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OG Paint is Worth Reviving
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Bob D.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 7:33 am    Post subject: OG Paint is Worth Reviving Reply with quote

One of the things I like best about Bays is that IMHO the quality of the fit, finish and componentry is excellent, especially for a vehicle of this price range.

My bus is far from perfect, but it is blessed with its Original German paint over almost all panels. The durability, depth and shine of this paint is amazing. The other day I was getting something out of the garage and notice I could almost part my hair on the shine! I snapped a quick pic with my very crummy cell phone camera, and it still looks pretty good:

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Anybody with original paint--inside or out--just wanted to encourage you to preserve it if it is decent shape, or try to revive it if it is not. My bus did *not* look this good when I first got it, but a little elbow grease with paint cleansing products and carnuba wax did wonders. This paint is hardy stuff, and one of the nicer features of older VWs. The appearance of my bus improved ten-fold once I got the paint shining again. Smile
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westy demi-god
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Beautiful Paint! I was curious - what products did you use along with your elbow grease?
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1979westie
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know about Bob but I am a fan of Maguires (sp?) 3 step system....first the polish, then color enhancer and finally carnuba wax. Made the paint on my 14 year old GTI look new.
Eric
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Bob D.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

westy demi-god wrote:
Beautiful Paint! I was curious - what products did you use along with your elbow grease?


Thanks. Very Happy

I used Clay Magic to get rid of old tree sap and surface contamination (skipped the roof though, too much work!). Then I used Meguiar's Swirl Remover (a bit stronger than the average paint cleanser), followed by Zymol HD Cleanse (paint prep), followed by Zymol Carbon wax.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it was a labor of love and the warm fuzzies you get seeing the paint pop back to life will keep you going. Some guys would probably just rip into the paint with a Porter Cable and be done with the whole job in an hour, but I have always preferred doing this kind of stuff by hand, and I think the results are a bit better.

Since that initial work a year ago, I have a couple times applied Meguiar's Gold Class cleaner/wax combo, followed by the Zymol Carbon--that gives you the "super shine" (almost fake looking shine) of the synthetic stuff (Meguiar's), topped by the depth and warmth you get only from really good natural carnauba (Zymol).

Yes, at times I get way too into this stuff, Shocked but I have to, because I also go through lazy periods of not even washing the bus for two months, so at least I know it is well-protected. Hope this helps, anybody who is still awake at this point Razz PM me if you want more info.
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ratwell
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Waxing it not an option for OG paint: it must be done regularly to preserve it unless the vehicle permanently lives in the garage. The paint is very porous and it will eventually turn into a chalky powder when exposed to weather and sunlight.
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TeamSpatula
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been working on a friend's 77, which at some point had the front 1/3 of the lower part painted green over the original chrome yellow. I've had great results using some pretty serious paint stripper to get back down to the OG paint, which is, as mentioned, very hardy stuff, and still looks pretty good after all these years...tough stuff!
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Good looking bus, btw...
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Bob D.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yea, a lot of the splitty guys use EZ Off oven cleaner to remove repaints and get dow to the OG paint, whcih in many cases can be revived.

Richard, I'm sure it is a matter of degree of exposure, but on other old German cars I have taken very chalky paint that others have claimed is "dead" and through careful wet sanding and slow progression of polishes of different cuts, brought it back to excellent shape. I'm not saying it is always possible, but IMHO it is always worth a real try before assuming a repaint is necessary. And in any case "feeding" the paint then waxing it will offer protection and increase longevity.
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ratwell
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can certainly revive a bus with chalky dead paint but you will have removed a lot of paint in the process. Repeating this process leaves an ever thinning barrier until the rust starts to spot on the surface. Keeping it covered and waxed so you can polish as little as possible will allow the original paint endure.

On my own bus before I repainted I had to give up on the polishing. As nice as it looked afterward there was simply too little paint left. Your bus seems way better off to begin with: mine sat by the ocean for 7 years uncovered then baked in the Texas sun for another 4.
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bajorek
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bought 8 cans of the original green from bus depot to touch up my bus. At first I masked off the areas I was painting, but then I got lazy and hit them without masking them off- the end result looks good, but when you look at it from the side you can see the overspray around the touched up areas.
What can I use to get the overspray off? When I wax it, it looks good for a day or so, but then the wax shows up in the areas with the overspray. Crying or Very sad
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Bob D.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bajorek wrote:
What can I use to get the overspray off? When I wax it, it looks good for a day or so, but then the wax shows up in the areas with the overspray. Crying or Very sad


Nik, a really good choice for your situation is Clay Magic or any similar product. Used correctly, it will remove the overspray but leave the good paint intact. Very easy to use once you get the hang of it. Good luck. Smile
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DanWesty
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bob D,
that's a nice shine on your bus, I hope mine will look like that when I'm done.
I'm currently getting the rattle can paint off my camper with oven cleaner. Most of it comes off pretty easy but some of it's bonded with the og paint and the oven cleaner can't really get it off. Do you think the clay magic stuff can take off the remaining paint?

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Bob D.
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 6:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DanWesty wrote:
Most of it comes off pretty easy but some of it's bonded with the og paint and the oven cleaner can't really get it off. Do you think the clay magic stuff can take off the remaining paint?



Dan, the clay will work best on overspray, I have never used it on intentionally sprayed-on primer. It is one of the milder options to try for your situation, though, so I would do so. It is not expensive, and it's easy to use. Good luck, you are definitely heading in the right direction. Smile
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