1973 V8 Super Beetle Front Engine Conversion - 283 SBC

[V8SuperBeetle]

Originally Posted by ricola

No finer than 400? I went to 400 for filler, then 600 wet for the high build was still easy to make good progress and get a ncie smooth finish... Nearly there!

400 will do. From my understand 400 minimum for solid colors and 600 minimum for metallics. You don't want to go too fine or you'll have adhesion problems. I plan to wet sand the clear as well and then spray a final wet coat of clear. So it should be fine.

[70Turbobug]

Looks good! All that is nothing sanding and polishing won´t fix..

[V8SuperBeetle]

Thanks! I'm going to sand with 400 - 600 and then spray an over reduced wet coat of clear. It'll come out looking like glass, for the most part.

[V8SuperBeetle]

Got a few things done over the weekend.

I finished sanding the solvent pop out of the fenders. I broke through the clear in a few places on each fender. So I'm going to have to put another coat of orange and two more coats of clear. I also let them sit out in the sun for a full day so they could vent all the solvents out.




I also sanded on the hood and deck lid a little more and then painted them black. I laid down a coat of sealer and a couple coats of black giving plenty of time between each coat so there's no solvent pop issues. I did however manage to get a run at the nose of the hood and a couple small spots on the deck lid. So I didn't move onto clear. I tend to spray my coats on a little too heavy. I just need to dial back the material a little.

I'm going to sand out the runs and the little bit of orange peel and trash in the paint, then follow up with another coat of black and 2 coats of clear. Other than the runs, it was coming out pretty nice. I couldn't be happier with how the body work came out.










Here's a quick video of how the hood and deck lid look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ax4fGf0F9o

[70Turbobug]

Great job!! Looks fantastic!

[V8SuperBeetle]

Thanks! It's getting there.

[V8SuperBeetle]

I got some spraying done this weekend. I finished sanding the runs out of the black. I put down two more coats of black and followed up with two coats of clear. It came out pretty well, but I had a bug crash land in my paint, a run on the deck lid, and the usual dust. No problem though. As planned, once the paint cures I'll sand out the imperfections with 600 grit and lay a final wet coat of clear.

I recorded my spraying sessions, well I forgot to record the first one.

Second coat of black.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHilV2q-AjQ


First coat of clear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQTyLxWOZXg


Second coat of clear. My creeper tried to sabotage the paint on my deck lid. LOL. I laid the second coat of clear on wet so I will have some material to sand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc_E-Yhe6XY


Here are the results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yJwi8sXkvY


I should have the hood and deck lid sanded before the end of the week. Maybe I'll get it done before the weekend so I'll have time to work on the fenders some more.

[70Turbobug]

I think it came out excellent especially considering where you painted the car.You´ll never get it 100% if your not in a steril envoronment.Even in paint booths you´ll have some dust or dirt specs.I wouldn´t try to put another coat on,honestly.I would see if that can polished out.If you spray again,you´ll risk more contamination.Just my opinion - I don´t think it will get any better,that´s as near to perfect as your gonna get painting in a garage.

[V8SuperBeetle]

Originally Posted by 70Turbobug

I think it came out excellent especially considering where you painted the car.You´ll never get it 100% if your not in a steril envoronment.Even in paint booths you´ll have some dust or dirt specs.I wouldn´t try to put another coat on,honestly.I would see if that can polished out.If you spray again,you´ll risk more contamination.Just my opinion - I don´t think it will get any better,that´s as near to perfect as your gonna get painting in a garage.

Thanks, Turbo. It too think it came out pretty good for spraying in my garage, minus a couple things. However, I'm going to sand out the urethane wave, dust and bug, and I'll lay one more wet coat. It should come out somewhere between looking like a factory finish and a cut and buffed paint job. This is how I will paint the entire car. I really don't plan on cutting and buffing cause $ is tight right now and I don't have the equipment to do so. If I can get the finish to look like that minus runs, bugs and whatnot, I'll be happy. I noticed when I laid the first coat, there was minimal dust and it was nice and flat. After 4 coats, dust gets kicked into the paint and urethane wave appears. So doing the extra coat of clear should yield better results.

[V8SuperBeetle]

Originally Posted by 70Turbobug

I think it came out excellent especially considering where you painted the car.You´ll never get it 100% if your not in a steril envoronment.Even in paint booths you´ll have some dust or dirt specs.I wouldn´t try to put another coat on,honestly.I would see if that can polished out.If you spray again,you´ll risk more contamination.Just my opinion - I don´t think it will get any better,that´s as near to perfect as your gonna get painting in a garage.

Thanks, Turbo. It too think it came out pretty good for spraying in my garage, minus a couple things. However, I'm going to sand out the urethane wave, dust and bug, and I'll lay one more wet coat. It should come out somewhere between looking like a factory finish and a cut and buffed paint job. This is how I will paint the entire car. I really don't plan on cutting and buffing cause $ is tight right now and I don't have the equipment to do so. If I can get the finish to look like that minus runs, bugs and whatnot, I'll be happy. I noticed when I laid the first coat, there was minimal dust and it was nice and flat. After 4 coats, dust gets kicked into the paint and urethane wave appears. So doing the extra coat of clear should yield better results.

[70Turbobug]

If you continue to be so tidious it should come out real good

[V8SuperBeetle]

Double Post...

[V8SuperBeetle]

Originally Posted by 70Turbobug

If you continue to be so tidious it should come out real good

I agree...


I finished the deck lid and the hood. I sprayed a final flow coat after sanding with some 600 grit. It came out almost as nice looking as a cut and buffed paint job. I'm very happy with the results. A couple dust nibs here and there, but what can you expect in a garage. ;D








I also resprayed the fenders. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong that I was getting solvent pop. I was just hosing too much paint on. They came out much better. Heck, I could leave them as is, but I'm going to wet sand out the texture and do a flow coat.






I also recorded some video of me spraying and the results. They're currently uploading so I'll post those soon.

[70Turbobug]

Looks great! One question...what is cut and buffed? Buffed I understand,but was is cutting in relation to a paint job?

[V8SuperBeetle]

Originally Posted by 70Turbobug

Looks great! One question...what is cut and buffed? Buffed I understand,but was is cutting in relation to a paint job?

Thanks! Cut means to sand with 1200 - 2000 sand paper. This is done to remove the orange peel or urethane wave out of a paint job so the paint is flat like a mirror.