Club 80-90 Forums

might have a practice on one panel in that case and see how i get along.how far is it suggested that you rub original paint work down? in preperation?

Yep, you could do it section by section - just use masking tape along the vertical seams.

See the WIKI as the process is in there now - you want a flat smooth finish but not glossy - rough up the finish to create a 'key' for the paint.

Worth noting is that I've heard others claim they were able to paint a year later with no change in shade. Its very UV resistant I understand although reds can be a problem with any paint I guess.

Does this thread hold some kind of record for being the most read? I guess not everyone has a fortune to spend on a respray or indeed have the time to leave it in a spray shop. Great thing about doing it this way is you can do bits - as and when.

Is the finish really as good as a spray job?
It certainly looks good.

Can it be sprayed over if you want a spray job later on or will it react.

cheers

john

The finish is down to the time you are prepared to put in flatting down and polishing out. On its own it will come out mildly orange peely but as a few have said, even without flatting back its still very acceptable.

Heres a magnified section of the front closeup (from inches away) that hasn't been flatted back:



Incidentally ChickenKoop (who lives about a mile or so from me) has just ordered this paint in white and intends to spray it so hopefully we'll be able to show you the difference - there won't be much between spraying and rollering to be honest, its all about thinning correctly and not overworking an area with the roller.

What you're trying to do is lay on enough paint so that when you flat back you're not going straight through to the old paint. I've been able to flat back to a smooth dead flat finish between coats and clearly if you polish out at that stage you'll match a spray finish. However, even the raw paint finish on its own makes the paint quite acceptable until its hard enough for you to wet and dry it flat so at least you can drive around in it.

The finish you see above was painted yesterday (now fourth coat on this area). It was applied to an absolutely smooth flatted finish. Allow me a week and I'll show you it flatted and buffed - theres a big difference.

Arguably you could say why not spray it, but theres very little mess this way and you still end up flatting back however you do it.

A neighbour was out there yesterday watching me rollering and commented that there was virtually no smell with this paint - that for me is a real plus. You can get out there and 'do a bit' whilst conditions are right and not annoy your neighbours.

Just remember to let the paint really harden up before flatting and ALWAYS flat with plenty of soapy water or you'll burn the paint.

looks good.
id like to see those pictures next week of it all flated down.
this has given me the encouragement to try and finish of my wifes beetle.
as i kept thinking about all the work in spraying it, it really is a lot of hassle man.
much easier to roller.

cheers

john

I need a week of baking sun to really set the paint before i flat back.

A bug could be fun to roller as you can remove the wings etc and volkszone gives some good examples including this one painted with the same paint:



Don't underestimate the work involved in flatting back but at least she can drive it during the work! The paint would be a great protection for it too.

Pay a lot of attention to lining up masking tape on window rubbers as it will save grief removing paint from these areas afterwards! Theres a knack to going round corners with tape which involves bunching it up slightly to make sure it doesn't lift again.

Remove the rear number plate cowl, indicator pods etc and DO remove wings. Theres nothing WORSE than beetles where the car has been painted with the wings still on. Incidentally, I have a reel of white wing rubbers for a bug if you're interested - nice touch and better than black.

I started doing this to my van last summer (Yellow RAL1018 I think) and I've been really pleased with the results. I only got as far as doing the front section and the boot lid because of house move, and if I'm being more honest I'm just lazy!

The finish is in my opinion better than a lot of spray jobs I've seen costing more than £1000. That said because of the rubbing down between coats it does take alot of time. Mind you - less time than it would take me to earn a grand, so it's gotta be good value. And as said, it's always nice to tell people you've got that finish with a roller! I ended up using a good qualitly brush on quite a bit of mine because it was very hot when I tackled it and the little bubbles just didn't seem to want to go. I might not have thinned enough either as I was putting about 10 to 15% thinners in. I shall try going further when I start the rest of the bus in a month or so. Can't put it off too much longer or the rusty seams will get out of hand.
I shall try and post a few pictures, before and after.

CovKid, I'm impressed with the neatness of your masking. I decided to take the front and rear windows out (front had to come out to sort the leak). Have you got any tips on masking? Every job I've seen where the windows and trim have just been masked it made the job look very poor quality. Glad this has gone to Wiki as it's invaluable.

I guess the ideal is to take the windows out since it also means you get complete coverage under the window rubbers etc. For me thats not practical at the moment so have settled on having the paint run right up to them.

But, since the paint will still match even a year later, I've decided to leave that as a seperate job (if I ever bother). After all, you can still feather any hard edges and just apply paint where its needed at a later stage. I've got the Caravelle so intend to replace all the chrome trim and/or window rubbers at some point.

Yes the bubbles not leaving the surface are due to insufficient thinners - you want 20-25%. Sometimes (and more likely) the roller itself can create them when you intially cover it in paint. It might be worth saturating the roller to start with and leaving the tray and roller covered with a plastic bag to allow any bubbles created to dispel? Just a thought. This issue only seems to materialise when you first start so I'm sure thats why.

Considering my Caravelle went from this to this inside two weeks, I'm delighted.

covekid how much are we talking for the paint per litre?
what do you thin it with white spirit?
where do you buy this paint from?
can they mix the paint to the colour u want or do you have to have the standard colours?

cheers
john

Dridgy...if you read all the thread it tells you all of what you need to know

ok thanks ill get reading

In condensed form it's here:

http://wiki.club8090.co.uk/index.php/Bo ... r_painting

WIKI needs an amendment in first few paragraphs where it says only one tin is needed - it should read 'only 2.5 litres are needed' - just noticed that.

I actually bought 5 litres but I'm still only halfway through the first tin - 2.5 litres is enough really but considering the price, I played it safe and bought the two. I've not bothered with the roof for instance as I'll be fitting an elevating roof at some time, so if you own a proper camper. a 2.5 litre tin will be fine.

Still can't wash it though - nothing sticks - not even soapy water

http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=322052

this vdub owner has made a great job of roller painting a bay window. there are some good photos, thought it might be of interest.

Another quick question CovDid, have you used the paint on fiberglass or plastic? Reason I ask is I was not going to re-fit the sideplanks on my bus as I don't really like that look, but when removed to paint the bodywork i'm left with lots of fixing holes... so they will have to go back and will need tarting up a bit first.

Paul