Painted doorpanels

[twztedtc]

Has anyone tried to paint the top part of the door panel? I have some gouges on it where the car was broke into and I would like to paint it to possibly look like the beetle door panels.

[STARK_INDUSTRIES]

wet sand papper the material and use several coats of primer and wet sand in between coats of primer then paint with your choice and then of course clear. i think that how it goes.

Post some pics whyle you do it and post your finished product.

[twztedtc]

it will be awhile before I do it but I will have it done before summer is over

[ntwrkguru]

Use Bulldog adhesion promoter and don't forget to prep the panels first. Use prep-all, prep-wipes, mineral spirits, etc. Basically, you need to make sure to get any armor-all, etc. off before you start.

[twztedtc]

its amazing how fast some will chime in over here but I posted the same thing on Scion Life way before this one and no one has said anything lol

[deflaytedwayz1]

if you want smooth panels than you have to sand the grit out with a DA or some elbow grease. Then paint them, preferably with high build primer. then wet sand them. then paint. then clear. then sand and buff. voila! smooth painted door panels. i wouldn't suggest rattle can on this one. automotive paint all the way if you want it to look anything close to decent!

[Jc07tC]

idk if you do it right you can make rattle can look as good as it would with a compressor.. esp if its just for the door panels

[scoobasteve4132]

Im currently doing this!... I'll post some pics up tonight...

And the finish w/ a rattle can, can be just as good as compressor spray, as long as you're patient, and don't skip steps! But I'll be using a compressor, as i like having a nice hard clear on whatever I spray...

Im unsure what color Im going w/ on tops and bottoms, but probably fm, as that's color of my car...

[twztedtc]

I hope u did step by step instructions cause u know someone like me will want them

[scoobasteve4132]

I didnt on the 1st, but I'll try to do one on the 2nd one...

[twztedtc]

did u get any pics to post steve?

[scoobasteve4132]

Not yet, what all pics do you want?... The panels aren't finished yet, but you can see how I sanded em down, spray'd w/ hi-build etc...

[DriverLost]

We need a DIY on this, so do what you can Steve. :up:

[twztedtc]

We need a DIY on this, so do what you can Steve. :up:
yea what he said haha

[scoobasteve4132]

haha... okay!... I'll put one together this weekend... Should be enough time for me to at least get them sanded, and primed... may be able to spray one once I decide on color!!!....

But you'll get the idea!...

[scoobasteve4132]

twztedtc: Do you have any pics of the beetle door panels?

[scoobasteve4132]

Im guessing you're talking about the top being painted...


http://images.eurotuner.com/techarticles/p19291_large+2000_Volkswagen_Beetle+Door_Panel_Vie w.jpg

[twztedtc]

http://images.eurotuner.com/techarticles/p19291_large+2000_Volkswagen_Beetle+Door_Panel_Vie w.jpg

[twztedtc]

beat me to it

[scoobasteve4132]

haha... sure did!... gotta amuse myself one way or another while at work!

[twztedtc]

see since the top of my panel got scratched when it was broken into thats why I had this idea.

[scoobasteve4132]

Yea seeing as your car is dark, fm?, I think it will look pretty good...

[twztedtc]

yea its flint mica

[scoobasteve4132]

gotcha, same here... I'll try to get the one I am working on now sprayed sometime this week/weekend... just so you have a rough idea of how it will looks... but my mid panels are gonna be c/f, so will look a bit different!

[scoobasteve4132]

not to get too off-topic, but what happened to your avic?

[twztedtc]

someone broke into my car and tried to steal it. they broke the screen

[scoobasteve4132]

OUCH!!!... That's what it looked like, not cool!

[scoobasteve4132]

I've got one top panel all ready to spray, and I'll be doing that tonight...

Im using it as a plug for a mold, so not too worried on the color... It does need to have a wicked finish though, so the mold is all nice nice!...

I'll take some pics tonight of it!...

I'll also work on a DIY for it... And just throw in pics when I get a chance...

[twztedtc]

sweet

[scoobasteve4132]

Yea, even primed they look a million times better smooth!...

I'll take some pics when I run home for lunch in a bit...

[scoobasteve4132]

Alright, some primed teaser pics!


http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/slenhard/3ccd01a9.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/slenhard/80948326.jpg

[twztedtc]

very interesting

[scoobasteve4132]

Hahaha, didnt catch the webs first time around... Pretty cool!

and looks like spraying today may be off, it's downpouring!!!

So I can start on the DIY!

[twztedtc]

awesome I can start anytime just needs to know what supplies and how to go by doing it lol

[scoobasteve4132]

Here's a real brief DIY

Remove the door panel.
- There is a screw behind the handle, behind the little square tab...
Just pop it open and remove screw...

