preparing fro full paint...a few questions.

[supercharged spaniel]

I'm preparing to finally get the paint done this summer and will be stripping it when i finish work for the summer hols..I've just ordered the rear quater sections for under the lights from vag as mine as a little ropey and i want them to be or sections of them to be replaced rather than rust removed only to come back.....

Anyways one of my questions...what do the factory seal the back of the front wings with?...ill need toget them primed and painted but am sure there is some kind of sealer on them? waxoyl? what is it?


question two...how do i sucessfully remove the aerial off the roof?


sure ill have plenty more in time...

thanks

[Max]

With the aerial I think you need to take the headlining out and it undo the screw that holds it down.

[Alex]

Max speaks the truth, you have to drop the headlining to get at the bolt holding it on.

This means melting the glue along the top of the boot, then unclipping it from the roof.

Because some twunt ripped mine off I've had to drop the headlining twice (once to fit it, as mine's a GT, and then again to fit a new one). My headlining isn't as hot as it used to be

[Dan]

I would leave the panels under the rear lights if the rust isnt too bad. So long as the rust is fully ground back to bare metal (which isn't too hard) thoroughly.

The front wings have sealer applied to the inner wing join after they are fitted. it's like a seam sealer and there is cavity wax in there too.

[PeteG40]

as alex says, headlinings can rip very easily.  Take car with a hair dryer to loosen the glue when taking it down!

[SuperMario]

Back of the wings, use waxoil, the underseal... better than factory.

[breadman]

Back of the wings, use waxoil, the underseal... better than factory.

Personal opinion, but I'd stay away from that stuff. In fact any underseal is crap IMO.
Whilst it remains flexible it also stays sticky. That means all the road dirt will stick to it too. As you probably also know, salt and mud covering the underseal will eventually find its way through and corrode the panel behind it without you knowing. Bastard stuff that rust is!
If it were me I'd spray the back of the new wings prior to fitting. A decent zinc rich primer such as Bilt Hamber's Electrox. Then I'd ask at your bodyshop what they use on modern cars for underbody protection, you know - the flexible mottled finish paint similar to stonechip. That way, if you want you could finish the underside of the wings in the same colour as the outer panels or just matt black for the O.E. look.
Then fit the wings using seam sealer between the joint faces.
Job's a good'un and no nasty sticky underseal.

[supercharged spaniel]

I would leave the panels under the rear lights if the rust isnt too bad. So long as the rust is fully ground back to bare metal (which isn't too hard) thoroughly.

The front wings have sealer applied to the inner wing join after they are fitted. it's like a seam sealer and there is cavity wax in there too.

yeah one side is very bad and I've spoken to my mates dad about it who is an experienced welder and has done a lot of work on older vw's. We have decided just to replace part of the panel as lower down where it joins the rear panel is still spot on and has theoriginal factory sealer which I don't want to disturb... So he is confident he can weld part of it in invisbly... That's the plan anyway. Thanks for the info on the aerial... Any ideas on how to remove rivets? Rear arches especially? A small 3mm drill bit through the centres?

[Dan]

Yeah, small drill through em. You can buy underseal/sealer from VW. Thats the proper stuff that goes off and can be painted. Not the horid black sticky crap that people use for some insane reason.

[SuperMario]

The underseal ive been using for years isnt sticky at all, yes it doesnt dry completely but it skins over nicely and doesnt get sticky, the bottom of my mini got undersealed a good 3years back now and is still perfect! I run a bodyshop and have never had a problem with the sealing side of things, my G will be getting a respray once the engine/suspetion is sorted and it will be getting the underseal treatment.
Maby youve had a bad experiance with cheap stuff out of a areosol, but ive never used it so wouldnt no.

not a personal opinion a professional one!

[breadman]

Hey, we all love professional opinions don't we!
Nah seriously though, I did use the Waxoyl underseal Musto, and though it did skin over it remains sticky to this day. Pretty dissapointed really, because I thoroughly cleaned the inner wings on mine before spraying them.
Regardless of the quality of underseal used, ultimately the panel should always be properly painted first.
Personal opinion, but nonetheless fact!

[Dan]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, fair enough. I just prefer to use the VW stuff as dries fully, is chip resistant and you can over paint it with 2k etc. It goes on the underseal type guns so you can spray it to get the texture you wan't.

Factory looking finish for me !

[supercharged spaniel]

Yeah, small drill through em. You can buy underseal/sealer from VW. Thats the proper stuff that goes off and can be painted. Not the horid black sticky crap that people use for some insane reason.

is this the stuff they put on thesills too? You can put this on thebacks of the wings too? Do you have a part number?