BUS- The Blue Goose ain't Blue! Part 3

So after fixing some spots, I needed to paint the roof.
The roof looked much worse than it actually was.
Sand till smooth and then paint.
That was the plan.
Before I actually painted the roof,

I repainted the red.

The sanding didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would.

I used my handy Makita Sander and after I rolled the paint,
I added one more coat and I let it set.
Two coats of fine quality Rustoleum Gloss White- thinned by acetone at 20%.
I bought some spare parts that need to be installed.
They'll make the bus look much better.

BUS- The Blue Goose ain't Blue! Part 2

After painting the bus red. It became apparent that there are
some spots and dings that require attention. I'm not going for perfection.
I don't know enough about body work for that. I went back over the bus- sort of a find and fix mission. Here's
some pictures....







After the first 2 coats were applied
it was time to sand and fix the bad
areas. New paint will show your poor body workmanship.













I mixed up some bondo
to take care of the areas that need it.
I mixed it too hot he first time.
You should add as much hardener (red stuff) as you need.
The bondo when mixed, should look like light pink bubblegum. The redder it is- the hotter the chemical reaction becomes, and the faster your bondo dries. You need working time. Mix accordingly.




Once mixed the bondo starts to harden. Mix thoroughly and quickly.
The mix should be smooth and apply smooth. If it's lumpy- it's too hot.
Smooth, adheres better. Makes application and sanding easier.











After sanding and smoothing out the troublesome areas, I made my mix and picked an area to work on.














Apply your bondo.
The goal is to get it where it's needed.
Don't go too thick- you'll be sanding it down after. Use only as much as you need.














When it comes time to sand your bondo.
Protect yourself.
Bondo dust is nasty.
Sand your newly patched areas smooth.
It needs to be flush with the body and feather into the surrounding paint.














I haven't listed different grits of sand paper and the steps involved to do the bodywork to a professional level. The Internet's has plenty of auto body information. Check the Samba.com for some really good information.
I have more posts to make. More soon.

BUS- The Blue Goose ain't Blue!

This weekend was full of progress.
It was time to do some serious sanding.
My Pop hooked me up with a very nice Makita Sander.
Variable speed, catch bag, 6 1/2 inch sanding pad. Works very well.
I also had some help. I worked my daughter's this weekend. They'll
be sore on Monday. They really helped me out.
We went to Harbor Freight tools and picked up some sand paper and a
High velocity Low Pressure Turbine paint sprayer. On Sale for 34.00 bucks.
If your wondering- it works pretty good. I decide to NOT use air and a professional rig.
I decided to NOT use automotive paint. I decide to NOT have it professionally painted.
Money being the main reason behind the choices to NOT do the above. The $50.00 dollar
paint job website, was a big influence behind using the HVLP Sprayer.
The website shows how a dude painted his Corvair with a roller and Rustoleum Oil Based paint.
The Corvair looked good and the idea has promise. I modified the idea to include the sprayer, and so far I've spent about $80.00 so far.
After sanding and body work- I gave the sprayer a try.
Over all not bad. The pictures are of ONE coat of paint.
As more coats are applied, I'll post pictures. So far so Good!
I'm excited.
Here's some Pictures.


Britt's working hard.

















Lot's of Bus to Sand.





















Kait and Coralyn sanding and working hard.

























After the sanding was done.
Me and Scott speculated on the best way to mix the paint. Scott's mixing the paint. Thank's Scott.












We went with a 33% reduction using acetone. Acetone will thin the Rustoleum. It will allow the paint to dry and harden faster.











Good ole' Dollar store measuring cup.
Lowes paint stick. Big fan of Lowes.
















Here's the paint by the way-
Safety Red Gloss.
Very Red.



















RED....IS...Good.

















Once the spraying started there was little turning back.
The spray pattern is adjustable along with the volume. The paint mix was 33% thinned and was fine with the paint.
The paint spray was pretty bad, or so I thought.
It looked like orange peel. It started to lay smooth and I was relieved.
Once the pattern was adjusted- the paint was smooth and laid very nicely.






I needed to lay a thick coat to start.
I was about 8 inches away. Very little over spray. I'll do about 7 coats total.
I'll do these over about a week.












Paint.

















I thought I had to work fast.
As the top will be white, and needs to be sanded, I decided not to tape up the top. I found that I could take my time.













The painting process got better.
This side will look better than the other. This is only the first coat.













The bad thing about my choice of paint- It shows the all the dings and dents that you miss. These will be fixed. The orange in the picture is the Sun's reflection.












I worked my way around the Bus.
I used one pint of paint. I think two more will suffice. The red should tone down some. Today was a perfect day for painting.










I was able to go around and cover some thin spots.
The HVLP spray rig from Harbor Freight, it neat. It has a long hose for reach and a shoulder strap. You walk around with the turbine sounding like a vacuum cleaner. The blower unit heats up a little. The air going through the gun gets slightly warm.
I added slightly more acetone to compensate. From my pictures
here I need to keep the gun more level. I'll do that next time.


















SO far I'm impressed.
I like the sprayer. I like the paint.
I like the idea of having a new coat of protective paint. I like the red.
One coat of paint and the bus doesn't look bad. It will be very good when I'm finished with the extra coats and wet sanding. Over all the paint job will be decent but not excellent.
I'll post more pictures during the process. So far I'm happy...
Can't wait to get this bus on the road.

