My first bus....66 Standard

Brendel20 · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:14 pm Post subject: My first bus....66 Standard

Well, just finished my first "real" body job. I've tackled the cargo rocker but this short rocker was my first attempt at a seam weld that was aesthetically crutial. Up next is the long side so please critique my work.

Here is my initial fit work

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Then I tacked the rocker in at the upper seam and plug welding at the bottom. I purchased a mig welder from Eastwood. (135 model) It rocks. Has infinite heat adjustment and wire feed speed to really get dialed in. I got a little excited and laid down about 4 spots in a row towards the left side and got a touch of worpage. You can tell in the pic where I've ground the welds down.

I can't find my pic of the completed welds..must have deleted it.

Here it is after grinding the seam welds down. I used a little 2in grinding pad from lowes that worked really well. Took my time to not heat the seam up and cause worping.

I then took my DA sander and removed all the primer from the Gerson panel and got everthing ready for some filler. Used some mineral spirts to clean it up after.

Here's my fill job. In all, about 5 skim coats and sanding with the DA. I bought an inexpensive one from Lowes for about $60 that has worked great. Knocked down the first few coats with 80 grit and worked up to 120 and finally 220. Smooth as a babies but by then.

Finally, I used some spray bomb to etch prime. I have a can of Velvet Green I had paintscratch.com make that I plan to top coat with tomorrow night. Pic to come.....

Ok....what do you think?? Suggestions?? Totally new to welding and body work. Been watching lots of youtube and samba surfing to figure that stuff out.....btw, this is a 66 standard.

Andy

Z · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:37 pm Post subject:

Looks like you did all the steps right, and the primered panel looks pretty good in the pics. After the final coat and color sanding is when you'll really know how it came out, but I'd say that's a great first panel replacement job!

kanniff · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:57 pm Post subject:

Great job!

G-wood Todd · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:23 pm Post subject:

Good job. Now you're ready for the long side.
_________________
and take the kids for instance "Are we going in the Volkswagen bus?" and they say "Yay!" and clap their hands and if it's a glorious day you can slide the sunroof back and let a little of the glory in and all of a sudden, it stops looking funny.

-Volkswagen ad

mr white · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:19 pm Post subject:

You did great! Nice prep! The long side. Too funny! That one is tricky."Prep for hours you will". Seriously looks great! Keep it up. Just go for it,do it! Make it happen,have a good attitude,and take your time. Not much can go wrong if you can keep focused. Very Happy

Brendel20 · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:06 am Post subject:

awesome.....positive feedback. I appreciate it. Not quite as afraid of the long side now. Plan to start digging in soon. Not only will the long outer rocker need replacing but all the other supporting pieces: outriggers, jack points, inner rocker, b-pillar, long side supports, etc. Oh man...probably will take all winter. No rush though right Smile

sslosbergas · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:43 am Post subject:

Brendel20 · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:52 am Post subject:

What grit should I use to color sand? Should I use the DA or is that too aggressive? Just color sand with a block? Thanks

KWZ · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:56 am Post subject:

Damn, I love watching this bus come back to life......
_________________
'57 sunroof Standard
'63 15 window
'65 Westy SO44
'67 13 window

Z · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:12 am Post subject:

I wouldn't use any power tools to color sand. I don't like hard sanding blocks, unless its for a really flat panel. For anything with a curve, like the rocker, I like to use a small, flexible sanding pad, with the softer side toward the paint. Should be able to get one at your FLAPS for cheap, like this:

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/MTG0/SB1....ding+block

Until you get comfortable with how it works, I'd start with a pretty fine grit - maybe 1000 to 1200. Use a dish soap bottle w/a squirt top to keep water flowing over the sanding area. Stop often, drying the work area so you can see the progress you're making, and if its too slow, switch to a slightly more aggressive paper. Finer grit paper will not be effective for long, so switch to a new piece often.

Remember, you've only got a thin layer of paint to work with - sand some, dry, then use a good light to check the surface - you'll see the progress. GO SLOWLY...good luck!

Brendel20 · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:49 am Post subject:

Brendel20 · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:50 am Post subject:

Z · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:08 am Post subject:

Brendel20 · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:36 am Post subject:

Well, got busy but finally was able to top coat and "attempt" to blend into the OG paint. Here's a couple pics. My paint doesn't match all that well but is much better than rust red. I also took some rubbing compound and cleaned up the OG paint. You can really see the difference between the do (which has not be cleaned) versus the metal above the short rocker.

Ok now.....long rocker time. Check this bad boy out. Scary huh??!!

Should be getting my Gerson metal soon. Purchased the whole tall rocker - bpillar to vent/corner. Haven't started any cutting yet so if you have any advice please send it my way.

KWZ · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:35 am Post subject:

Bring it on! It's not that scary. Mostly because it's not my bus and I'm not doing it.
_________________
'57 sunroof Standard
'63 15 window
'65 Westy SO44
'67 13 window

mr white · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:49 pm Post subject:

I agree with KWZ. Its not scary,just a time consuming job. You will need a inner,possible lower B pillar,three wall pillars, and maybe C pillar,and of course the outer rocker. I just did this repair. I used a KF rocker 14" up. It was easy to install and the profile was on the money. Just take your time and I am sure it will look as nice as your short weld job.

durfeec · Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 11:10 am Post subject:

when i did my long rocker it was a little worse than that. i used as much of the OG metal as possible but didnt keep any rust. then cut my patch panel to fit. yours doesnt look that bad. id keep as much OG metal as possible.

take your time and space your welds out so you dont warp the metal. nice job on the short rocker btw.
_________________
1960 Bus Panel/Camper

exciter · Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:29 pm Post subject:

You did a fantastic job on the short rocker so Im sure youll do fine on the long one!!! One little trick i do while welding is have an air gun in your other hand and cool all welds the second you get done welding!

good luck and keep us posted!
_________________
Joe

419-236-9781

Brendel20 · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:48 pm Post subject:

Major Woody · Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 9:52 am Post subject:

Another thing I have seen done to keep the long wall flat during welding was to take a piece of one inch angle iron the length of the wall above the seam and very lightly tack it in place every few inches. It will hold the panel flat during fitup and initial tack welding. Then remove it by zipping the welds and double check your work before completing the welds.

X2 on the air gun. Allows you to quickly cool those welds off. If you have a little kid in the house, save time by giving them the air gun and have them do it behind you while you weld. Cool


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