Starting to Look Good

Over the weekend I was able to get my fifth coat of paint on the Vanagon. This was the first time that I painted over an 800 grit wet sand pass and wow am I impressed. The surface is certainly not perfect but at this point it at least looks really glossy and reflective. The reflection is slightly distorted but that is to be expected without any sanding. The bad news is that I'm still not at a point where the paint is completely opaque. I don't know how many more coats will be needed but I'm hoping for around two. I am certainly going to need to make at least two more sanding passes before I turn to the buffer but I am pleased with the progress so far. At this point the van is really close to looking nice and I'm really excited to continue moving along on the project. I just hope the weather holds out so I can get this work done before winter really sets in.

Progress Update

I've got the Vanagon about 80% wet sanded with 800 at this point. I was really happy to see that the color remained relatively intact during this last round of sanding. My plan is to do another three coats and then either do one more 800 pass followed by a final coat or just cutting directly to 1600. Once I've done the 1600 pass it will be time to use rubbing compound and a buffer to get the final finish. This last 800 pass has really got my confidence up though. The Vanagon looks like it may actually look quite nice when I finish this insanely long process. Still no pictures though so you'll just have to wait.

My biggest issue now is that the weather has finally caught up with me. It is getting pretty chilly here early in the mornings and the evenings so I've got to try a new painting strategy for this next round. I'm going to try painting in the middle of the day this weekend but I'm going to do the painting in a parking garage at my office to avoid direct sun. The biggest problem I see with this is that I just don't know how many coats I can get on in the near future. I've got to get this thing done before the temps drop too far below 50 if I want a good finish on the paint. I'm not sure how I can possibly get more than a coat or two on during the weekend since I like to wait at least 24 hours between coats. I would just do a coat a week but if I am looking at four more coats to go then that puts me towards the end of November before I finished - that is dangerously close to bad weather.

I'm also thinking that I'm going to try to get at least the sliding door body work done before the winter as well now. There is a huge dent in it with about a gallon of bondo in it. I was originally thinking that I would just replace the door but now I'm thinking I may try to actually fix it. My plan is to grind out all the Bondo, then get my buddy to weld nails to the dent, use a puller to pull the nails out, grind off the nails, apply filler, and repaint it. This would be by far my most ambitious body work to date but I'd save a pretty big chunk of change if I can do it successfully.

As far as the engine goes, I've suspected that my O2 sensor was faulty right out of the box ever since I replaced my exhaust system. The engine was smelling rich and seemed to be chugging a lot harder than it was before I replaced the exhaust. I bought a replacement sensor and installed it on the van a few nights ago. I still haven't really driven the van but just turning it on in the street and giving the engine a good workout made me think that I've fixed the issue. The engine sounds a lot smoother now and does not seem to be running as rich.

Next up with the mechanical stuff is to replace my temp 2 sensor and thermostat. The heater isn't working in the van and I believe my thermostat is stuck open. I can get hot air to blow in the summer but not the winter and I've read online that the thermostat just needs to be replaced every few years or you'll end up with a problem similar to mine. I hope to tackle this job before it gets too cold. I'm a little bit intimidated with the cooling system mostly because I really don't want to dump antifreeze all over the place. I've read online about using a shop-vac to drain the system so I suppose I should just jump in there and give it a shot. I don't know what I'm so worried about - antifreeze is a lot nicer liquid than gas and I've done plenty of work on the fuel system at this point.

I painted my front bumper and some other stuff

So I went rattle can crazy over the past few days and painted my wiper arms, door handles, and front bumper with Rustoleum Semi-Gloss Black. Who knows if the paint will last but man they look really nice right now. I sanded them all down with 220 and then used some rattle can automotive primer. After that I laid down around four coats of black taking 30 minutes between each coat. In the case of the handles I left them to dry in the sun for 48 hours, wet sanded them with 400, and then put another three coats on. I'm worried that I've lost the hot summer weather that my drying times are going to go through the roof on these painting projects - on the plus side the paint seems to be going on a lot better.

Anyway I put all of that stuff back on the van and I'm getting impressed. The paint job still needs a ton of work on the van but its starting to look good. I've got three coats of paint on the van right now and its time for more wet sanding. The side that gets direct sun has a ton of orange peel to it (funny how much direct sun will impact paint) so I need to take the time to knock it all down with some 800. This may be a bit premature but I believe that after I sand and get another three coats on I'll be ready to do a 1600 wet sand and then buff with rubbing compound to get it finished up. My expectation is that the large flat areas will look just as good as they would have if I had taken the van to be painted at a shop. The real test though will be all of the hard to reach areas and areas around the windows. You just can't do a good job if you're leaving the windows in the van. I think I'm going to have to end up rattle canning parts here and there to get decent coverage in some of the seams and what not.

Guess What I'm Doing!

Still painting...

This morning I got the third coat of paint on all of the flat panels on the bus. I still haven't reached the point where the paint is opaque but I am making progress. I've made another slight modification to my painting technique over the past few days that has helped me get even closer to a mirror like finish without using any sand paper. I purchased a second 4" roller that I leave dry and use it to pop bubbles/evenly spread paint. Now my system is to use the paint roller that has been soaking to push the paint over an entire panel. I work quickly but now that the bus is getting smooth I can't press hard or I will slide. I then stick that roller back in the paint to soak while I use my second dry roller to smooth out the paint and get rid of any bubbles. I've also noticed that the side that remains in the shade almost all day has turned out dramatically better than the side that catches the sun. From here on I will only be painting in the shade. This isn't really a problem provided I get started nice and early. I have reached the point on most of the bus where it really doesn't make sense to keep painting until I can wet sand the stuff I've done already. The build up is starting to approach bumpy so I think it is time to knock it down. I'm planning to go with 800 for this next round of sanding in the hopes that I can keep as much paint on the van as possible.

In addition I've also been painting a few trim items. I painted the rear air vents to match my front vents with the subtly textured black plastic paint and they look really nice. I also painted the door handles last night and am going to add the wiper arms either tonight or tomorrow. I need to decide what I'm going to do with my side mirrors as well. I've got some cheap replacements that I may put on there or I might just try to stick with the stock ones that I've got and paint a few bits of them. Finally, I think I'm going to do a quick rattle can job on my bumpers just to complete the newish feel.

I've still got a really long way to go on my paint job. I can't stress how much work this job is requiring. It is the kind of work that offers a lot of satisfaction but its work none the less. I am super confident that I can make the flat panels look absolutely amazing now but I am still doubtful of the harder to reach areas. I've been trying different small brushes in the hope that I can find something that offers a finish similar to the roller. It is really hard to get a smooth finish on the areas that are difficult to sand and paint. I am guessing that I will finish the main body panels long before I finish the smaller trim details.

Finally, I'm at 95% positive that I'm going to give my bus the "GoWesty black out treatment". Basically I will be painting the lower 15% of the Vanagon with truck bed liner painted gloss black. It should give a kind of rugged off-road look and will help to protect against road rash and salt. I want to do the entire undercoat but its not going to be an easy job to try to do in the street.

Once I get all this exterior painting done I'm going to turn my attention back to the interior and focus on getting the Vanagon trip ready for next Spring. Allison and I will be having our first baby next February and I want to be ready to start showing him the world in our little mobile home soon afterwards.

Site Revamp?

Now that my Vanagon is no longer the blue color you see at the top of the screen I think I'm going to have to revamp the site shortly. Maybe once I finish the paint job I'll post the pics and do a grand unveiling.