imported_weekendwarrior
New member
I am a classic VW Bug freak (I HATE the new ones), and personally own a '73. Well, I am a better detailer than mechanic, so I have an agreement with the shop that restored mine, that I polish the ones they paint, in exchange for free labor on my own Bug. It works pretty well, as they have put hours in my personal car over the time that I have had it.
This car is a 1955 Oval Window (rear window) Bug. The oval window, and split rear window cars are currently highly desirable among VW collectors. The owner of this car is going all out, restoring it to the same condition it was in in 1955 (no expense spared, and I'll tell you more about that later).
This car has been at the shop for a year now. The reason it is taking so long, is because the owner is tracking down as many parts from 1955 as possible...down to the wheel cylinders that go inside the drum brakes (you can't even see them, but he wants ones from back in 1955...not newer ones). The color is hideous in my opinion, but it is the original color. It is single stage paint - just like back in 55, and is Glasurit. He spent $900 on a gallon and a half of this paint...not including labor, just simply for the paint!!!
Currently the car has been painted, and the headliner is installed. The seats are being reupholstered, the engine is being taken apart, repainted, new gaskets installed, and will then go back in the car. The wheels are the original 1955 wheels, and will eventually be media blasted and repained.
The car was painted, and there was a good bit of orange peel. We wetsanded the whole car with 1500, followed by 2000. The goal was to reduce the orange peel instead of eliminating it, because there was orange peel in these cars back then. Here are some shots of the car wetsanded:
trunk
fender
Ohers
Fore removing the wetsanding marks, I did a 2 step. I wasn't trying to finish the paint at this point, simply wanted to remove the wetsanding. I compounded with 3M ECC with the Makita, and Purple Foamed Wool. I then followed with the PC, a white 5.5" LC pad, using the KBM method on the PC with Meguiar's 86 (Solo Polish).
Here are some in process photos:
half and half on the roof
trunk
fenders
Here are some photos after the first 2 steps, which removed the wetsanding marks:
TO BE CONTINUED...
This car is a 1955 Oval Window (rear window) Bug. The oval window, and split rear window cars are currently highly desirable among VW collectors. The owner of this car is going all out, restoring it to the same condition it was in in 1955 (no expense spared, and I'll tell you more about that later).
This car has been at the shop for a year now. The reason it is taking so long, is because the owner is tracking down as many parts from 1955 as possible...down to the wheel cylinders that go inside the drum brakes (you can't even see them, but he wants ones from back in 1955...not newer ones). The color is hideous in my opinion, but it is the original color. It is single stage paint - just like back in 55, and is Glasurit. He spent $900 on a gallon and a half of this paint...not including labor, just simply for the paint!!!
Currently the car has been painted, and the headliner is installed. The seats are being reupholstered, the engine is being taken apart, repainted, new gaskets installed, and will then go back in the car. The wheels are the original 1955 wheels, and will eventually be media blasted and repained.
The car was painted, and there was a good bit of orange peel. We wetsanded the whole car with 1500, followed by 2000. The goal was to reduce the orange peel instead of eliminating it, because there was orange peel in these cars back then. Here are some shots of the car wetsanded:
trunk
fender
Ohers
Fore removing the wetsanding marks, I did a 2 step. I wasn't trying to finish the paint at this point, simply wanted to remove the wetsanding. I compounded with 3M ECC with the Makita, and Purple Foamed Wool. I then followed with the PC, a white 5.5" LC pad, using the KBM method on the PC with Meguiar's 86 (Solo Polish).
Here are some in process photos:
half and half on the roof
trunk
fenders
Here are some photos after the first 2 steps, which removed the wetsanding marks:
TO BE CONTINUED...
