VW Beetle Restoration

[NOTE: It's vertical because it's a Periscope!]

Blasted Good

We're checking in on the Airkooled Kustoms shop this morning to watch Spook shrinking metal on Willie, Kaden's Bug. The Bug is back from blast. The first thing we do when we get vehicles back is to shoot them in sealer to prevent rusting (which can happen practically overnight if it's not sealed immediately).

The Bug's in really good shape, body-wise. It really only has a few areas of rust that need metalwork - as well as a prior dent-causing incident on the driver's side behind the door. It was repaired before. Whoever did the repair did an okay job (although it wasn't complete). So, now Spook is using his favorite dolly and hammer plus a shrinking disc on his DA. He'll spend hours and hours persuading the vintage steel to get back into alignment. Did you know steel's molecular structure steel is crystalline? Therefore, it's really just a matter of heating and cooling and tapping away at the steel to get it back into the structural alignment it had originally.

It's noisy work! One Periscope viewer said it was kind of like being at a dentist appointment from hell - and that's about right! Very noisy. The guys are used to it though, and it's the best way to get the job done.

Trick question: Is this how modern cars get body repairs?

Of course not! Most modern cars are made out of molded plastic 🙂 Old-school VW restoration shops do it the old-fashioned way. So more of what's needed to repair a dent is a plunger and some hot water. Just kidding - we've got major respect for modern auto body repair experts. It's just an entirely different medium to work in.

Spook also spills the beans about some Tech Talks planned for the upcoming Low Down in Dub Town event. It's at the shop on October 17, 2015. We'll get them on Periscope as well for our friends who are too far away to come out to the show.

On the way out, we get another parting glimpse of Miss Mabel. That fine lady's getting some final touches before she's loaded up and hauled out to Las Vegas for the Ultimate VW Build-Off, which runs October 1-4, 2015.

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