend it!

HAHA should have read all the pages... looks like this answers my question... Sounds like it will work well on primer! now I have to find some...

Pep Boys carries it.