Powder Coating!

Its been a few days since my last update but a lot has been happening with the van. First off I have been driving the van around a bit and it sounds wonderful. The new fuel pump is much quieter than the old one and I haven't seen or heard any of the symptoms that I was getting before.

I'm still working on repainting the front grills. I've read that paint is all about prep work prep work prep work so I am really taking my time to do a good job sanding the headlight grill down. I've already worked on it for multiple nights and I'm still not done with the thing. There is more surface area there than it looks like there is.

The most exciting news though is that my wife found me a cheap hookup to get things powder coated. I am limited to a satin black finish but I can get stuff done for basically free. So this weekend I am going to remove parts like my door handles, side mirror mounts, stick shift, emergency brake, and table mount to get them powder coated next week. I've also asked for a quote from the guy to do my bumpers. I really don't know what he will say but I'm pretty sure that no matter what the cost is that it will be really affordable so I will probably get them done as well. I'll certainly post pictures as soon as I get the stuff back. Did I mention that I'm excited about this. Cause if it wasn't clear then I'm really really excited about it.

I also called SewFine. I didn't order anything but I did get all my questions answered. I asked them about how much more leather costs (it basically doubles the price) and I asked them about the install process. I learned that it was going to be a wrestling match to get the covers on but that in the end I would win. They also told me to expect a two to three week turn around on the covers. I'm planning a trip in the van in early May so I've got to get my order in this week. Man I really wish choosing colors was easier. I'm trying to decide between all Vanagon brown like the back of my current seats or all Vanagon brown but with a black stripe down the middle. I think I'm just going to go with one color to make things cheaper. I'll just have to make my door panels have some color on them to avoid the overwhelming brown. I think it will look good though and wear really well. Maybe I'll order tomorrow.