Painter Available...

[wild3]

hey, wayne told me about this website...
i am the guy (willy) that painted wayne and paige's bus.
y'all might have seen the pictures?
wayne said there were some paint questions that
i might be able to answer...

[jtauxe]

Welcome Willy!

I am getting psyched up to repaint my 1977 Marino Gelb (school bus orange) Westy, and yes, I have lots of questions.

1. Do I have to shell out something like over $2000 to have it professionally painted, or should I attempt the job myself? I have a fairly steady hand, but essentially nothing in painting tools. I also have never painted a car before. I have a feeling that if I try it myself, I will soon appreciate why a pro job costs so much.

2. What do you think of the idea of painting with a roller? I have seen results that look impressive in pictures on the computer, but I am skeptical. It would involve much simpler tools, of course.

3. If I have some paint shop do it, should I include specific stop times during the work where I can inspect it to see that it is done right? What would these times be? (I'm thinking of after stripping, after minor body work and prep just before priming, after priming, etc.)

4. What are the most common mistakes made by DIY painters? (Not enough patience in prep, etc.?)

5. What are the most common rip-offs performed by paint shops? (That is, what do I need to look out for?)

6. Are there any brand names or types of paint (there seem to be many paint technologies) that you would specifically recommend or disrecommend?

7. Would you like to travel to lovely northern New Mexico and paint two orange buses and maybe a brown/tan one? Maybe we (three bus owner friends that want paint jobs) could arrange to have it all done at once!

[hambone]

Good questions!
Also, what are your rates for painting/surface prep if a guy were to do his own bodywork?

[wild3]

1. Yes, you do have to pay to have it done, if you want it done right...
People make the mistake of thinking that they can do it themselves, and then end up costing themselves more money in the long run paying for paint removal, and then paying to have it done by a professional...

2. It is a bad idea... Pictures on the computer can look like anything, and it is not until you walk around the vehicle in person, and you can see the damage up close, and personal...

3. Yes, you are paying for the job to be done... you have the right to see your vehicle at any time.. asking to see receipts is not a bad idea either...
You always want to see it before they are going to paint, to make sure everything that you wanted done, was done...

4. I'm sorry to say, doing it yourself, is not the way to go, it will cost you more in the long run....

5. Charging you more than the materials actually cost, using cheaper materials than you paid for, using cheaper parts, than you paid for... cutting corners, on work that you paid to have done....

6. Yes, for your location you would want to have the urethane single stage paint, with a top coat, clear coat combination... All done at once...
U/V sun protection, paint chip protection, and durability, this should last you for @10 years. Clear coat is vital.

7. It is funny that you ask, my wife's parents live in New Mex. close to Silver City.. We were planning to come down around the middle of June...
Do you have a shop that we could work in? I would really like to see some pictures of your bus, and the areas that you are concerned with...
talk to you soon,
willy

[wild3]

Good questions!
Also, what are your rates for painting/surface prep if a guy were to do his own bodywork?

How good are you at body work and prep?! This would knock the price down considerably..... Send pictures....

[misszora]

Hey everyone,

Willy painted the Vandejo for me so I could sell her. He found little dings that I never noticed and made her smooth and shiny and beautiful.

This is a link posted by the guy who bought her:
http://calivw78.com/v/rides/74westy/sne ... _body_shop

She went to a very good home and Troy (the new owner) was blown away by Willy's work.

Thanks Willy!!!
- paige

[chitwnvw]

Can you do an IAC type tour? Painting across America!

[wild3]

That is hilarious!! Might not be a bad idea?? Hmmm???

Can you do an IAC type tour? Painting across America!

[Amskeptic]

That is hilarious!! Might not be a bad idea?? Hmmm???

Can you do an IAC type tour? Painting across America!

The Itinerant Air-Cooled Franchise Agreement is as follows:

All Itinerant Air-Cooled franchisees (hitherto and wherefore referred to as IAI Imitator Almost Itinerants) must wear company issued cut-off Levi 501s two sizes too small, Polo tank-top shirts, and must set their Diet Coke cans down with label facing camera at all times.

All IAI franchisees must be timely in their arrival and straight-forward in their dealings.

IAI franchisees must keep their profit margins just below poverty level, and remember the IAC slogan "I love my work more than money, obviously. . ."

CEO IAC

[jtauxe]

Do you have a shop that we could work in? I would really like to see some pictures of your bus, and the areas that you are concerned with...
talk to you soon,
willy

I have a two-car garage that might serve... I don't know. I understand that the local high school has a paint booth that they rent out. I'd need to follow up on that to see if it's true.
Check out the pix of Y2 on my web link in the sig. That will give you an idea of what we're up against. The only bad rust is at the windshield. The rest is normal dings and dents, with a scrape along the passenger's door, all requiring minor Bondo-ish bodywork.

