Removing aftermarket paint to get OG paint

[Larry Engelmann]

[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!
_________________
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

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[58euro]

Another decklid stripped back to og paint, there were 3 layers of paint on top of the original sealing wax red.

[70bus]

passenger door looked nicer than driver's.

_________________
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

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[70bus]

Slowly working may way wround the truck... about an hour to remove a patch this size.

_________________
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

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[Pau]

Hello,
finally I tried! Aftermarket green paint was cracked at the top part. With my nail I could remove some small pieces and red was pointing up.

I bought a graffity remover spray and a decapating gel. With the graffity remover I didn't have much succes. With the gel, it worked quite well. I still have to find the best way to apply, as I don't want to waste nice red original paint.

For the moment the best way is to apply gel with a brush. Tried a cutter (really not confident, need to buy a plastic blade), steel whool (have to find the correct waiting time).

And PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE!!!

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Freedom for the Catalan Countries
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[Kommercial]

[Pau]

Thank you for this advice.
Indeed it was easier after the 80grit.

It is very difficult to find the correct time, surface to do at once, metal wool or plastic razor,…

Do you think gas tank flap (spelling?) paint is thinner than around. I tried a new ´citrus’ gel in the inside of the flap. It went deeeeeeeep to bare metal really fast. So I am afraid of using it for another part.

I will try it in some other hidden part to see.

Have a nice day.
_________________
Freedom for the Catalan Countries
Si ens destrossen les contrades alçarem les barricades !!*!!

[Kommercial]

I would test on an area with solid paint that you never see, like the front or rear floor. Inside of gas flap never seems painted well.

Always start with the weakest stripper you can find. If the word "safe" doesn't appear on it very prominently, I wouldn't consider it. The idea we need here is that it is weak because it's natural 'citrus', not that it's powerful because it's citrus. You can find both styles. Don't want something that actually does it's intended job. So the gel aspect makes it stay active longer and in place, and laying a piece of SaranWrap over it will keep it working longer as well.

As said before, this is a lesson in patience.

[Marcdeb]

Here's a thread that might be helpful for you. It describes how the owner stripped only the top respray of the interior and exterior on a Karmann Ghia but did not remove the original factory paint.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620167&start=0
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Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[Pau]

Thank you all,

in fact I already saw that thread, thanks. After reading all your posts I decided to do mine several months ago, but life gave us a hard strike. Our son's memory gives me the strenght of keeping the busses alive. He really shared my love for VW.

After trying on the door, I got a new gel and I wanted to try on some hidden part.

That's the result:

Thanks to Kommercial's comments, guessed it was a part not very well painted and tried slowly the exterior:

and finished it:

Raw metal parts are not my fault ! There was bondo.

So I am quite confident for continuing work. This evening I had 30' and I reviewed the door I started. I could clean much of the green paint that left from my first attempt.

To be continued...
_________________
Freedom for the Catalan Countries
Si ens destrossen les contrades alçarem les barricades !!*!!

[70bus]

I found many of the paintstrippers too aggressive, and what worked on my top layer of paint was acetone and 0000 steel wool. It takes hours, you need gloves and a vapor mask, and its messy. But when done I often had a smooth layer of OG paint. You trade time for better control. BUT your paint has to dissolve in acetone! The paint on the nose of the bus did not, and I used epoxy stripper... which was OK for me since the donor nose had a different color factory paint.

_________________
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

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[Pau]

Hello!

Don't blame me, I am just trying to give back a reluctant red paint to the SO23. One thing is the idea, and the other one is what I reach to do.

I love original paint:

But it is very difficult to get there. At cargo door I started finding a respray, I think.

But it ends showing up nice.

What do you recommend me for angles? If they are outwards, raw metal shows really fast, if they are inwards, I can't get it!

Thank you.
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Freedom for the Catalan Countries
Si ens destrossen les contrades alçarem les barricades !!*!!

[Pau]

Hello,

yesterday I took the sander and I thinned the green paint. Much better but irregular and I did little scratches. Blue primer hides a kind of thick aftermarket red painting that takes off and leaves place to the red original paint. I hope I am right. The first red painting is quite orange when it goes. The second one resists a lot and is not sweeping away. But for sure it is not reluctant. I take the layer of varnish, but it does a little patina. Not bad.

Today I spent two hours for little result. But under the belt line is really oddy. Bondo is difficult, plastic blade is appropriate.

As you can see, bus has several surprises. But I started, I will continue. Am I right Doctor? or should I pass directly to sandblasting?

Thank you and sorry again for my english...
_________________
Freedom for the Catalan Countries
Si ens destrossen les contrades alçarem les barricades !!*!!

[70bus]

A heat gun, or a really powerful hair dryer, should help soften the bondo; then take a stiff putty knife and scrape it off. I found it easier than using the chemicals. If you are using paint strippers, a wide, flexible putty knife can help scrape paint off as opposed to sanding it. As i said, i found the strippers worked too fast and too deep to keep the OG paint intact, and used acetone and 0000 steel wool.

And yes, I found some nasty surprises as well, especially the nose, which had at least 6 skim coats of filler over bondo; the passenger side below the gas filler had a long, deep gouge filled with bondo. And the rear corner had many little holes where they'd pulled out a dent. So I won't have a completely OG paint surface when I'm done, just like you - I figure if I can blend the old and new paints well enough, it will look fine from 20 feet. if not, I start saviing money for a new paint job.

It's your bus; do what you want with it! Except don't leave all the crusty rusty parts and paint that would keep falling off; that's not patina, that's littering!
_________________
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

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[AS350driver]

I used 000 steel wool, easy off heavy duty in the yellow can, and sunlight to get most of the blue off this single cab.

Before

[Pau]

Hello,

Bus70, thank you. For me acetone didn't work that well.
AS350, I agree sunlight (and warm wheather) helps a lot!

How long did it take to do your busses?

I am going almost cm2 x cm2… for sure I have surprises that slow down my progression… but I ask myself if I should use another technique while holding steel wool? (STUPID question)

Thank you!
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Freedom for the Catalan Countries
Si ens destrossen les contrades alçarem les barricades !!*!!

[70bus]

You can try different solvents (this thread has plenty of suggestions!) and see what works for you. Sometimes one layer of paint resists what removed the previous one. If you have a TON of body filler - especially if hiding lots of missing metal - and/or many types of paint, it might be best to start over with bare metal. Not everyone is as lucky as AS350driver!
_________________
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

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[56Cabrio]

Anyone know the best way to remove k200 ? i have tried graffiti remover ,paint striper.
The stuff is as hard as a rock, i even scuffed it up and tried paint striper and nothing. Trying to see how much original paint on my vert.
Is sanding my best option ?
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1956 Rag Top owned since 1988
1956 Convertible owned since 2000
1963 Hard Top

RIP Dad 4/20/1951 - 2/4/2023

[Pau]

Hello again.

My progression:

70Bus I read the whole tread before deciding me to start. I tried several solvents. Thank you. You conviced me with acetone. It didn't work for me. This gel is the best for my painting.

I like seeing no replacement panels. Only 2-3 little patches.

I will continue with rear panel, we will see. But it looks like the doors. A lot of filler on the lower 1/3, a lot of bare metal in the middle 1/3 and more red painting on the top 1/3. Like an Irish coffee.
_________________
Freedom for the Catalan Countries
Si ens destrossen les contrades alçarem les barricades !!*!!