- Then pull of the arm rest piece just below the mid panel...
Where will be another, maybe 2 screws in there, remove them!

- Gently pull the panel off...

Separating panels.
- Once the door panel is removed, you will need to separate the 3
major panel assemblies. It may not be 100% necessary, but this
is how I did it and it made it really easy. Better then lugging
around a complete door panel.

- This is done by either drill or cutting of the plastic welds that
are holding them together. The mid panel has some screws on
the bottom, remove them too!

- Just cut/drill enough to separate the panel. You will need the
portion joining the panels in order to put them back together
w/ self tapping screws.

Prepping panel.
- Now that the panels are apart, let the fun begin!

- I used a 5" disc sander for most of my sanding. Once everything
got nice and smooth, I changed over to hand/block sanding.
I picked up a real cheap unit at harbor freight for like $30 or so.
The also had sanding discs ranging from 60 - 320.

- To do the initial sand, I used 60 grit disc sp. Scuff the heck out
of it. I was not trying to remove the grooves. Im sure it could
be done that way, but I merely filled the valleys.

- Sprayed a generous coat of high build primer. I used some
duplicolor stuff I found at a local advance auto parts store. Don't
go too crazy, as you'll be sanding it a few more times. You main
goal is to progressively fill the valleys.

- Sand and repeat! Once cured/dry I would go over the panel w/ a
150 grit sanding disc. Sand it all nice and smooth, and repeat
the previous step. By sanding your making sure the peaks of
the grooves aren't getting to large...

- Once you're nice and smooth, I went sanded w/ 320 and called it
a day. Oh yea, always after sanding, please please please, I
cannot say it enough, clean your panel... You don't want all
the crap you just sanding off messing up the adhesion btw coats.

Painting the panel.
- To be honest, this is truly up to you. Some choose to strictly use
a spray gun, some choose rattle can. A great finish can be done
w/ both. For this one I am choosing a rattle can, as it's not a
permanent finish. I can still get a great smooth finish w/ a can. So
no need to spend the $$$ on paint that is just going to be removed
in a few days!

- Some choose to wetsand btw coats, some let it flash and then coat,
whatever's best for you in your situation.

- Once cleared, I'll wetsand it all nice, nice. And use Meguiars Med Cut
machine polish. Followed by Meg. machine glaze, and scratchX...

Here are some c/f pillars I did that way!
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/slenhard/7e879cca.jpg


http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/slenhard/be9c5942.jpg


Okay, maybe not so brief. I sorta go into it, and well here you go!...

Here's rough list of what you'll need:
- 2 cans high build primer - because nothing's worse then running out!
Well actually, they'res plenty worse, but you get the idea!
- lint free rags. Not a necessity, but making life easier.
Tack cloth would be nice too! But again, not a necessity.
- sandpaper, pretty much a preference here. I like using my cheapo
disc sander, some may want to go by hand. Use what you feel most
comfortable with. If you dont feel comfortable w/ 60, go for 150.
There's no need to rush things.
- Time! Once mostly everything was nice and fill in, I hit the corners and
curves really meticously. I still have some work to do in the hinge
corner. Just lucky the gf is cool w/ me living in the garage, breathing
primer and epoxy fumes, lol.

[scoobasteve4132]

I'll try to get some pics later today as I take apart my other panel, and fill em in where they apply...

[twztedtc]

Nice I just hope I can remain patient during this.

[scoobasteve4132]

I just did a few other projects while doing that one... So there's not too much boredom btw coats...

[DriverLost]

Thats the only way to do it . Or spray them and get the heck away from them.:lalala: For me anyway. lol

Nice write up Steve. :clap:

[scoobasteve4132]

Lol, yea... If I don't have something else to occupy me, I'll tend to rush things and doing them 2-3 times to get it right afterwards...

[scoobasteve4132]

So, I was bored tonight as it was too damp and humid to spray, so I polished the primer... haha... they really look sexy now!...

I'll probably just pull a mold of these as is, since they are pretty smooth now!...

I'll get some pics up manana!

[epidemic]

id like to see some pics of this

[scoobasteve4132]

I'll take some tonight... I'll be pulling the mold tonight, so they're gonna have to be all smooth and shiny!

[twztedtc]

I am interested in what you are doing with this mold sounds interesting

[scoobasteve4132]

Im not too sure yet... but figured it'd be the best time to get a mold pulled...

was thinking of making a c/f or even fiberglass replacment...

[scoobasteve4132]

I think Im just gonna make some overlays... I was waiting on getting some tooling gelcoat, but the place I get mine from just had 5 gal pails... too much $$$ for me... they'll have more on wednesday, so no molds until them... :(...

Anyways on to the pics!...

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/slenhard/f09de719.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/slenhard/e169ae12.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/slenhard/75407073.jpg

[twztedtc]

man once I get moved Im doin this