Ok, a weird OCD way to spend part of my 50th birthday, but something about the day made me think I should start doing some of the things I had been putting off for 20 years.

I can't post this at Show Car Detailing, it ain't no show car. It's my sister's 1976 VW van, and the white paint has been running down over the red since the day my folks bought it. Environmentally friendly but lousy paint! Obviously the whole car will need to be repainted by someone someday, but I thought it was a good chance to practice my PC skills and see what a little M83 and a W7006 pad would do. If I burned through, no big loss.

The before shots are laughable. This is the north side, that brown stuff is moss growing on it. I did wash it after these shots and before polishing, which got the moss off but didn't do much for the paint. Yes, I should have clayed too, but didn't have any handy and didn't want to drive into town.





I only did the red (came to my senses, I did say it was my 50th and I am getting too old for this um, shtuff...) but it really cleaned up. Working on single stage paint is every bit as fun as Richard says! It really brought out the orange peel in the lousy factory paint.

 

holy crap.

that looks awesome

Yeah, I am one of those odd people who wish that all cars had no clearcoat. Just put on a lot of coats of regular paint and let polishing and waxing make it real. They look better anyways.

 

wow, renewed paint.

 

Holy crap indeed. Great job!!

 

Wow great job! You should DEFINITELY post it over at SCD. The name SCD is about the work and processes necessary to transform ordinary or down and out cars into beautiful things, and not necessarily "show cars".

Richard
(currrently on the high seas of the Bahamas)

 

Love it! Old VWs are just so cool.

 

As the old saying goes ... Moss grows on the north side of the hippie van.
Nice results, though didn't it make you want to go after the white top? Hope you do and post again.

 

Wow, that is so awesome! Nothing like drastic results to make you feel good!

 

Thanks for taking a look. It makes me want to go in search of all those old faded VWs ( I agree they are cool Kentiki, especially the vans), making the world more beautiful one car at a time.

I will go post it on SCD Richard, given your encouragement.

MiniMaybee, I didn't do the white because it is totally shot. It really is watercolor paint. You can see the red and the gray primer showing through it in many places, it's not going to polish out. It surprises me that they shot the white over the red, I for sure would have done it the other way round.

Melissa, this used to roam around Morgan Hill when I owned it in the 80's. I lived just off Santa Teresa Blvd south of Bernal before you pop over the hill into Morgan Hill. Mistakes have been made and now I live in Rochester, MN, not someplace for air-not-heated VWs.

 

Very cool!! Single stage red is soooo fun, isn't it?? Sounds like a great way to have spent your 50th birthday.

Nice work!

-Heather

 

Sorry in advance for the thread hi-jack, but it's for a good cause I know you'll all agree...


RICHARD!! You are in such big trouble. You're supposed to be on vacation, NOT roaming the internet and NAM. Bad, bad Richard. Now stop reading NAM posts and go sit out on the deck of that beautiful boat and have a drink with an umbrella in it. NOW!

(that smilie is you- getting sunburned with your shades on! )

-Heather