my first car

i've just joined the forum and also recently bought myself my first car which is a 1972 vw beetle (tax exempt:D). It is in need of restoration and i think im going to need a few tips as i am no expert.

I would love to have the beetle savanna beige but not sure if i will be able to afford to get it sprayed. I thought about spray cans but not sure if it is the right thing to do? if not i do love the rat looks, its just i've always wanted to own a beige beetle:p

Also i was wondering if someone could help me with my dash and what to do, im not sure if i need to get a new dash from a breaking bug or just cut it back up to get it to original? help please?


cheers:)

Hi BB

If you post up some photos of your bug and dash so folks can see whats going on We can advise you better, whats actually the matter with your dash?

With paintwork though, you would probably better off hiring or borrowing a small compressor and spray gun and painting it in cellulose if you have somewhere to do it...the amount of rattle cans you need to get a decent coat will work out more expensive and wont give as good a finish...with a bit of patience and practise you can get a surprisingly good finish at home with celly, and its easy to flat and polish out any impurities when its done...remember though, with any paint job its all about the preparation....spraying over crappy un prepared paint and rust patches doesnt go well...

Good luck with your project and get some photos up dude!

My dash has been cut and covered in diffferent areas. Where the speedo is there are 2 holes next to it. This is where I would like the have the grills and not sure how the fit them. Also the cassette player has been covered over and the glovebox box has been removed. I'm just not sure the best way to way to fix the dash, hopefully without having to get a whole new dash as that would be a big set back on my budget.

Stick your head under the bonnet and have a look at the back of the dash...you might be able to see how they have filled the original holes...if they have been properly welded over then it will be bit of a ballache to put right, however, many folks used to just put a couple of spots of weld on the blanking pieces and then cover it all with filler...in which case it wouldnt be too hard to sort out..

i think it might just be easier to buy a second hand dash as i have found a couple for under £50?