Painting a Westy - Homestyle

[[email protected]]

Ok Folks...

I was going to post this in the paint forum - but I dont think I would recieve a positive responce there - also - this topic does hinge on a baywindow painting - specificly since I need to know volumes of paint.

Also - this is for any of those Baywindow owners with Dakota Beige Busses!

I'm a bit of a risk taker / experimenter and have been following a thread on the mopar forum for quite some time. This thread deals with roller painting a car using Rustoleum. The problems encountered by a lot of people with the Rustoleum paints lead to some people trying other products. One such product was the Interlux Paints Brightside brand. Those problems (soft paint after curing, orange peel, application, and number of coats -- ranging from 8-12) lead to the discovery of the applicational use of the Brightside which is still cheap - though not QUITE as cheap.

This paint is used primarily on boats, but is intended for other uses. It's forumulated to be either brushed, rollers, or sprayed onto the surface As Is, and is a single stage poly.

As a lot of people are aware - a lot of Bay Owners like to do things on the cheap - or are also risk takers / experimenters - so I am bringing this up here.

Considering the paint needed to spray a BUS - how much do you think might be needed to paint (roller) a westy? Estimates are that you waste a lot less paint as it isn't atomised and lost in the atmosphere. This also makes it a good choice for those of us who do not own a paint booth - or have access to one.

Also --- I am kinda lucky. My Westy is Dakota Beige - which is INCREDIBLY close to the Interluxe Brightside 4217 Grand Banks Beige

Interlux:
http://www.discountmarinesupplies.com/product.cgi?group=99379&product=99412

VW Paints:
http://autocolorlibrary.com/cgi-bin/search/searchpic.pl?1978-volkswagen-pg01.jpg

Of course since the westy needs some minor body work (will do myself) and most of the window seals replaced, I'll be treating this as a home-style paint job.

The results of those who take their time and experiement first are far superior to what I think I would have guessed possible.

How much do you folks estimate may be needed to paint a westy?

How much ridicule do you think I'll get?

How many of you will ridicule me?
_________________
Ryan

***********************************
1963 Beetle
***********************************

[GreenBrick]

No ridicule here. I painted a car once with a roller. Didn't look too bad from a distance.

Anyway, as far as the sprayer is concerned, have you considered an HVLP (high volume, low pressure) sprayer?? Uses much less paint, and the results are as good as a traditional sprayer.
_________________
Steve

'78 Westfalia 2.0L FI (Abigail) R.I.P.

[[email protected]]

Yes I've considered it - but I cant - I have no place in which to SPRAY paint - and I am NOT about to paint outside in a residential area LOL.

The reason I was looking at this method is the results are pretty close to a spray solution as the paint is self leveling.

Results on the cars listed on this page

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?C...7&vc=1

Were done with the Brightside paint - rollered on - wet sanded between coats - with a final wetsand and polish.

Also they have a paint that is close to dakota beige as well...
_________________
Ryan

***********************************
1963 Beetle
***********************************

[atmellovw]

When I was 16, I painted my Jeep with a paintbrush, a cheap paintbrush at that. It shed bristles and they became permanently affixed to the "finish". Ah, good times...
_________________
1972 Westy ("Bubbles") - Pastel White - 1700(1974 MT) - Dual Solex

[[email protected]]

The benefit of this paint is - it is self leveling.

Roller + Paint = Roller marks
Roller + Self Leveling Paint = No Roller Marks

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?C...7&vc=1

Those three cars were painted with rollers using Brightside....
_________________
Ryan

***********************************
1963 Beetle
***********************************

[GreenBrick]

No experience using that method myself, but it sounds good! I have some spots on mine that could use some work. I'm going to read more of that thread and do some experimenting myself.

The only concern I can think of is how to keep stuff from getting on the paint between coats.
_________________
Steve

'78 Westfalia 2.0L FI (Abigail) R.I.P.

[[email protected]]

Greenbrick - the solution - so I read - is to do it carefully - and if something falls in it - wetsand the area lightly. Yes - there can be problems with stuff falling in the paint - if you can do it inside - so much better. I could about convince my mom to let me use her garage as long as I promise to put down a tarp and not spray anything (before someone jumps on me about spraying inside the garage - I cant - there are two highly valuble cars in there that CANNOT be moved out - so there goes that plan of putting a bug on my paint...mom has forbidden anything being sprayed in the garage...lol)
_________________
Ryan

***********************************
1963 Beetle
***********************************

[[email protected]]

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?C...4&vc=1

Pay attention to the pics and experiences of Exit1965. He's been through the whole gamut - and decided, ultimately, on the Brightside paints.

I'm thinking the Westy should take around 3qts as explained by vdubya73 who painted his bus with Brightside - though he sprayed his....

I also understand that to minimise marks you should mix it with Brightside 333 Brush Leveler which helps.
_________________
Ryan

***********************************
1963 Beetle
***********************************

[Birdibus]

I've read about some people who have created temporary spray booths from $200 garage canopy kits. For that price they include 4 sides. Or buy the $100 model with top only and make walls of plastic sheeting. Duct tape the openings to keep out wind and bugs, seal the floor with plastic sheeting. Something to consider if there is space for such a rig.
_________________
`
'74 Westfalia Yosemite Yellow
'71 Bus Niagra blue and white

[Oil Phil-M]

I've heard of professional spray shops that will use a roller to apply the primer-filler layer when doing repairs as they want a good heavy coat with a single application that then gets sanded down.