[hambone]

Don't need a paint job yet, but will in the next few years. The previous owner's Maaco paint is still holding up a shine after 6 years, but is flaking off in a couple small spots due to poor previous surface prep. One minor annoyance: the Maaco color wasn't matched to the original very well, it's a shade or 2 off. So when I fix a rust chip and spray the spot with a CORRECTLY mixed touchup paint it doesn't match. Oh well so it goes, at least the rust has been taken care of...
There are a couple minor dents and dings, which I could handle with Bondo etc, have had LOTS of experience with Midwest rust on beater cars!! But how does one handle paint that flakes off in random spots because the surface underneath is too shiny and the paint isn't adhering propery? Do you have to strip down to bare metal? That seems drastic...

[wild3]

Don't need a paint job yet, but will in the next few years. The previous owner's Maaco paint is still holding up a shine after 6 years, but is flaking off in a couple small spots due to poor previous surface prep. One minor annoyance: the Maaco color wasn't matched to the original very well, it's a shade or 2 off. So when I fix a rust chip and spray the spot with a CORRECTLY mixed touchup paint it doesn't match. Oh well so it goes, at least the rust has been taken care of...
There are a couple minor dents and dings, which I could handle with Bondo etc, have had LOTS of experience with Midwest rust on beater cars!! But how does one handle paint that flakes off in random spots because the surface underneath is too shiny and the paint isn't adhering propery? Do you have to strip down to bare metal? That seems drastic...

you have to sand it back until the paint feathers in. and then apply a primer\sealer before painting. it can be a bitch because maaco does the worst prep i have seen. you will know what 'feathered in' is when top coat lines with bottom coat, wont see shine between coats.

[wild3]

Do you have a shop that we could work in? I would really like to see some pictures of your bus, and the areas that you are concerned with...
talk to you soon,
willy

I have a two-car garage that might serve... I don't know. I understand that the local high school has a paint booth that they rent out. I'd need to follow up on that to see if it's true.
Check out the pix of Y2 on my web link in the sig. That will give you an idea of what we're up against. The only bad rust is at the windshield. The rest is normal dings and dents, with a scrape along the passenger's door, all requiring minor Bondo-ish bodywork.

the paint booth at the high school sounds good... we could do prep in your garage, but unless you have a compressor, that won't work...
i looked at your pictures, looks pretty serious... not a problem. we would need a window guy, to take out the front windshield... (because they tend to break)... there needs to be new metal welded into the windshield channel...
it looks to be do-able... it would be more cost effective, to purchase the materials here, where i get a discount, and then have them shipped to you... so when i come down, all i would need to bring is my paint gun.
the paint code for the orange, is -L203- amber...
a job i recently did is the same color... her name is miss zora, she's in here somewhere, it's the vandejo, that went to colorado....
talk to ya soon,
peace out,
willy

[foxtail]

Some paint shops use crap paint. I was there the whole time my bus was being worked on, but of course I was the one doing most of the hand work. My boss did the welding and the painting. Just the cost of materials that was sand paper, bondo, primer, thinners, paint, etc.at his cost was was around 700 bucks. The estimated cost to get it done would of been around 8,000.

Also be sure if you have a shop do it you have the right to the paint that is not used. You might need it for touch ups.

The paints depending on the type can run over a 100 per gallon.

1. Yes, you do have to pay to have it done, if you want it done right...
People make the mistake of thinking that they can do it themselves, and then end up costing themselves more money in the long run paying for paint removal, and then paying to have it done by a professional...

2. It is a bad idea... Pictures on the computer can look like anything, and it is not until you walk around the vehicle in person, and you can see the damage up close, and personal...

3. Yes, you are paying for the job to be done... you have the right to see your vehicle at any time.. asking to see receipts is not a bad idea either...
You always want to see it before they are going to paint, to make sure everything that you wanted done, was done...

4. I'm sorry to say, doing it yourself, is not the way to go, it will cost you more in the long run....

5. Charging you more than the materials actually cost, using cheaper materials than you paid for, using cheaper parts, than you paid for... cutting corners, on work that you paid to have done....

6. Yes, for your location you would want to have the urethane single stage paint, with a top coat, clear coat combination... All done at once...
U/V sun protection, paint chip protection, and durability, this should last you for @10 years. Clear coat is vital.

7. It is funny that you ask, my wife's parents live in New Mex. close to Silver City.. We were planning to come down around the middle of June...
Do you have a shop that we could work in? I would really like to see some pictures of your bus, and the areas that you are concerned with...
talk to you soon,
willy