Respray of Beetle - Questions here.

I know lot's of people will be asking questions, so fire away.

MY question got inbetween you photos, I thought you had finished posting them.
Please check out page 2 of your pics.
Dave:jesus

Originally posted by 57Kombi.

Sorry mate I moved it here. (Peter)

This is great.
As you know I am in the middle of doing my splitty, You just dont realise how big they are until you start sanding one down.
I have been using an epoxy 2 pac filler type primer, it is high build.
I am rubbing it down with an orbital with 320 and it is getting very smooth.
The question is< where I have found some lows and have skimmed with a bit of filler(only about 1mm) do I have to spray over with primer again or can I just smooth it and then spray my top coat, this will be a solid 2 pac.
Cheers
Dave

If you have used any fine filler even if it is only 1mm thick, you will have to prime over it.

All fillers are porous and the topcoat will show this, unless it is primed and sealed and rubbed.

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Will be going over with primer anyway, I was told that epoxy primer wasnt porous.
???
It gets very smooth with the 320 on the orbital, will be going over it after with 600 by hand, how low a paper do you have to go before it is smooth enough for 2 pac.
Cheers
Dave

The primer-filler is not porous, but not a very good topcoat. It is not UV stable and would break down with time. This is another reason why people say not to drive your car around in 'Australian racing grey' for 12 months or so.

The body filler is porous and must be primed.

600 grit is ok for solid colours and 800 is preferrable for metallic's.
If you are painting in acrylic laquer 600 is ok for either.

No questions for the moment but thanks for the clarity of the process description.

This surely deserves to be part of the FAQs.

my paint job on the kombi is worse im doing a panelvan!!!
ur spot on they are bloody big things!!!
what filler do u reccomend i prefer something that doesnt have to go onto bare metal just ontop of the primer.
cheers
rhys

Out of interest what would this cost a punter who gave you the car to do?

go the flames

hey
yer thought cams was the way to go!!!
cheers
rhys

4 questions, i hope that is allowed.

what sort of roller do you use to apply the the primer?

do you spray the primer on larger panels?


I am doing mine at home and using acrylic how do i get a great finish and keep it looking good.

How much primer, acrylic paint and thinner do i nned to buy for my 73 bus and how many coats of each?

thanks, John.

what sort of roller do you use to apply the the primer?

- The roller is sold by our paint supplier and the actual sponge bit is replaceable each time you use it, so you don't have to clean up. Not suitable for acrylic putty

do you spray the primer on larger panels?

- It is preferable to spray putty larger panels, but something like a beetle guard which is very round, is ok. On very flat surfaces, you can get lines when doing a large area. They will then be able to be seen on dark colours if you look hard enough.

I am doing mine at home and using acrylic how do i get a great finish and keep it looking good.

- I would recommend spray puttying the repairs on a Kombi and spray prime the whole vehicle. Finish rubbing with 600 grit. To make life easier paint the roof separate from the rest of the vehicle, even if it is the same colour.

- If you have not painted before practice a few times on an old panel. Even if it is a rusty beetle door it will give you an idea of what actions in your prep work will give what results. Even if you paint the same panel 10 times. Better than painting a whole bus 10 times.

How much primer, acrylic paint and thinner do i nned to buy for my 73 bus and how many coats of each?

- Depending on how many repairs are done on the bus. 1 litre of putty for each three panels worth of repair should be enough.

-2 x 4 litre tins of primer will be more than enough, and extra for small future jobs or touchups.

-Get a 20 litre drum of 'A' quality thinners

-Get just a 4 litre of gunwash for clean up. If you run out of gunwash, most paint shops will refill your tin, and you will only have to pay for the gunwash then.

-Get 2 X 4 litres of paint. You will need an extra 4 litre new tin for two reasons.
first of all you will need to blend the 2 x 4 tins of colour. Put half from each into the new tin and stir. Then put it back into the original two. Do this over about 10 times and any very slight difference between the two made up tins will be eliminated.

-You can also then use the empty tin afterwards to mix your colour in with thinners ready to spray and leave the original colour un-thinned.

good reading, thanks for the use of your brain Helbus :thumb

Its good to have some paint/body people around !

Great idea about the extra paint can, cheers

I have used 4 litres of primer on my splitty and still have one side and two front doors to do so you are right when you say 2 x 4 liter tins.

Thanks for the info.

Cheers
Dave

thanks hellbus. wow that is a lot of paint. do i need to inform the RTA that my vehicle has put on 30Kg over the summer.

thanks "helbus"this is great.:thumb I've learnt by trial and error...but it has cost me time and money.though at the end of the day I know I did it.
so I'm picking up some good tips here,THANKS:thumb

Quote:

Originally posted by Astro Boy thanks hellbus. wow that is a lot of paint. do i need to inform the RTA that my vehicle has put on 30Kg over the summer.

hey
good info helbus im painting my bus at the moment and was told by a few people just to give the real big panels a shim of bog just the eliminate them little high and lows?!
im also painting in a sort of darkish/lightish grey so any tricks to painting these sorts of colours?
cheers
rhys

You will find that due to the way a kombi is constructed with braces directly spot welded to the outer panels, that you will never get it perfectly straight.

If you put a skim of filler over the whole of the panels, you would end up using a hell of a lot, and still have slightly wavy panels.

It's up to you, but I personally think it is a lot more work for a small result.

There are no tricks to painting, only skill. You will have to learn these skills with your own hands. This is why you should spray a couple of small panels first and see what different pressures and techniques do.

I have been skimming the lows on my long side with filler, it is only about 1-2 mm thick, I have been leaving it for a week to make sure it has gone off properly.before I snad it back

Will this stop shrink back or am I just wasting my time and should work on it after an hour or so.

Cheers
Dave

You are better off using a skim of filler rather than too many layers of putty.

Quality filler mixed correctly wont shrink back, and is lighter and cheaper than putty.

Finish it off with 180 grit paper and you will be able to feel how straight is is properly without having the roughness distort your perception.

Also at 180 grit you will not get shrinkback in the putty like when it is finished off with 80 or heaven forbid 40 grit.

Filler only gets it's bad name from large number of people that use it badly. :thumb

Well, If Im too keep Grimace, I would want the doors fixed, meaning welding, Im a poor student so It will be on the cheap, Thinking of having a go myself.

Can you give me your advice on these helbus.

$395 Cougar Air Compressor, Direct drive two cylinder, 3hp with 50L tank 14CFM

$59 High Pressure Spray Gun, 1Ltr Pot
The gun says S770 on it.

Would a budget of $700 be reasonable?

They should be ok for you.

The S770 is an easy gun to use.

Like a Beetle, the basic design hasn't changed for a very long time. :thumb

hey
yer peter im doing all the primers and buildcoats but have a mate who works for a 1st class spray shop do the top coat!!
use say use are all using heaps light grit sandpaper im using 80 grit all the way down to baremetal on the orbital and its going fine not gettin many lines through it or nutin!!!
whats good grit paper to be using for buildcoats??
cheers
rhys

I finish my filler with 180.

Then finish putty with 240 or 320

Then rub primer with 800 grit for metallic paintjobs.

600 grit for solid two pack or acrylic paintjobs.

koolio!!!
whats this putty and bog whats the difference?
sorry for all the silly Q's but ya a wealth of info and its helpin me heaps!!
cheers
rhys

Body filler is a pasty substance used to make panels straight. When mixed with a hardener which looks like red toothpaste, it will set hard.

Putty is sprayed on and also called hi-fill. You would be wise to use a gravity fed spray gun to apply it. It is used to make panels smooth after you have made them straight with the filler.