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Final Finishing

The Pandemic has given me some time and space to finish the paintwork on "Gus" my beloved 1968 VW beetle.

Previous posts have shown the progress but by bit and now after a few weeks of cutting back and polishing he is finally finished.

What does done look like? When I can't do any more.

Gus my 1968 vw beetle has had his final cut, polish and wax. The covid pandemic and lockdown has given me a golden opportunity to strip, sand, mask, prime and paint every inch of his bodywork. All done by hand on the drive

I am pleased with the results. Need to say a massive thank you to my wonderful beautiful wife for all her support and patience. I love you

Thanks must also go to my neighbors putting up with the work and also to my boss for letting me have sort notice holidays when the sun was shining.

Still a few jobs left to finish off but well chuffed.

Front Quarters & Valance

Final update on the Lockdown Gus 1968 beetle paintwork restoration

Final sections to be done are the Front Quarters, bonnet seals and front valance.

State of play at start was that the front have been "wiped" down to remove the acrylic rattle can paint, front wings loosened and bumper taken off.

All flat sanded and rust convertor applied (Mainly to the to the bonnet seal area

Front end, bonnet and wings masked off to protect already painted parts.

Primer went on okay. Waited 24 hors for epoxy primer to cure

Managed flat sand primer and get color coats on the next day!

A few mishaps on color. Wanted to check how much paint I had left. 

Did not tighten the cap on properly and poured paint all over the drive 

(Sorry to my wife :-()

And a final parting shot of myself the author owner!

Tired, sore, knackard, hands cracked, dirty nails

Was it worth it?

Yes kept me sane during lockdown!

Pleased with the results?

Happy with the result, Yes its not perfect but its better than it was!

This is not quite finished. Next posts will be the finally finishing, cutting the paint back & polishing......

Windscreen Removal

 Next on the list now that both sides are done was the worst job.

The roof needs painting and around the windscreen and in front of it.

So the windscreen has to come out. Windscreen seal has been in bad condition for ever and looks original one.

Party tent is in place. Good few days of dry weather ahead

Seal was in bad condition and also a source of a leak in the passenger side.

Lots of thinners and wiping off Acrylic paint and barrier coats applied by previous owners

Some of the areas which the previous owners decided to cover with rattle can acrylic paint

After a wipe and light sand you can see some areas around the rear window and also where an old roof rack was fitted had some work done before and why it was coated in Acrylic paint.

Original paint was flat and easy to sand down.

Now the paintwork was ready on the roof it was time to remove the window. Cut around the old rubber.

Some surface rust but no holes or major issues

Sanded back and cleaned up. Applied a good coating of rust convertor.

Found a parking ticket from 1994 - 

Cowgate in Peterborough. 40p parking was cheap back then!

So everything ready for final sand, masking & primer

All masked up in a Wedding dress! Thanks to my beautiful wife for her help in masking!

All primed. Went on well. Just a few stripes on the roof.

Masking removed 24 hrs to dry......

Primer flat sanded, masked and 4 coats of color applied. A few runs at the rear and one in the gutter. Not too bad. Lots of overspray but good color.

Left the paint to dry for a 48 hrs. Then moved onto fitting the new windscreen

Quick tool made for inserting the cord into the seal lip

New Wolfsburg West rubber seal. Hard to get it to stay on window but got there also really hard to install the chrome surround. 

Then with the help and assistance of my beautiful wife we started the install. She was on the outside pushing and I was inside pulling the cord. We had a first attempt but the cord & lip did not go over on one corner.

We removed and reset the cord and re lubricated the seal. This time we managed to ensure that the inner seal was sitting right up to the lip. Lots of pushing, grunting, slapping and pulling later....... we did it! The sense of achievement was overwhelming and our poor hands and fingers sore, it was finally in!

Seal in place. Much better and fits wonderfully

Moving on from the joy of the windscreen the only areas of paint left are the front quarters, bonnet seal area and the front valance.

Progress but still work to do...... Only working on it on Saturdays and Sundays in between working progress is sure slow but it's getting there...

Next updates the front quarter panels