Bay Window tales from the Bulli Klinik

[Bulli Klinik]

Hello all. I thought that some of you may have an interest in what goes on at my shop, Bulli Klinik. I'm a long-time Bus guy, having owned Buses since '86. I've had everything from a 58 Westy to an 87 Syncro Westy and have serviced and repaired them all. I opened my shop a little over five years ago specializing in sheet-metal repairs and fabrication as well as complete restorations.

The nose on this 74 is one of the final projects on this Bus prior to it going out for paint. I'll try to post information about doing this on your own as I know the substantial learning curve in this kind of work. Maybe it will aid some of you in doing your own restoration or maybe it will sway you bring your project by my shop!

The nose on this Bus was damaged due to an accident. Though the Bus had a substantial amount of rust, the window channel is in decent shape with no rust-though. Metal finishing with the panel still attached is not an option due to lack of access. I decided the best course of action was to remove the lower skin.

The fastest way to remove paint is with a torch and a wire brush, though you have to be judicious with it's use. Clearly, you don't want to burn off paint in the middle of a flat, delicate panel. This is reserved for flanges and areas with enough crown to not allow the panel to warp. Run an oxygenated flame and brush it over the surface to burn the paint, then brush off. This also works GREAT for undercoating. Hold your breath or put on a respirator...

I prefer to use this style of drill. It has a split tip and works better than a spot weld drill. Use the smallest size drill which covers the entire spot-weld. A clean cut will prevent damage to the panel.

A sharp bit makes for quick work.

The upper cut was done with a 1mm cutoff wheel.
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Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[Bulli Klinik]

Here's what I'm working with.

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PM me about quality metal-work on your vehicle.
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[Bulli Klinik]

This is what I use.

Score the surface.

Wrap it up in plastic to keep the magic inside.

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Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[VWDog]

Thanks for this! Will follow with interest and hopefully do some on the wreck beside my house in the near-ish future

Quick questions:

Once the stripper is on, how long do you wait?
Is it temperature dependent?
Then what tool do you remove the paint with, just your common variety "putty" knife?

I have hand sharpened my own drill bits for quite a while, but have never mastered that double bevel type bit(that is what I am guessing that bit is anyway). Are there any tricks you can share to keep the bit sharp, or is it a case of "just buy a new one"?

Thanks!
Don
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1970 Lotus White Single Cab 2015- , 1979 Sage Green 2014-2015, 1978 Dakota Beige Westy 2012-2015, 1978 Neptune Blue Riviera 2012-2017 , 1970 Neptune Blue Bus 2010-2012, 1970 Deluxe Savannah Beige 2010-2012, 1985 Iltis 2010- , 1962 Single Cab 2010-2013, 1975 Brasilia? Bay/Split Kombi from Brazil 2008-2011, 1985 DoKa 1999-2009, 1971 Bus 1999-2000, 1968 Double Cab 1991-1998, 1965 Ghia 1987-1991, 1970 Westfalia-bought by Mum and Dad in 1970, sold by me in 1993 why-oh-why :_(

[Bulli Klinik]

I generally leave the stripper on until it looks like the paint isn't going to lift anymore. It usually takes a couple of application to get the vast majority of the paint off. I put the plastic on to keep the stripper wet as long as possible. I take the paint off with a single edge razor in a holder. The razor is better at taking of the un-lifted, soft paint than a scraper. Wire brushes work well in tight spaces.

I consider the drills consumables. It would be tough to duplicate the tips of these particular bits anyhow. I just buy them at ACE Hardware.
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PM me about quality metal-work on your vehicle.
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[Lil Lulu]

Love the mic stand torch holder. Thought I was the only one.

I did sound for a living for a few years and have about 40 mic stands left. I use them for all kindsa things. Especially good for light stands that stay where you put them.
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'65 Beetle "Lil' Lulu"- Ruby Red
1600 stock from '71 bus

'72 Deluxe - Niagara Blue w/pastelwiess Camper Special 2L dual 40 Webers 002

'74 Hightop Weekender "Dixie" 1800 34 Del singles

[Bulli Klinik]

I have a lot of hammers and dollies, but these are what I used for the majority of the panel.

There were a few stretched areas that needed some heat shrinking.

Though this obviously isn't the nose panel, his planishing hammer saves a lot of hand work and gives a very nice finish to the panel.

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PM me about quality metal-work on your vehicle.
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[Bulli Klinik]

I got the majority of the panel smooth with the planishing hammer, but there is always some hand work to do in the detail areas. After hammering, filing and sanding:

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Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[Bulli Klinik]

I prepped the lower flange by sanding any surface rust away and blasted the lower flange of the panel as well as any burned paint areas on the backside. that was followed by a phosphoric acid treatment and a coat of 3M Weld-thru.

The panel was put back in place, cleco'd and tacked in preparation for TIG welding.

That's all for now. Looking forward getting it welded and metal finished early next week.
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PM me about quality metal-work on your vehicle.
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[Bulli Klinik]

[Manfred58sc]

Great work, thanks for sharing all the details.
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Fat chick owner/operator

[Vova]

Beautiful work!
Can you post some pics of the rest of the bus?
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1978 Westfalia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=663529&highlight=vova
Bay Area VW owners on Face Book
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[TomWesty]

[foxmon]

Nice work, thank you for posting.

[Abscate]

Paint stripper is nasty stuff...methylene chloride, xylene, base other goodies. Lots of fresh air ventilation please.

Heat shrinking metal is taught in intermediate and advanced metal working class...3-4 years in at our local place
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[TomWesty]

[lil-jinx]

And a few very bad ones also on youtube.
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620186
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668799
1974 Bay Westfalia. she likes to be called Ethel.
1968 Dune Buggy sold dec 2024

1974 parts bus
A smart man learns from his mistakes,a very smart man learns from other's mistakes.

[Bulli Klinik]

Thanks for the kind words. I love Buses and metalwork and I hope that it shows in the work I do.

Heat shrinking is used when the metal has been stretched, causing an increase in surface area. Once dents are bumped out, often times the panel is too bulbous in the area that was stretched.

An area about the size of a dime is heated at the crown of the stretch until it is glowing red. This area is more "fluid" than the surrounding, cold steel and with the heat, the area will swell up a bit. The surrounding steel is upset with a few hammer blows near the heated area. The force of the surrounding cold steel as well as the blows of the hammer will force the metal molecules into the heated zone, thereby causing the area to increase in thickness and shrink once cooled. The area is again bumped with hammer and dolly, then filed and metal finished.

There are many ways to shrink metal, but this technique has been around for ages and it's what I use most of the time. If you can get a dolly behind the panel while it's still hot, you'll have a bit more control. Some use a wet rag to quench the panel. Others say not to. I use a wet rag most of the time because I don't have all day to wait for a panel to cool. A wet rag will also increase the amount of shrink, from my experience.
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PM me about quality metal-work on your vehicle.
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[Bulli Klinik]

Here is the Bus.

_________________
PM me about quality metal-work on your vehicle.
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[Bulli Klinik]

_________________
PM me about quality metal-work on your vehicle.
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs