volkswagens-for-life

I will be prepping my car for paint myself, then having the pro's touch up on what I did poorly, and then paint it.

When sanding the car down, how do I know when it's been prepped enough for professional paint?

DUB

It has everything to do with the condition of the paint now...if the car has been painted on AFTER the factory color was applied....if any repairs have ever been made on it....and much, much more.

If the paint and body is NOT correctly prepped...the paint will not last and all of your time and effort will be for NOTHING.

How nice do you want it??? It makes a difference on how my replies are given.

And...
If you are going to glue in that piece of your targa roof panel from your other post..and you would be happy with crack showing up on the targa roof where these pieces were glued back in....and then have it be on the car after it is painted...and you are happy with it...I would not know how to respond further for your future inquiries.

I do quality work and I can not handle when people do not take the time to do things right. I can completely understand a budget...but there is a point where if money is not spent correctly....it is a waste of TIME and MONEY in the long run.

DUB

volkswagens-for-life

I'm not trying to half-*** anything... but I'd rather do something myself if I can. If I'm going to buy another top, I recon it's gonna have to be a painted hard-top... since I melt at anything above 30*f, I cant fathom a baking summer day with a wide faced top.

DUB

Much of your time will be in the urethane bumpers and how they are now.

DUB

volkswagens-for-life

The only thing wrong with the paint is its supposed to be red, but its kinda orangish red now. I think its faded from the sun. I'll get better pics and post them up here. The one side of the headlights and the hood are this color. Maybe the decklid. The sides are the red they are supposed to be.

I've got a guy thats gonna spray it, but I wanna do the prep work myself since thats the extent of work I feel confident in. Then of course, anything thats not prepped he'll do and then charge me for.

DUB

GREAT!!!

If the paint is just dull...and if you look really close at it and it is not cracking like a desert floor...this should prep fairly easy for you.

NOW...with that stated...if the clear coat has turned to a white powder that is clearly off the panel and you can see the area where the clear stops...this is another issue entirely. I am sure you have seen cars like that before. If it is NOT like that...GREAT.

When you are prepping the exterior...the main idea is to try to keep as much of the clear on the car as possible...without breaking through down to the basecoat. I know it will happen is some areas...but hopefully not on the hood and any upper surfaces that get pounded by the sun all the time. The whole idea is to get the surface COMPLETELY prepped and dull. Any areas that are not scuffed and dull...will NOT allow any primer or sealer to adhere. SO all of you really tight areas (nooks and crannies) is/are where you can possibly have an issue of paint popping off in the future if you do not take the time to get them correctly prepped the FIRST TIME...and TRUST ME...if you don't....and paint does pop off in a tight area...the amount of time to repair it will GREATLY exceed the time you would have spent the first time prepping the panel.

I...by no means...am attacking the ability of the person who is going to do the final prep and paint it. BUT...if I were doing it for you...I would offer you to come and look at it before I painted it. This way...you can see that the entire area of the car that is going to have paint applied is ALL DULL....and ABSOLUTELY no shiny areas showing. I would ask to make sure that the painter let you see it before product is shot on it....and if you go and look at it and there is/are a lot of areas that are still shiny...I would mention it and see what the response to your concerns are. I can not tell you on how many Corvettes that I get the privilege in repairing...that were previously painted and the initial prep was NOT done correctly...and the areas i am being paid to repair show that the paint underneath was never scuffed. Some people think that these areas are easy and simple to fix...but it is quite the opposite....because each time to try to feather the edge back...more paint pops off in large pieces...showing shiny un-scuffed paint underneath.

DUB

volkswagens-for-life

Nope the clear coat is great on it

What do I want to use to prep it? What grit sandpaper? Wetsanding, or just straight sanding?

Also, can I drive the car around for a while in 'prep mode', or would that be bad?

DUB

I would HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST IT!!!! the surface is open with it being cut by sand paper...and oil and other contaminates can get inside these sand scratches. YES...I know...you can wash it and get it clean...but I would NOT do it that way if at all possible.

DUB

volkswagens-for-life

Ok so a few days or less then before I go in for paint; got it. Thank you very much. Also, 500 grit wetsand; got it. Thank you so much for your help.

miker94

DUB
Not trying to hijack anyone's thread, but what to you suggest if the clear coat is coming off in pieces. How should the surface be prepped? Would you want to remove all or as much of the clear coat that is left on the car? To me it looks like all the clear coat is going to come off sooner or later. The car is a 94 C4 and the clear coat is done. Thanks for any and all advise.

volkswagens-for-life

No hijacking... interested in all input in here.

DUB

YES...To take a lyric from Van Halen's "Dirty Movies" song....

TAKE IT OFF-----TAKE IT ALL OFF!

If the clear is coming off in sheets...chances are it has been repainted and had poor prep done. By the time your car was built...GM fixed the problem they had with clear coat delaminating....so it has to be some B.S. by someone else.

I would really look hard when removing the paint on one of your headlight doors when you remove it. It can give you the paint/prep history (somewhat) of your car. And with the part being small...it is not a big deal to do and see how many layers of "whatever" is on the car and how well the car was prepped previously.

DUB

miker94

Thanks for the input, I will use your idea on the light buckets. I guess the only good news is that most of the clear problems are on the top of the rear quarterpanels. I've got a new hood, front bumper & rear bumper that are all new fiberglass. Thanks again.