BUS- Wood Panel Test

I went over and test fitted some of the panels, that we made in North Carolina.
They will be very nice.
Since I'm not quite done with the interior, I haven't actually attached
them yet.
I'll do that later.
Here's some pictures to give you an idea on what the interior will look like.





The front kick panel is flexible enough
to mold into the curve. I still need
to make the other.











The cooler box is snug, but it fits.




















The right door panel with the armrest / vent. It's not mounted.
I haven't decided to mount the armrest.
















When I actually mount everything I'll post the rear interior panel..
They will be very nice.

BUS-Wood panel Interior

I went on vacation to North Carolina.
My daughters and I stayed at my parents.
While I was there, I had the interior panels made.
I say made, because my Dad made them. I painted and had some ideas, but Dad's the man.
He made them and I really dig them. He has no idea how much I appreciate it.
He also took vacation and worked hard to get these done.
Dad's has some good tools and wood paneling, and paint, and paint brushes,
and basically everything needed to make these panels.
It starts with a work shop, some tools and wood.
My Dad had some "Beady board" wood panels. We decided these would work very well.
They are similar to the ones I was going to buy earlier.































In order to make the panels for the interior, we used the
panels that were in the bus. I brought them with me to North Carolina.
Lay the panels flat, clamp them and trace.
The old panels will make a good template for the new ones.



































Once the panels were traced we cut them out and sanded the edges and the face of the wood.
The face will be painted with a clear urethane for gloss.
I want the wood to have a natural look.





















Sanding the edges.































My brother Will was there helping as well. Thanks Bro.
Among other things He gave me a backyard haircut. I needed one.
He does a good job.


















What's he laughing at?


















As each panel was cut and sanded, I painted them with clear urethane
Multiple coats help to bring out the shine.














My youngest helped to paint.
She added many coats.
She's been helping me with VW's
since she was 3.
She's a good worker.












My Dad had some wood flooring.
I like the color.
It's light in color but dark enough to go well with the wood paneling.
Light on the sides, darker on the floor, the ceiling will more than likely
be light as well. I'll install those later. Thanks Pop.










Here you go.
A (mostly complete) 1977 VW Bus
wood interior. Door panels and the interior side pieces. I still have a couple of panels to make. I brought uncut pieces home to complete the job.

A lot of hard work went into
these panels. I really enjoyed spending time with Dad and my
Brother. It was a good time.
They will look great in my bus.

BUS- Easy Paint removal

Easy paint removal.. There's a thread in the Body/Paint section of The Samba.
It talks about using a power degreaser kitchen product to remove paint.
I thought why not- and gave it a try.
Over all I see the promise in using this. I won't use it on pots and pans though.
This stuff could be dangerous.
Here's some pictures-




Dollar General sells this stuff for $2.00 a bottle.
The Dawn version is $3.00 for a bottle half the size. I went cheap, I wanted to see if it did anything.












The bus was soaked down with the degreaser, and a layer of thin plastic was applied.
The plastic is there to slow the degreaser from drying. The longer it stays on the better.


It appears to be working.
It seems to work better on paint
that is not original. The primer looks like it will lift.












I enlisted my niece to see if the degreaser would wash off.
At first it does not appear to be worth the effort. However as the water works into the degreaser, the paint seems to lift away. Excellent!












The difference is worth $2.00.
I will definitely use this stuff to clean the engine and engine compartment.
And whatever else I want the paint melted off of.

BUS- Do it yourself truck bed liner pictures.

In earlier posts, I had sanded, primered and painted the floor areas of my 1977 VW Bus.
Duplicolor make paint products and also makes a
Do it yourself truck bed liner / undercoat.
Truck bed liner- dries to a protective, hard covering.
Designed to be applied to areas where protection is needed- mainly truck bed liners.
It can be applied anywhere paint can be used, it has many uses.
I decided to use the truck bed liner on the floor of my bus, to protect, seal and insulate the floor.
I assume some level of additional structural integrity will occur.
It also is flexible and that will lend to insulation.
The floor will eventually be hardwood.
The hardwood floor will go nicely with wooden interior panels.
Here's some pictures of the truck bed liner in my bus.






The front cab floor was sanded, and primered with Rustoleum Stop Rust primer paint.


Some images have text.
Click for larger images.
















I also sanded and primered the rear cargo area.
I used Rustoleum as well.


























If you decide to use a Truck bed liner or an Undercoating product,
after the area has been sanded and primered, you have to sand
the area to be treated again. The truck/undercoat needs a "tooth,"
for the product to correctly adhere to.
Rough it up with a light sanding.
If the prepared area has any sheen or is shiny, rough it- using a fine grit sand paper
or a 3m red scuff pad. No sheen/shiny is good.
Your preparation should take longer than actually applying the product.





I got carried away and decided to do the front cab wall as well.
Insulation will be applied
to make the bus quiet and warm.





The fiberglass patch was there
when I got the bus. I'll leave it for now.
I decided to go thin with the coats.
I wasn't sure if I would like the results.
It would easier to remove thin coats, versus
a thick coat. You can add coats later.
I may do that.






It should be noted that I did not use the kit that's available. I bought a pint of the actual bed liner ($16.00) and a regular paint roller. I also used a regular paint roller sleeve. The foam roller style will disintegrate on use. I did use a foam touch-up brush to reach those hard to reach areas.
NOTE: wear gloves, this stuff is very hard to get off. It dries quickly, so working fast is good.
Be ready.