Aircooled VW South Africa

hey gents

So i started work on my bug, Mostly doing the pannelbeating. First time i tried pannelbeating and i think its not to bad. Did the vallance and the bonnet. some fibreglass work will be done in the next few weeks. Just waiting for my fenders. here is some of the work that i have done.

Just dont put any fg anywhere. unless its a fg bolt on part. fg and metal dont mix.

ok and bodyputty?

My advice is to REALY sort out the most of the bumps/bruises. In other words, try and get the valance and Bonnet as smooth/repaired as possible. Then, and only then work with body putty.

The thing about body putty is that is is porous. Always has, and always will be. Over time, it WILL absorb humidity and cause the metal under it to rust, and chip off. Always keep the body putty to an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM! That way, there is less putty to absorb humidity. So what I am saying, is put the putty on thin................ VERY THIN!!!!! Treat the metal under the putty PROPERLY first!!!!

what type of treatment are we talking about?

The problem wih body putty is that eople tend to get water on it before they paint it. That is why rust appears after a while because the water can't evaporate after it's painted. The best is to paint it with a sealer after you have done the job. And avoid working with it when it is overcast or very humid. If you stay by the coast, the best will be to use a spraybooth to work in or use a heater in the closed garage before you start working.

o ok wonderfull. were up in JHB and its almost winter. so wil do the putty work then. Gonna do as much as i can myself and then just get it sprayed. Humidity noted.

My gearbox is not lekker, The gears arent were they were, struggels to go into 3 gear from 4th. First time it does this.