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

Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:36 am

Thanks...yeah, I am going to wet sand it to knock down any bumps then maybe buff it and see if I can get some small amount of burn through in strategic areas...I took good pics of where it was faded to green so in those areas I might be able to get some "faketina" to match the rest of the bus.

And the L289 I got from Tower Paint was their "Acrylic Enamel". I think the color was pretty darned close to the OG L289 however the spray cans it came in were complete garbage.

Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:24 pm

Dan,

sorry to hear you had a problem with the cans, I feel guilty because I turned you on to tower :oops:

For what its worth the bus is looking good!

Tue Jan 22, 2013 3:54 am

Thanks Jeff.

Yeah I was surprised the cans were so bad...the nozzles were garbage, they didn't spray evenly and threw some glops. Really bad in my opinion...considering a can costs $18!

No worries though, I swapped out a nozzle from a can of Krylon I had and it worked much better.

Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:38 pm

alright guys you have inspired me to remove all the nasty black spray on my 71 square. I'm currently using the 0000 wool and oven cleaner seems to be working but very slowly...would something like http://www.jracenstein.com/item/26-87/pad-orbital-5in-steel-wool/ on an orbital be a good idea?

Sat Jan 26, 2013 5:11 pm

About half way through my bus I hit upon a really good and fast combo...Kleen Strip Acetone and a little scrubby pad called "Dobie" it's for scouring pots and pans and says "No Scratch" on it. I bought the "Dobie" pads at Family Dollar...like a buck a piece.

I'm sure it had something to do with the warmer temps where I live but that combo worked really well for me and took off the blue paint very quickly and without damaging the OG paint. I buzzed through the entire driver's side of my bus in probably 3 hours total.

Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:24 am

Anyone have any tips on getting paint off the rear vents on a late split window bus? My '65 has innie vents so it's kind of a PITA. I can do ti but I'm getting a lot of burn through since it's such a narrow area.

Thanks.

Fri Feb 01, 2013 4:41 pm

beardy wrote: I'm currently using the 0000 wool and oven cleaner seems to be working but very slowly...would something like http://www.jracenstein.com/item/26-87/pad-orbital-5in-steel-wool/ on an orbital be a good idea?

There's no way I'd use that - putting anything abrasive on a variable speed polisher will burn straight through to the metal. You just have to suck it up and face a long, slow process.....

Thu Feb 07, 2013 5:15 am

I finished getting the crappy blue paint off my engine vents last night. That was tough with the innie vents...my finger tips are sore today! Anyway, I managed to get it off without too much burn through. Using the Acetone/Dobie pad method...worked really well.

I just did a small area on the passenger front door but after a quick hand wax it actually started to shine up a bit. I'm gonna try and get the power buffer out this weekend and see if I can breathe some life back into that old paint.

For now my plan is to just wax the bare metal areas, maybe if I can get some color matched paint I'll try blending it in a bit.

I'll post up some pics afterwards.

Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:27 am

www.towerpaint.com sells VW colors in spray cans that match pretty well.

Thu Feb 07, 2013 10:53 am

Thanks Mike. I actually used some L289 (blue white) from Tower and the color was decent but the spray cans were terrible. Nozzles were garbage IMO. Maybe i got bad ones and they aren't all like that.

At any rate though the green on my bus is 48 years old and thus very faded so I don't think new paint would blend in very well...unless there's a trick to fading it that someone can clue me in on!

Sat Feb 09, 2013 10:53 am

Couple pics...have not done any buffing yet...probably won't shine up too much. I really like the look.

Mon Feb 11, 2013 7:39 am

My son used Tower lacquer paint & clear to spot paint his Toyota and it came out real nice!

Looks like your bus is just about ready for fresh paint/clear. :twisted:

Thu Feb 14, 2013 4:28 pm

Thanks for the tip there Mike.

And yeah, I know the OG paint isn't the best but I hated the crappy blue repaint it had and I'd rather run this until I can afford a quality paint job.

Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:02 am

Using Kleen strip paint stripper first on the white paint. It also softens the bondo and glazing/ primer compound enough to scrap it off dow to metal/ og paint.. I use a thin metal scraper to chip/ scrape away the bondo and a plastic one to scrape the paint. I come back over it with acetone and a "dobie" scrubber or 0000 steel wool and a terry cloth to clean up the rest.

results thus far. I have about 2 hours into it. It would go faster if i sprayed more stripper at a time and worked faster, but its cold out.

Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:28 pm

Man, I know that's a mountain of work right there! If you're like me you'll be glad you did it though. My OG paint is not great but I really like the aged look and the fact that it's sporting the same paint it left the factory with 48 years ago.

Keep it up man.

Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:52 pm

yeah it is. I should buy stock in Kleen Strip company. Im plowing through Acetone, stripper and steel wool. I find the white paint is much much harder to remove off the bondo and whatever that black stuff is than off the OG paint itself, given the same time to let the stripper work. I have much more respect for the guys doing bodywork. Its a lot of BS work, and im not even trying to make it straight :shock:

Wed Feb 27, 2013 3:41 pm

another 2 hours worth of scrubbing. another 1 gallon acetone, 1 pint stripper, 1 bag 0000 steel wool and half dozen rags. Paint is really stubborn on the bondo.

how many quarts of bondo in this nose?

should i grind off all the bondo on on the nose, and paint blend the dented nose as damaged or leave the bondo and paint blend it as is?

Wed Feb 27, 2013 3:49 pm

Dang, I only went through 2 cans of Jasco for mine, but yeah, that steel wool goes quick no matter what method you use, and lots of scrubbing! I also didn't have that much bondo to deal with...

Good work, looks good!

Wed Mar 20, 2013 1:55 pm

Has anyone used an orbital or something to just cut down the thickness of the top layer that you want to remove. My bus is covered in white primer and I just want to get some of the material out of the way before applying the chemical.

Also, what Klean-Strip did you use? I'm looking through the thread trying to find a picture. I think Dollar General Oven Cleaner and some 000 steel wool will work. I was trying no-scratch pads from dollar general, but they were getting full really quick and not doing a great job removing the primer.

Leave the oven cleaner on for 30 seconds ish?

Wed Mar 20, 2013 2:10 pm

I used Kleen-strip brand Stripper, bought at Home depot. Heavy duty EZ OFF oven cleaner is also effective but wear GOOD gloves and a mask. It will cut through thicker stuff, you just have to leave it sit longer. You can cover it with plastic after you spray it on speeding up the process, as well as using it in warmer temps.

I wouldnt DA anything, especially if your only dealing with 1 coat of the white primer. Just use a metal razor blade or metal scraper to scrape it down to OG paint, thats the fastest way to remove the bulk of it. come back with the 0000 Wool and acetone to clean it up. Yes, you are going to blow through bags of steel wool or scrubbers, the newer they are, the faster they work.

I found that the chemicals would cut through the same paint in the same time even it was thicker. Its cutting through multiple layers of different paints and bondo/ mud etc that causes the grief.

try a 6" x6" test patch for timing, once see the paint start to wrinkle up use your razor blade or metal scraper to scrape it off. then adjust accordingly. Watch out for the runoff and drips if not wiped of/ diluted down will soften and eat through OG paint if you leave it a day or 2, leaving nasty runs and spots of bare metal.