Bodywork for Paint

After deciding that I was going to paint the car myself (something I have never done before), I knew there was going to be a lot to learn. To help me with this, I've been reading as much as I can for hints, and doing general research about dos and don'ts.

I figured it would be best to invest in some tools which might help me, including some good prep materials, as well as a half decent paint gun.

A long time ago, I remembered reading something about Adjustable Flexible Sanders (AFS) sanding blocks. They're handmade by a guy over in the states, and have nothing but great reviews. They're made with a hard foam bod, and a bonded steel base. Each adjustable block has a number of steel rod inserts, which are removable to adjust the flexibility. They also available in a wide range of lengths to suit your requirements

I found the one and only UK dealer, PNR Panel Supplies and placed an order for a 15", 6" and 4.5" blocks, which should be more then enough for the curved bodywork of a Beetle. PNR also supply the adhesive backed sandpaper which is best used with the blocks:

To date, I've only just started the bodywork prep for paint. As the car is located 200 miles away from my weekday base, I've only got weekends to work on it, so it might take some time! I'll be updating this as I go though...

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Fast forward a few months and it's now July, and very little (read nothing) has happened to get the car any closer to being ready for paint. Well, actually, one thing has changed...

I've decided that I need to pay someone to paint it, especially if I ever want it finished, and to a standard I am happy with.

Naturally that means I'm taking a few things a bit further than planned.

The body is coming off to aid in the painting process, and the chassis (or certainly the underside) will be strippled and painted. I'm also going to convert the chassis to IRS - not for not, but just for futyre use), so basically it's just getting the brackets welded in! I'll keep this updated, as I make progress, and hopefully I'll have some update photos by the end of next weekend, as I've got a couple days off to work on it :o)

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Fast forward a couple more months and it's now mid November. I found a paintshop and the car got delivered at the beginnning of the month. It took a few frantic days of work to get it ready to go but it all paid off:

And here it is in the paint shop:

The one door that was a bit wobbly turned out to be too stretched to be good, so I need to drop off the Australian import door with him next weekend, along with the wings, decklid, bonnet and other smaller bits I have (dash bits etc).

I'll try and get some progress pictures while I am there!