Hippy Mobile: A 1964 VW Bus

[christian900se]

I scheduled a detail with the owner of this VW Camper Bus and started on schedule this morning. This is bar none the most interesting vehicle I have detailed to date, and really enjoyed getting into all the nooks and crannies. The story behind it is that the wife found the owner's original Bus that he drove back in high school and had it restored 7 years ago to present it as his 50th birthday present (pretty sweet, right?). There are some small rust bubbles beginning to form and some large vertical cracks in the paint due to what I am assuming is poor prep work. It has been his daily driver ever since but has recently been living outside due to their relocation to a new house. Because of this, the Bus has had a layer of dirt and salt on the exterior and the interior became dusty as a result and the owner wanted it brought back to it's former glory for the weekend!



Products + Process

Exterior:

-ONR wash (2 times)
-Dried with Showroom FX WW
-Clayed with Clay Magic & Luber to remove iron fallout on the vertical panels
-XMT 360 AIO applied VIA PC and a grey LC pad
-2 layers of Collinite 845 applied by hand
-Duragloss Aquawax on all glass
-Collinite metal wax on chrome and metal work
-303 Protectant applied to rubber molding and trim
-Optimum Opti-bond on tires
-Planet Polish WS+S on rims

Interior:

-Vacuum with Shop Vac and various attachments
-Wipedown of the dash and vinyl seats
-303 Protectant applied appropriately
-Autoglym Fast Glass on all windows



The befores: To be fair, it was not in terrible shape but the paint had some staining, bird do-do and salt film over it that the camera would not pick up completely (did my best to show it)


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A faint 50/50 line of the stained/discolored paint:


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50/50 of ONR: That was one big roof by the way!


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[christian900se]

The Afters: All staining was dealt with and the paint and metal work were gleaming in the California sun.


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You could get a decent party going back here!


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I could not for the life of me find reverse




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I loved working on the Bus and has been one of the most enjoyable details I have performed to date. Stay posted for a few more classics coming up!

[bill walsh]

nice job

[Dubbin1]

That is one sweet bus

[sullysdetailing]

Very cool. There was an air cooler VW show a while back I got to detail 2 cars that were in the show. They had very old VW you could think of there from Buses to Bugs

[welcome2thedawn]

that thing is adorable...i don't think i've ever seen one in good condition like that

[kids_gone]

ahh the good old days,
nice job

[CEE DOG]

Thanks for sharing Christian! Looks great! Love the story that goes with it as well.

[DARK HORSE]

Wow, very cool...Looks great Christian!! Thanks for sharing!

[christian900se]

nice job

Thank you very much Bill!


That is one sweet bus

It is about as California as you can possibly get, definately a sweet throwback to yesteryear!


Very cool. There was an air cooler VW show a while back I got to detail 2 cars that were in the show. They had very old VW you could think of there from Buses to Bugs

I think they have a huge amount of character and charm which is why their owners are so loyal and loving. Then you have the opposite end of the spectrum where most buses and bugs I see are really trashed and beat up but it is very nice to see those in great condition like the one I worked on.


that thing is adorable...i don't think i've ever seen one in good condition like that

It was very clean inside and minus a few paint issues, likewise on the exterior as well. I think the story behind it is great as well which made it worth while when I saw the owner's face after I was done!


ahh the good old days,
nice job

That is for sure, they don't make them like this anymore... You could practically remove 4 bolts and be able to drop the engine by yourself or take the whole car apart in a few hours with a screwdriver and some know how.


Thanks for sharing Christian! Looks great! Love the story that goes with it as well.

Thanks for the kind words Corey! Here is the condensed story behind it:

The wife went through the process to find if the she could find her husband's first ever car and the same one that they first dated in: the bus. She found it through a VIN search to see if it was still registered but it was actually in pieces at a parts yard so she bought as many parts back as possible and had it restored. They wanted to keep it faithful to the original factory specs so the paint is a single stage white with as many original parts inside and out as they could find. I personally believe that the re-emergence of rust and the cracks in the paint are coming from the failure to fully remove all rust off the body before sending it to paint. They aren't exactly short on money so he said that if it needs to be restored again, then that is what he will do.



Wow, very cool...Looks great Christian!! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for the comment Tad, I appreciate it a lot! It is not everyday you get to work on one of these rides, that is for sure! I just hope to get a few more cool cars like this to work on haha.

[Mike Phillips]

Awesome work and great story, plus a very cool Bus...

:dblthumb2: