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Fri Nov 11, 2022 12:21 pm

I spent a while searching on the forums but haven't been able to find any good threads on painting the body...

I'd be interested in comparisons of different levels of "strip down" and how they came out... and costs....

Any good threads out there?

Fri Nov 11, 2022 1:18 pm

"Windows in" is an entertaining place to start...but don't be like OP - https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=740625

Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:13 pm

I think you could spend a lifetime sussing out the various factors at play here. To many factors to consider. For many of these old vans the seals are shot, mine looked ok but the windshield was leaking a little at the edges. And the sidewindows had the crome strip, all my seals were OE and in need of replacement. Like most things in life my POV is that if you try to do something cheaper it costs you more in the end. If you have a garage and some time you can do a lot of this yourself. Taking windows out is easy, putting them in is hard. But I found bits of rust under all my seals. You could do just about all the prep work yourself and then tow it to a paintbooth. A lot of the work is not that hard, it just takes time, tools and some planning. If you try to pay professionals to do everything it will be hard to make it both economical and quality. Good fast and cheap, pick two, only two and thats if you have a good person/shop working on your van.
FWIW I painted mine in my garage with single stage IMRON aircraft paint, it came out nicely and has held up well for over 12 years now. That said I was single at the time and it took me about 9 months working on it in all my free time. If I tried to do it now (wife, kids, dog) it would take me twice a long.

Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:26 pm

My first couple pages here have some paint stuff.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

Honestly, the hardest part is the little stuff. Once you take the doors off, knobs, farkles and windows out, you realize all the hardware and little bits add up.

Plan ahead your space and willingness to suffer.

Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:33 pm

There's an entire forum dedicated to body and paint topics:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=13

Fri Nov 11, 2022 10:29 pm

RoryGirl wrote: "Windows in" is an entertaining place to start...but don't be like OP - https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=740625

Don't be like RoryGirl and hate on others that have skills you don't. The butt hurt is strong with this jamoke that has know it all syndrome.

The paint job turned out superb and the owner of that Vanagon is still thrilled with it. So apparently RoryGirl doesn't want you to succeed. Ask me how I know. :roll:

Fri Nov 11, 2022 10:46 pm

Go fly the Simple Green skies Aryana :fist:

Sat Nov 12, 2022 9:12 am

Thanks for all the links! Most helpful!

Sat Nov 12, 2022 12:14 pm

I did all the prep work and hired a pro to do the actual day of painting on my syncro.

Start on page 7.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=120