If you're able to do all of the body work but just can't do the spraying you might just want to look around and see if you can find a shop willing to just do the spray. That's what I did when mine got painted. I had all of the trim, lights, roof (westy also) removed when I did the body work then drove it to the shop (was living in a rural area at the time) where they did the spray then I reassembled it. Time is money so the more prep you do the less expense it will be. Most important thing is ensuring that all the body work materials and paints are compatable with each other so its best to have it all from a single product line.

I know we all want to be able to do everything ourselves but sometimes a little money to a proper shop is worth the and time and money it would take us to do it.

[OB Bus]

I have loved the job that Brightside does on my pop top. Now this give me the motiovation to do the entire bus in this stuff.
Now isn't this Foxx's que to come in here and complain about people who want to wimp out with rollers and brushes. Usually ends up with something like: "...why don't they just spray regular automotive paint like good red blooded Americans.."
_________________
Larry in OB
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
69 Westfalia and 2002 Eurovan Camper.
People deserve the Government they voted for.

[VDubTech]

I have painted three Buses with a roller and it was pretty easy and the results were decent. The first one was a '72 Westy I picked up for $100 an just waned to get it looking decent enough to sit in the driveway without pissing the neghbors off too much. It was an inexpensive exterior latex from Home Depot. I got a gallon of each color and had plenty of paint left over. Regardless of the fact that I probable spent less than $50 total to do it, it's most definitely an improvement.

Before:

After:

The second one I did was my '62 15 window that needed a quickie repaint to cover the PO's "artwork." It was hotter than the fires of hell the day I painted it and I used Rustoleum High Gloss Enamel right off the shelf at Home Depot. $7 a quart. If I remember right I used 2 quarts of the grey and one quart of the white. I used two good heavy coats and the paint laid out fairly flat and had a decent shine. I went from this:

To This:

Here it is on the Canadian side at the Duty Free in Niagara Falls: That's the mist from the falls in the background. Note the designations on the pavement:

The other Bus I roller painted was my '74 Riviera. I was contacted by Fox Studios to do promotion for Little Miss Sunshine in NYC Labor Day weekend....the only catch was that I needed to be on the set of the Today Show with a yellow and white Bus. I wanted it to be easily removeable so I used Behr High Gloss Exterior Latex from Home Depot. I was painting the Bus less than 12 hours before I had to be on the set of the Today Show so I had no time to prime it. Took 6 coats of the yellow to cover the Neptune Blue and I onoly had time for one coat of white. I used about a gallon and a half of the yellow and maybe a little less than a half gallon of the white. The nice part was that with the good coat of wax that was on the Bus, the yellow paint peeled off like vinyl. Here are some before and after....then back to the OG paint.

Original Paint before:

On the set of the Today Show in Rockefeller Center:

Back home peeling the paint back off:

Paint all peeled off, rebuffed and waxed:

[Wildthings]

I have been thinking about giving brushable polyurethane a try. The boats that I have seen that have been painted with it look every bit as good as a boat that has received a sprayed on coat of polyurethane. Color selection appears to be limited, but my local paint dealer assures me he can tint it within reason.

[Erik G]

this is good info and all

but

you are a bit of a risk taker, yet you are scared of posting this in the correct forum? WTF?
_________________
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Duncwarw]

Self levelling indeed. Too bad coach paint doesn't seem to be available here in the USA: http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/paint.html
_________________
“To find yourself, think for yourself”
Socrates, 470 BC - 399 BC

[sxuxrxf]

I have 2 friends that painted their bugs in the alley outside the garage. Garden hose was used to keep the ground wet (paint won't stick and it keeps the dust down.) A $30 spray gun from Sears was used with a portable air compressor.
Both cars were Hot VW's cover/centerfold cars in the early 90's.




As you'll hear in any Adam Sandler/Rob Schnieder movie...

"You can do it!"
_________________
(ignore the X's )

[Desertbusman]

This is what I painted my bug in. A bunch of furring strips, held together with drywall screws. And you can get a big roll of plastic at HD for 15 dollars or so. A stapler is handy to attach the plastic. The first booth was made with PVC pipe. Real cheap and fun to work with. But a windstorm took it away.

Or don't worry about a booth or neighbors. Just drive out into the boonies, preferably right after a rain. Rent a little generator to run the compressor.
_________________
71 Superbug
71 Westy

[jberger]

Looks like you have a garage... a good weekend is all you need. Dakota Beige

[VDubTech]

Now THAT'S inspiring...I can't wait to get my Westy sprayed next year. I'll be going the garage route as well.

[[email protected]]

Very inspiring j-berger - is that your bus?

Wish I could spray - and no I can't spray INSIDE the garage - I would have to do it outside - less than 10 ft from a little girls playground in the backyard of the neighbor - and my mom doesn't want a lawsuit on her hands LOL.

I'm going to attempt the roll on brightside poly --- will experiement BEFORE just slapping it on the bus - dont worry - if it looks like crap - I aint gonna do it - and will pony up the dough.
_________________
Ryan

***********************************
1963 Beetle
***********************************