1967 VW Variant.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121121255#Comment_121121255

Yes, it was indeed remarkable stuff. Given half a chance at all, especially on vertical surfaces where it had the chance to dry itself, it really stood the test of time, as we are seeing now. Light wire brushing to clean it and prepare it for a newer coating, and it will be good for the next 50 years.

kadman

Aster 2 coats of rust convertor, I just need to let it cure for 48 hours, and then wipe off any surplus, and seam seal any ares that need it, and apply a coat of stonechip protection that dries hard to protect it for many years to come.

On a 56 year old car you would expect to address some rust issues going forward, but the main elements of the car that are accessible have been dealt with on the drivers side.

here is the current area thats being worked on. The suspension components will be dealt with when the shell is sorted, and any engine bay ares will be done when the engine is out.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121122539#Comment_121122539

Looking incredibly healthy now, compared to day 1. Furthermore, the stone chip will "level out" the welded edges, giving the whole panel a "unitary" look. You're getting there, for sure. Where are you with it now overall? ( Bodywise? )

kadman

Bodywise, I have all the front replaced, and all the right hand side of the car new metal. Next is the lefthand heater channel, if it needs it, and the left hand rear panel and bumper mount. Overall I am well over halfway and probably nearer to 75% metal work repaired. So its down hill all the way. Metal work is the most labour intensive especially when you have to make the repair sections. So its all good.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121123176#Comment_121123176

Yes, so basically repetition,,,,is the 2nd channel in better or worse condition than the first one? Yes it is definitely the most time consuming part of the job, also the reason why professional restoration's are so expensive. For sure, I wouldn't like to be making up the hours / labour for the final account. But in your case ( as it would be in mine if I were doing it) its not about the money, its all about the challenge and the finished result. ( plus it gets you out of the house...which is a useful by-product which cannot be underestimated )

kadman

A very common spot for rust to occur is at the rear wings just forward of the tail light cluster and on the top edge of where the wing is bolted to the body. The wing seal here forms a ledge if its not fitted tight to the body and it holds moisture against the body. The patch I put here will be below the top of the wing line and behind the seal, but its nice to keep it in solid metal and it holds any further rust at bay by removing it here.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121131270#Comment_121131270

Its not exactly the place you would expect to find rust, but if there's any way for water to ingress, it will. I know that point, there's even a rubber gasket / seal between the wing and 1/4 panel if my memory serves me right. Looks fine now though.

kadman

It will be good when its tacked in and ground, just another piece of new metal. There is a seal along the top of the wing and over time it shrinks, goes hard, and allows water in there. Because its a narrow entry point capilliary action acts to hold a small amount of water there continually. Thats the problem and the least amount of damage to the paint there allows rust to get a foothold.

But after this morning that corner will be sorted and I will be a bit nearer to stone chip application along that side.

kadman

Corner patch welded in but I need to chase a couple of pin holes, regrind and then rust proof and stone chip.

Bit by bit. The channel of the tailgate is a bit pitted, with a couple of pinholes. The entire channel would be an absolute nightmare to replace, so I am going to rust proof it, and coat with industrial fibreglass get that the son uses for special effects, and see how that goes for a while. At least if I have to replace a full metal channel, I can do it as part of the rolling resto. It wont be seen as its under the rubber seal, but i need it to be smooth and solid to attach the seal to.

Pinhole filling tomorrow.

kadman

I maged to get 1 coat of stonechip onto the rear wheel bulkhead. It went on well and was easily sprayable at about 40 psi. And on the front bulkhead I did 2 coats. Its an impressive material and should offer great protection.

I maged to get it at a very good price. Normally about 16 euro per litre about average, and upto 25+ euro per litre at eurocarparts. I paid 12.50 per litre.

kadman

I am sanding the two front wings to bare metal, and going to roll on a coat of epoxy primer and see how that goes. It will save me spraying it which is environmentally potentially more harm to me than a roller. If it works well, then all wings, front boot and roof will get a coat of epoxy before the winter. Mainly due to the fact that epoxy is the only primer thats waterproof.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121144670#Comment_121144670

Really looking good now!!

jmreire

Very first job, first day of apprenticeship, sanding down two Beetle wings, and making my first mistake too! Went to lunch without drying the wing, and by the time I got back, there was a very fine film of rust on the exposed metal. Back to square one sanding them down again by hand, using 180 grit sandpaper and water. I've never heard of using a roller to apply primer, but as they say, you live and you learn. Will it present any problems when it comes to levelling it to take the sprayed on coats? Because, I've only ever sprayed on primer, then sprayed on a light guide coat ( any colour except red) onto the primer to make sure that every inch of it was rubbed down smooth to take the top coats.

MrCostington

Must be very satisfying to be spraying the stonechip after all that hard work!

Anyway, I just logged on to mention a parts supplier, you probably already know them, but in case not.

www.mecatechnic.com Just got an email from them this morning with a subject line of "Restoring your VW? This email is for you !" and in it it says "Together with our European partners, we have launched the production of parts that are no longer available" so maybe they are making a push on VW parts. They are French so no problem with customs etc.

I got a wing for my Merc from them, it was pretty good considering it was 1/4 the price from MB. If you are getting a panel, make sure to tell them to pack it well, mine came dented and was replaced no problem, well packed second time.

kadman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121145776#Comment_121145776

I have dealt with mecatechnic and found them to be a great parts supplier for vw.. I must check in again to see the new lines of vw stuff. Thanks for the headsup

kadman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121145570#Comment_121145570

Very therapeutic I find hand sanding metal. But like you say, it cant be left for long unprimed. Flash rust is a quick process that happens in minutes rather than hours. As I wont be topcoating colour anytime soon I want to have a waterproof layer on it to protect it until i get top coating. And the industry standard now is epoxy primer. Many are paint and roller applicable, as well as sandable. So I am going to try it on one wirng when I am properly setup with panel heaters ect. The wing is of and i spent all day yesterday with a hammer and a dolly taking out all the dings and a few bad creases from the front nudge it had. It now looks like a new wing. So if after the rolling I am not happy, then its easy dealt with.

Watch this space

kadman

https://youtu.be/ACK6gh5RBOY?si=4hx8C6CN_YgXd4GN

kadman

https://youtu.be/ACK6gh5RBOY?si=4hx8C6CN_YgXd4GN

Here is a roll on epoxy primer method.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121145776#Comment_121145776

Interesting and usefull site, thanks for posting,

jmreire

I have never used this, and its pretty new to me. I'd say that its a good product all right, I had a mental image of a result similar to the finish you get from shutz after its sprayed on, the finish is very orange-peel like, and definitely not suitable for the external paint finish. But this roll on finish seems to have some kind of self-levelling property's? And I'd say that a good guide coat is essential to preparation for the top coats, so plenty of sanding. I presume that the thinner also contains the hardener, so its a two-pack product? I would definitely be in favor of that. ( While you intend to clean down to bare metal, this won't apply of course, but when painting over any old previously painted surface, a two-pack primer would be essential to prevent the old paint bleeding through) Personally, I'd prefer to spray it on ( but then I'd have been using a dedicated spray booth) Looking very promising at this stage to be even speaking about the finishing process. Its a milestone..🙂

kadman

Looks good, and i cant wait to try it. Of course if I dont like it, then I can go back to spraying no problem. I remember the shultz, and would not have it in the workshop, as there are too many superior products to chose from. Which is half the problem, as its hard to chose one. I remember many years ago back in the day, which you probably remember , a product called brushing belco.

It was a cellulose based product that was brushed on , and needed a lot of wet and dry sanding, but gave a great finish. And because it was brushed on, you had no fear of sanding through the finish. I imagine you have used it. I want to get an epoxy coat on it to protect it going into winter.

kadman

I spent yesterday morning dressing out the second of the front wings with a hammer and dolly. The two front wings had a lot of dings and a few bad creases from its heyday, and looked very poor. The original german metal has absolutely not a single spot of rust anywhere on the wings which is great.

And they now have had a great facelift, and will require no filling at all anywhere. And hammer and dolly work is so rewarding to see a new looking wing emerging from a beaten up example. And then the sanding down to bare metal and epoxy primer.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121151369#Comment_121151369

No, as a matter of fact, personally, I've never used any brushed on paints, but I've seen professional coach painters use them and it was a fine job too. But that was a whole different ball game, different paints, and even brushes. And what amazed me was to see a professional sign painter putting coach lines on the side of a long bus, including the firms logo, all free hand. The line ran the length of the bus, was about 3/16" thick, and it ran perfectly straight the whole way.

Regarding the Schutz, while now you have a range of far better under body rust protection, it was all that was available at the time, 60's/ 70's / 80's, and it was used only for under body anti-rust protection, because the thinners used in the cellulose paints would soften the Schutz and cause it to bleed black onto what ever surface it had managed to get on to. But even back then the use of cellulose was dying out, and two-pack paint was becoming very popular. Of course, absolutely you are doing the right thing coating the two wings with the epoxy for the winter. Now you can store and forget about them until you are ready

kadman

I dressed 99% of the dings out of the wings, except for a small one where the headlamp bowl restricts access to tap it out. I then rolled on a coat of epoxy primer to see how it went. Rolled on very well and evened out quite nicely. Kept to one coat until I had a chance to examine the finish. Finish is slightly textured, but nothing serious. It rubs down nicely with dry 400 grit wet and dry. And should be excellent when allowed time to cure, and i expect a great result if I do sand it to a better finish. But considering I will be applying 2 or 3 coats of high build primer, it might not be necessary to sand it at all. I expected it to take a few hours to dry, but it was touch dry with no forced heat in less than 15 minutes. Which is a great result.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121156363#Comment_121156363

They are looking really well now. Always nice to see to see primer appearing on the job. Hard to tell the kind of finish from the pic, but I'll take your word for it. Personally, in a situation like that, I'd always sand down as much as I could before applying further coats, and especially if there's even the slightest orange peel effect on the surface. Plus, as they will be in storage for a few months now, aside from further sanding to give a key to the new coats, it also insures that the existing primer is perfectly clean ( I know they will be well washed before spraying, but even so) Is there any chance you could take a close up pic of a part of the wing which is the most smooth, and one where its at its "roughest"? This is my first time seeing roll on primer in action... LOL😎

kadman

I picked the roughest spot I could find on the first coat.. And it ands 100% smooth with water and wet'n'dry with 600 grit. And now that its primed I wont be touching it again until I am ready for hi build and finish. It will do the job nicely.

kadman

I will post a smooth pic tomorrow.🤣

kadman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121157267#Comment_121157267

Here are two pictures of the rolled on epoxy. One shows a close up of the epoxy coat straight from the roller and unsanded. The other shows the surface after 1 minute of light wet sanding. Its on of the best primer coats I have used, and most importantly is its water proof. So after coating in epoxy I can leave it there until I am at the finishing stage for these removable panels.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121157942#Comment_121157942

The sanded down section is very acceptable finish for the follow on primer coats. And it goes without saying that its protective capabilities are 100%. From the un-sanded sample, just a thought. In the video you provided, it shows where he is opening the tin and stirring it, and the "thick" stuff can be seen coming up from the bottom, where it gradually thins out. The results of this can be seen in the un-sanded bit, where there are "Lump's" in the finish, so to speak. In the paint shop I worked in, we did all our own paint mixing, and had a bank of electrical paint stirrers, which were switched on first thing each morning, and several times throughout the day, and of course, for at least 15 mins before actually mixing any paint for a job. The result was a very even mix, no lumpiness of any description, and perfect "flow". I wonder if a paint stirrer attached to a drill, and used for a few mins in the can, would the end finish be better?

kadman

Worth a shot for sure. Any agitation of the can for a few minutes before use, is always going to sort out the lumps. My can was very lumpy and I stirred it for a bout ten minutes before I used it. And I plastered it on heavy which was grand , and i noticed if I ran back over it, then it got textured. But its job at the moment is to protect it from moisture for the winter. Job done