VW Restoration Paint - Polish

In a kustom VW restoration paint is the most stunning part of the transformation - or at least the most jaw-dropping. To see an old patina monster with its dull, decades'-old finish become panels so lustrously shiny that they look like hued mirrors blows the mind.

Airkooled Kustoms is known for doing it right. What we do, is what we do... and we won't do it if it's not right. That precept shows up in every aspect of every project. You should see the wiring that's being done in Miss Mabel - no crazy spaghetti-like tangle of colors. Most people never see most of the painstaking details that go into an AKK build - or the nearly freakish dedication (even off the clock) that goes into making each VW restoration project that comes through the shop the very best it can be.

"We are never truly satisfied with our work. The closer we get to perfection, the more we realize how far away we are. When we can live with it, then the client may see it," is how Spook puts it.

In this hypnotic video, we see Spook doing Spook stuff. He's at stage 3 of a 4-stage polishing process on Miss Mabel's door. That hum, that rhythmic back and forth of the DA - you may want to put this video on a loop to play when you could use a little Zen. Wait until the very end when you can see the results. Hard to believe that's solid metal and not liquid.

What most people notice when they watch this process is how the polisher becomes an extension of his hands. Believe me, it is NOT as easy as it looks. That kind of fluidity in motion only comes after thousands of hours of practice - muscle memory at its best.

Check out the build page for Miss Mabel, our 1959 VW Beetle Ragtop entry in the Ultimate VW Build-Off in Las Vegas for October 2015. You can check out the VW show and competition here. And, if you'd like to help us make Miss Mabel shine in Vegas, visit our sponsorship page here.