Removing aftermarket paint to get OG paint

[70bus]

Here's another entry. We start off with a few 'before' shots of the interior and its paint condition.

Honestly, I didn't care so much about the fugly flat titanium-white as much as its condition; it was loose and flaking in many spots, and I didn't relish driving around in a snow globe. At the very least I wanted the loose crap off. After reading ALL the posts here, I settled on Motsenbacher's, Jasco Premium Spray and Acetone as the products that worked best, and used 0000 steel wool to work paint off after a few minutes. I start w/ Motsenbacher's and follow up with the Jasco only if stuff remains; I then hose it all down with plenty of water, wipe with terry cloths, and then follow up with acetone and steel wool to get a smooth, clean surface. i usually wash again w/ water. Got the bulk off; what's left tends to be in pits/dents, and further steelwooling gets the edges to bare metal. Jasco is starting to bubble OG paint so I stopped before it got too far. The passenger side door frame didn't do as well as the driver's, as I think it had the most sun exposure for 40 years. Most of the remaininder will be behind the seats, so that's fine.

The cab seems to have had at least one decent paint job between the original L87 perlweisse and the flat white - the dash and parts of the overhead vent are more ivory in color after the flat white came off; interestingly, that paint comes off with the acetone quite readily. I really don't want to strip it all off (I have no place to repaint and no $$$ for pro job) so not sure what I'll do here... Perhaps I'll get some 2-stage rattlecans to do the new floor and hit the dash and airbox as well then.

Still have to do under dash and seat stand.

Someday I might try doing the whole truck, but I have a feeling that it will look pretty ratty due to repairs and bondo I'm sure to find

In any case, i prefer the dinged OG paint color and shine - battered though it is - to the chalky flat white with rust staining!
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[Larry Engelmann]

[bruceo98]

I have no idea of any product that would stop at any certain point. Strippers are made to remove the paint. Even if you were to be able to stop the stripper from taking it all off , the paint under it will be soft and impregnated with the stripper. Not a surface I would want to chance putting paint over. Especially with the cost of paint materials right now.
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I may not be the best, but when the top 10 get together, they all talk about me.

[LAGrunthaner]

Thanks bruceo98 for the update. BTW are you saying you were unable to stop the process to get to the OG paint? If so let us all know how you are able to stop it. I have a few small projects I'd like to try and get to the original color prior to welding.

http://kleanstripauto.com/products/aircraft-ultra-paint-remover

[bruceo98]

Just a follow up on my last post about the new strippers. aircraft stripper finally has something that works close to the old stripper. it called Aircraft Stripper ULTRA. used it today and went straight down to the metal on the first coat. Just follow the directions.
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I may not be the best, but when the top 10 get together, they all talk about me.

[LAGrunthaner]

How do you quickly stop the stripping process to prevent amounts OG paint from being removed? Is there a solution used to stop the process of acetone reaction when you want it to stop?
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[bruceo98]

Here’s a little insight into the new paint strippers out there since they don’t have methylene chloride in them anymore .you shouldn’t put it on with a brush.brushing leaves air pockets on the surface of the stripper . You should use a bondo spreader and put a nice thick wipe on it . After you apply it cover it with a piece of plastic . Let it sit for a little while and see if that works better . I have a body shop and I feel your pain with these new strippers.
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I may not be the best, but when the top 10 get together, they all talk about me.

[LAGrunthaner]

[58euro]

Thanks guys!! Most important part of stripping paint is staying patient, as each old paint job reacts differently. The dove blue decklid above only had 1 repaint of that white. The white came right off just wiping it with acetone. The fire truck red one was more difficult as it had 4 old paint jobs. Took my time working in small sections using steel wool and acetone to break through the layers and some points needed to be hit with acetone on Q tips. Tough small sections got Q tips wrapped in steel wool and then dipped in acetone. The postal yellow decklid had 5 paint jobs on top of it but went a little quicker. First couple layers were so dry and crappy that a razor blade flaked those right off. Then I used steel wool and acetone to bust through the last few layers similar to how I finished the fire truck red decklid. Going really slow and focusing on small sections ensures that you save as much of the paint as possible no matter what the condition of the paint is underneath.

