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Painting the top of My Vanagon
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Maine
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:36 pm    Post subject: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

I have a 1985 Westfalia that the top is the same color of the body. The previous owner did this when he had the van painted nearly 20 years ago. I would like the top to be white. A local body shop gave me a price of $800 to do the job, seems like a lot.
After doing a search I found that many do the job themselves with a roller, so I am thinking I can do thi. I am a bit challenged in this area so I have some questions.
How difficult of a job is this?
Does the top have to be removed?
There are some minor scratches so what specific product do I use to fill these in?
What is the sequence: wash, sand (with what)), primer, paint (I'm thinking of using Interlux)?
Number of coats of primer, how much sanding?
Any other suggestions?
Thanks
Maine
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tbone5
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 6:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

If you were local to me I'd offer to do the job for 1/2 that price....really this project is a piece of cake. I painted mine last summer and found the project quite easy to do (assuming we aren't talking any fiberglass repairs). As you suggested, do a good wash, lightly sand (don't over do it as you might go through the gel coat)and have at it with a roller. Looking in my garage, I found what I think was the "left over" paint... a quart of the very Interlux you are considering. I think I only used a single quart, but am not sure. If I recall correctly, I laid down two coats...certainly not more than three. (Keep in mind my van's roof was white from the start, so no color change). While there was some wear and tear, I didn't bother to fill in the minor surface imperfections. I removed the luggage rack to facilitate the replacement of the cleats. The roof on the other hand I painted in place (but made sure to remove all the hardware and tape off a boundary between the fiberglass and the metal roof.) A suggestion while you're at it: now would be a good time to replace all the seals and change out the hardware with stainless.
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puchfinnland
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:00 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

I just finished my write up on my roof renovation not long ago! Painted it with Awlgrip and a roller

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=731545
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Andross
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:01 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

$800 sounds pretty reasonable to me, how many hours of labour are you willing to do for the price? That's the question, I painted my van myself a few years ago and now fully appreciate the cost of a professional job! Took me a month and spent probably $1500 on materials.


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fxr
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 9:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

Painted our whole van (Westy roof and all) for less than USD 250 using Interlux Brightside.

BUT...

New seals. New windshield glass, tinting and other cosmetics cost another USD 1200.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 5:15 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

fxr wrote:
Painted our whole van (Westy roof and all) for less than USD 250 using Interlux Brightside.

BUT...

New seals. New windshield glass, tinting and other cosmetics cost another USD 1200.


How about a picture of that? $800 seems reasonable to me if all you do is drop
it off and pick it up. If you’ve got time, covered space, and patience and can live with the result, by all means do it yourself. It’s a lot of sanding. Sanding is my least favorite thing.
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4Gears4Tires
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 5:22 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

^ Yep.

I really enjoy shooting painting, but I hate sanding too. I also like my lungs and really wouldn't enjoy breathing issues from breathing sanded fiberglass.
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djkeev
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 6:02 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

As mentioned, it is a lot of work to paint the roof PROPERLY.

Easily $100 for paint alone. Then add sand paper, masking tape and labor into the equation.
It may actually be a bargain price.

I would vote to take it off. This way you can better assess for cracks, clean it good, reseal/replace the skylight, renew the fastener seals and replace the rubber seal along the bottom as well if needed.

Dave
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warmblood58
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:30 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

Interesting thread, glad I found it. My syncro will be painted its factory color of flash silver metallic-the previous owner painted the top black which of course absorbs heat vs reflecting heat so back to white I will go. I will most likely do this myself with a foam roller and brightside vs. having the shop shoot it -
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Steve M.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 11:10 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

djkeev wrote:

I would vote to take it off. T
Dave


Taking it off and giving it to the painters will make their job a lot easier as they will not have to stretch! If it is easy to work on you should get a better job as the center of the top is not out of sight and out of mind especially when you go to pick it up and can review their work.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 1:24 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

I painted my poptop and it was pretty easy. I even repaired some fiberglass but didn’t use a fiberglass repair kit. Instead I used epoxy to fix and cover the break in the fiberglass, and then sanded/blended it in. You can still feel the difference in height of the epoxy but you can’t tell on a galloping horse.

Use Brightside with Penetrol.

I couldn’t be happier with the end result of my poptop repaint, so much so that I might repaint my tintop roof with a roller and Brightside/Penetrol. I’d still leave the body to Maaco. Smile
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 11:39 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

I'd be happy to pay $800 to get the top cleaned, prepped and painted.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 8:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

OMG you can do it for $100 in one day easily. Do some reading on here about rolling on the paint. It is on the top, no one is going to criticize any imperfections.

