Really Shotty old paint job and also some rust.

[Jos.Hall]

The question is.... How would you approach it?
Everything in me wants to sell the car and just move on to something with a few less headaches. The problem is, I've had this car for 18 years. I got this car when I was 14 (it was my first car) and worked on it for about 3 years before I ever got to drive it (don't worry I bought another vw to drive while I worked on this). That's the back story. In short, I was 14 had never done body work, had never prepped a car for paint and didn't have a clue what I was doing. Honestly the car just needed a good buff but I didn't know that at the time.

fast forward to 2016.....

I don't have money to redo the paint properly. If I'm going to drop money into a paint job, I'm going to send the car off to someone like Buddy Hale and have my dream Cal looker built (unfortunately this isn't a '67). That being said I wouldn't be opposed to sanding some of this current paint smooth buying a couple of cans off of paint scratch and trying to color match it. What would you guys do?

Honestly if I don't do that, the only other thing I might do would be to try and smooth out the chips and put a layer of clear over the whole thing to prevent it from chipping and fading more.

On to part 2........

The only major rust on the whole car is in the front quarter panel at the seam. How should I go about fixing this or should I just let it go until that time when I have 50k to dump into the ultimate looker?

TIA for any advice.

[Bama Dave]

I would bet that most of us, me included, cannot afford a high dollar paint job. We do the work ourselves as much as our capability allows, then outsource the rest when money is available. My guess is that you can correctly do much of the repair/prep work yourself, now that you are older and wiser. And, you might be able to get the final prep and paint at a local body shop for a reasonable amount. My paint job looks great and I only had to have a pro spray it as I did not have the equipment/facility to do it. Cost me $1K for the pro to do the final steps. I did all the bodywork...took me months, but I know exactly what is under the paint. It all depends on your location, patience and budget. Lots of threads here about rust removal, paint removal, prep, on and on. Good luck.
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David Richerson

1970 Beetle
1971 Super
1972 Baja

[Jos.Hall]

I appreciate the response Dave. I'm sure that with time and the patience I've accumulated over the years my outcome would be much better a second time around. That being said though, I've got a 3 year old and a 1 year old that demand both the time and the patience I've accumulated. More than likely I will just rock it as is for the time being.

I would however love some advice concerning the rust on the front passenger quarter. For the longest time the door was frozen shut. But, with lots of PB blaster via a healthy daily dosage for 2-3 weeks and some careful negotiating, it is as smooth as ever and I can feel both clicks of the latch.

Is the only solution to this to remove the front quarter panel and re-butt the seam? Has anyone else made a repair like this that can lend some advise?

[Jos.Hall]

here's a rough photo of the car just cause.....

[Mike Fisher]

You won't ever have the 10-20K needed, so do it yourself now One fender at a time. Primer or paint the one fender & move on to the next fender. Keep it driveable as you work on it? You can do that in 1 year on the cheap! Medium compressor,air drill,spot blaster,spray gun etc as you need them.
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[Jos.Hall]

Sorry Mike I just saw your reply. I agree, even if I had the money, I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on it. I really like the idea of 1 fender at a time, then moving to the panels. I had it off the road for about 2.5 years when I decided to do a full pan swap and restore. I don't want to do that again. (what could've been a weekend job quickly turned to 2 1/2 years)

I think I'll take that suggestion and run with it.

[beetlenut]

You can color match your paint at an auto paint store and have them put it into some nice spray cans that have an adjustable nozzle. Works better for BC/CC.

For the seam, you'll have to grind it down to bare steel first to see what you have to work with. I had paint bubbles on that section of my car, but got lucky and still had steel left to work with. I treated the rust and seam sealed that seam before all primers and top coats. If your missing steel, you'll need to cut off all rust until you're back into solid steel. Then you can begin to build that area back up with strips of 18 gauge steel and a MIG welder.
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scrapyards are for quitters
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[Jos.Hall]

Great thoughts! thank you. I'll definitely do that with my rusted area. I bought a color matched can off Paint Scratch a while back based on my paint code but I think I'll hit the paint shop up this time with my glove box door and see if I can't get a better actual match.

[beetlenut]

[raygreenwood]

[Jos.Hall]

Great info! thanks Ray. Do you work in the industry?

[raygreenwood]