I've started the rather large job of sanding back my splitty with an orbital sander.I'm trying to do it as evenly as possible back to the primer but every now & then theres little bits of bare metal that come through.Is this a major no no or is it not that big a deal??Please help........i don't want to stuff it up!!

i suppose it is whether the sander has dug in or not. if it seems even then you might find you are coming across fill in dips/dints and then hitting straight metal. as long as its smooth, its probably not a prob. just dont leave it exposed to the air for too long.

Oh no,i'm not feeling confident about this at all.What do you mean 'expose to air for too long'?How long is too long & what am i meant to cover it with.Sorry but i'm freaking out a little!!!!:oHELP.:o

im not big into doing hte work on me vw's as they seem to excalate. but im so excited that you are gicing it a go. dont panic, and dont lose the confidence. i think you need some primer paint and when you expose some metal, and after you have finished in that area, give it a coat. not letting it expose to the air in a raw state will preven thte oxidisation and surface rust. im not sure how long you have, maybe its a few days or a bit more. but i know from all i read and seen you do need to portect it. thats why when you get a vw blasted you get it coated in something as well.

u2u robk aka 'splitbusaustralia'. he will give you the answers for sure!

in 2 days my superbug started rusting, took 2 weeks for my 62.

Hey Splittychick,
When using the orbital go from one side of the panel to the other evenly.
Exposed steel- make sure the panel is clean and dry and paint some Etch Primer(avai from most auto shops)
Raw steel rusts instantly but only becomes a problem when the rust becomes visual.
You can get it in spray can form or in a 1ltr tin. Get some Acrylic thinner while you're there for clean ups/thinning etc
Hope this helps-W

Definitley make sure you keep the sander flat and moving side to side.
Yep if you stop in one spot and hold the edge of the sander down you will get a dip. This results in ripples showing later.

What grit paper are you using. 180 is a good one to start with to remove scratches and imperfections if you are not stripping all the paint off.

Yep its a 180 i'm using.There seems to be 3 coats of paint or primer.(or is it the top coat,undercoat & primer?)I think on the top half is a white house paint,then theres a deep red colour,then the grey,then metal.It feels really smooth having a combination of the red & the grey showing but does that mean that its totally uneven???????I'm starting to think that maybe i should just pay someone to do it!!I'm scared i'm going to ruin it.

i dont think cause you can see more than one colour it would mean that it is uneven. just take your time and look and feel with your hands, and anywya you will coat it with a primerfiller. then hand sand it so it should come up good.

Thanx twoguns,i really am keen to do it myself as out of all the things to do in the resto i feel this is one i can do.I just get a liitle scared i spose that i might stuff it up & end up paying someone anyway.I need to just have more confidence in my own ability & as long as i keep coming in here & picking all your brains i reckon it should be o.k!Thanx again.

if ur really in doubt, find a panel thats supposed to be flat and lay the sharp edge of a ruler against it and see whether there are any big gaps beneath it.

Thanx Ryan,all the help you guys are giving is invaluable.:thumb:thumb:thumb
I'll keep you all updated.