The prep work is just grunt work. No fancy tools or labor involved. If anyone here who said they would pay $800 to have it done are driving by Maryland anytime soon I'd be glad to do it for that price all day long...

It is worth doing to keep the temps down up top.

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

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 8:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

dobryan wrote:
OMG you can do it for $100 in one day easily. Do some reading on here about rolling on the paint. It is on the top, no one is going to criticize any imperfections.

The prep work is just grunt work. No fancy tools or labor involved. If anyone here who said they would pay $800 to have it done are driving by Maryland anytime soon I'd be glad to do it for that price all day long...

It is worth doing to keep the temps down up top.

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


How much of a difference in prep work and the end result would there be in painting a tintop vs the fiberglass poptop? I would think it would show a lot more of the imperfections when painting the tintop. Any fiber hairs from the roller would stick out like a sore thumb. Regardless, I’m seriously considering rolling on some Brightside on the roof. Maybe I’ll do it for fun and a learning experience, eventually taking the Wolfie to Maaco for a full exterior repaint.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:56 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

Ride-Fly wrote:
dobryan wrote:
OMG you can do it for $100 in one day easily. Do some reading on here about rolling on the paint. It is on the top, no one is going to criticize any imperfections.

The prep work is just grunt work. No fancy tools or labor involved. If anyone here who said they would pay $800 to have it done are driving by Maryland anytime soon I'd be glad to do it for that price all day long...

It is worth doing to keep the temps down up top.

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


How much of a difference in prep work and the end result would there be in painting a tintop vs the fiberglass poptop? I would think it would show a lot more of the imperfections when painting the tintop. Any fiber hairs from the roller would stick out like a sore thumb. Regardless, I’m seriously considering rolling on some Brightside on the roof. Maybe I’ll do it for fun and a learning experience, eventually taking the Wolfie to Maaco for a full exterior repaint.

To avoid fiberhairs from a roller cover, you could thin foam versions instead of the regular covers.
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dobryan
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 5:01 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

Read up on the 'roll and tip' technique. Often used in the boat world.

The prep for my westy top was exactly the same as for the body paint.
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2022 11:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

dobryan wrote:
OMG you can do it for $100 in one day easily. Do some reading on here about rolling on the paint. It is on the top, no one is going to criticize any imperfections.

The prep work is just grunt work. No fancy tools or labor involved. If anyone here who said they would pay $800 to have it done are driving by Maryland anytime soon I'd be glad to do it for that price all day long...

It is worth doing to keep the temps down up top.

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


Nice! Exactly what I was hoping to do. White on top. Do you have some pics showing with the pop top up?
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PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2022 6:00 am    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

djkeev and I are Q & D top painters. He used a Tractor Supply paint, and I went with Interlux as that's what I had. I brushed. The whole thing took half a day. Sanded with a pad RO sander, wiped it down with gas and had at it. It's what I'd call a 4 foot job. Looks good from 4 feet out. Since the whole car needs painting, the eye won't go under the 4' range to find flaws.

On a pro window out repaint, that's a different story.

Toss on the Interlux you have and see if you like it, What's the worse that can happen? Repaint. Hint. Because of VOC standards, the Interlux rep at a boat show told me it is no longer possible to paint directly out of the can as they can't put enough solvent in to meet the standard. So thin the quart with about an 3/4 of an ounce of 333 brushing liquid. If spraying use 216 for spraying. If you want a really pro looking long lasting job which will pass the <1' test, use sausage rollers and apply four coats of two part Interlux Perfection.

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PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2022 12:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

I'm considering doing a non permanent white vinyl wrap on my roof if the summer heat is bugging me enough. Just mention the idea just in case someone might like to try it before they go all out. 3M might also have some fancy vinyl that has heat rejection technology in a wrap film too.
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PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2022 1:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Painting the top of My Vanagon Reply with quote

Crankey wrote:
I'm considering doing a non permanent white vinyl wrap on my roof if the summer heat is bugging me enough. Just mention the idea just in case someone might like to try it before they go all out. 3M might also have some fancy vinyl that has heat rejection technology in a wrap film too.


Anything which gets stuck on a car with a gummy backing, becomes permanent after a month--or pretty close to it. The UV turns Velveta into steel. Anyyone who has tried to remove some PO vinyl stripping from the side of their T3. On the top it would happen even faster. I'd look for a different solution.

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