[scottyrocks]

[Larry Engelmann]

I second Everett's impression, great work indeed!

[EverettB]

Wow, nice work, any tips on products or techniques?
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[58euro]

Here’s a few decklids I’ve worked on over the last few months.

Before- Wolfsburg dove blue decklid

After

Before- Fire Engine Red 58 decklid

After

Before- postal yellow 58 decklid

After

[Adriel Rowley]

I wanted to do something with Ruby, she is not here, but her decklid is, so tried getting the red and orange (a clear mistake by the painter) off the original paint.

Most of the time, the Motsenbocker's and grey Scotch Bright were doing nothing and by the time started to do something, was taking all three layers off, why?

Also, why the odd scratches through into the factory primer despite a circular motion?

At this point in time, regretting this, seems should have stuck with the random orbital and rubbing compound, especially as leaves far more natural and therefore, aesthetically pleasing, wear patches.

Thanks in advance for any help.
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Dad's 1964 Beetle purchased September 1968.
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1971 Sunroof Squareback with Fuel Injection
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[Iamdave1087]

Thanks @larry Engelmann!
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1971 VW Deluxe Bay Window
1968 VW Beetle Classic

[Larry Engelmann]

Iamdave1087

Nice work! Looks like it holds a shine well too:)

[Iamdave1087]

So over the last week or so I finished up the project of removing and old spray on paint job from a past owner in the far distant past lol.

I continued to hit every panel with the Goof Off Professional Strength Graffiti Remover mentioned in my previous post.

On each panel/door in the areas that aren't completely rusted and will be cut out in the restoration process, I continued hitting them with the graffiti remover in conjunction with 0000 steel wool. Some spots were rough and required several applications, steel wool then repeat. The areas heavily painted and where the panels were likely prepped a bit better were tough. It would leave white swirl marks behind (the previous paint applied was a white spray paint or rust oleum type). I would let the swirl marks set and hit the rest of the panel. Then I would return to those areas and hit them again and repeat the process.

After I finished the removal of as much of the old paint as possible, I polished with a moderate cut compound on all the panels and wiped down. Following, I applied a Yellow Wax to all the panels and wiped down.

Below you will find pictures after completing. Next up, rust repair. A tad out of order but I wanted to see if I could get the OG paint on full display to get a pulse on how to finish the project if I take it all the way. Now that we're getting some warm days here and there I'll get the wheels and tires off to put on the new wheels and tires my father has sitting for the bus and get it up to his shop.

At that point we'll start digging into the rust repairs and go from there. Just bought a '68 Beetle that I'm going to shoot to get on the road to have something for the summer while this project is underway. Overall a pretty rewarding small portion of the project. Thanks all for the help in this thread from all the previous commenters.

The Finished Product

Front of the Bus, left the rough scratches where it was likely driven through the woods surrounding the farm where it came from here in New Jersey. I left the VW logo outline which I thought was a cool touch.

Passenger Side Low Angle Before and After

Rear of Bus

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1971 VW Deluxe Bay Window
1968 VW Beetle Classic

[Iamdave1087]

[Larry Engelmann]

@Iamdave1087

Looking good!

You seem to be making short work of the white removal there. Do you have to neutralize the graffitti remover with water after you've removed the paint? Or is that only for more robust strippers?

[Iamdave1087]

Hey guys. Thanks for all the info in this thread.

I just recently purchased my first bay window bus. It's a 71 deluxe and the og paint was covered with what appears to be some white spray paint. In some spots I could see the OG Kansas Beige show through so I wanted to test out removal of that to expose the paint. I used Goof Off Pro Strength Graffiti Remover, and some standard 0000 Fine Steel Wool. For when it would get gunked up with the paint in the heavily painted spots I would use a brand new piece of steel wool to come behind one that was mainly used to wipe the material off the paint.

A shot of the drivers side front of the original condition before removing the spray paint

A shot of the same side after trying out the Graffiti Remover on the door and side panel

Images from the same side after removing the paint

Expecting some warmer weather this week and will get out there to clean up the OG paint a bit. Once I get it to the shop the rust work will begin but wanted to make some progress on something in the interim. Will post updates.
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1971 VW Deluxe Bay Window
1968 VW Beetle Classic