Modern Vespa

Go for the full-on luggage hook version of those upper plates. They're awesome.

I might well do. Can't picture myself strapping luggage there, but you never know. They look better too.

Funny how when you get these things all glossy you can see how crudely they were built, especially where you can't see. I have to remind myself to NOT try to fix certain things, because:

1. It came from the factory like that.
2. You could fuck it up completely.
3. You could lose your mind.

That's why I do my own prep. A body shop might want to cover the whole thing in a cocoon of filler and all that character would be gone. Same deal with my bus.

My hooks showed up with those same welding marks on them, but they're solidly built. Plug-welded on the back side and ground down.

I have a small cargo net that I use with them, and have a small box I also throw under there sometimes. It's a great way to carry essential supplies like a gas can, extra 2t oil, groceries, or booze.

Got some more done today. I tried using a Preval spray cartridge and surprisingly it worked quite well even with using it with only one part reducer. I've used them in the past for tight spots or metal repairs inside my bus Usually I have to reduce primer more. Much less prep and cleaning time and mess. Leaves quite a bit of peel, but it will get sanded out anyway. 6 oz did two full coats on the stuff pictured here.

Hoping to get the rest of the bits done this afternoon, then lots of wet sanding. If I am lucky I can get another coat on everything before next weekend. It is supposed to down to the teens to below zero by then.

If I have to do all of it with the Preval cans, it will still work out. Results even with a good gun aren't much better and the final result is the same.


Preval paint sprayer. I have a bulk pack of canisters.

About the same results I usually get with a decent gun.

I have an old DeVilbiss Finish Line gun for paint. Pretty happy with it.

Do these go on the underside?

That joint always strikes me as a problem spot on repaint.

Any liquid that gets in the tunnel - and it will - tends to also want to seep out from there.

I like your seam seal thought. Will u apply inside the tunnel?

How does osopho work? Can you apply and then just prime over the top? Always wonder when I hear you guys talking about it.

I only use Ospho in the seams. It flows in there and neutralizes the rust. I will follow that up with some thinned out epoxy primer and squish it into the seams with a foam brush. I am only sealing it on the outside. Taped off close to the seam and sandwiched between 2 layers of primer. Impossible to get all rust out of seams, but if well sealed, it should keep it from rusting further.

Aren't you glad you asked?

On top.

Yes!

One more thing about Ospho and the like…I use it as well as naval jelly to get rust out of areas where I can't or won't sandblast. I get the Ospho all off before priming.

Ospho can leave a chalky coating that may cause adhesion problems with primer, but it all depends. On auto body forums this, and many other arcane topics are argued to the point where people start calling each other names. Another hot topic is whether filler should go over bare metal or epoxy primer. Both work and I try to just stick with what the TDS's for the products I use.

Sometimes it can all go to shit even when you do everything right, which is why I hate painting so much.

Sometimes you are way better off just rattlecanning your ride the way you want and just enjoying it. Sorry to ramble.

I thought I added last night that, yeah, you have to wash the treated areas with water after it's finished etching or you get a sticky power residue.

Personally, I DTC Epoxy prime, then fill. That's partly because I don't want to be leaving bare metal bare any longer than necessary. I Ospho (galvanize) the entire body before DTM, too.

One bit of wisdom I picked up from marine forums when I was doing my boat is that many body fillers tend to absorb moisture, so if you use them direct to metal, you're going to wind up with rust pockets forming, which will then cause the paint to spall off. It may or may not be true, but the logic seems sound to me. Hopefully someone who knows more definitively will chime in and set the record straight.

If the TDS says go over bare metal, I do. I re-sand, panel wipe and warm it up with a heat gun first. I have also skim coated over epoxy primer after sanding with the correct grit and cleaning. It depends on the project. Both methods work with the right prep. The total Ospho etch works too. It all depends on products and prep and there isn't one "right" way.

Living in Florida for so many years and never living more than 5 miles from the ocean - everything would rust quick. You never left any bare metal showing over night or there would be a bit of flash rust on it in the morning. I bought Ospho by the gallon. Apply it, let it sit 24 hours or over night, rinse off with cold water and dry. Never had a problem.

That's good to know. Thank you.

That's the last of the bits for the first coat of primer. Sand-a-thon to follow.

Getting there…

Missed some spots here and there, but I'm still going to wet sand with 320 grit. It will need a couple swipes of filler here and there. Reprime and wet sand with 600 grit.

I think the issue I had with the spray gun was that the siphon tube was not close enough to the bottom of the paint cup and I was mixing up small quantities at a time. The size of the needle shouldn't be a problem. If the Preval canister can push it, any gun should do.

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The spray booth is working really well. I had it up to 80* in there yesterday, 30% humidity.

Thinking ahead to the VBB. I can't get orange out of my head. The purist in me says paint it the original color, but I find it meh…underwhelming. The 200 would be a better choice for a color change, but I actually like the original blue.

Any thoughts?

Did someone say orange?


Doooooooo iiiiiiiiitttttt....!

You just pushed me over the edge. Orange it is. I can always repaint it if I decide to donate it to a museum.

sounds like that didn't take much persuasion.

well damn chandlerman, why'd you exert so much pressure on the poor guy?

I can be VERY persuasive when the situation calls for it! You'd be amazed what I can talk myself into!

That's single stage 2k from Summit Racing. Great stuff and dirt cheap for the quality of the product. I used just over a quart. You could probably do it with just one quart, but I put on an extra coat once I knew I was going to have to wet sand it.

he's already sold, you don't have to go and keep pushing him by telling him it wasn't expensive

I just needed a little validation…a little enabling. It's also going to be a toad for the bus. I will be buying a lot of orange for my bus anyway.

Ohhh, matchy-matchy! Nice!

Yes. I'm love the original orange on the bus. The VBB would be a great scooter to bring on bus camping trips and exploring off the beaten path. I have to figure out some kind of platform to fit to the front of the bus. I know it's been done.

I often thought that if I did something like the cannonball someday, I would have another driver follow the route and camp. Plenty of room for parts and tools and works as a mobile pit vehicle.

The sanding has begun and this is where things slow down. Still some spots to level out. If I can't get them straight, I will knock down the high spots and fill the front of the legshield. The ripples in the back will get lost in the clutter of the glove box and floor rails.




A few ripples to straighten.

Guide coat and lots of tappy-tappy will get you there if you don't want the filler. At some point, though, you'll decide that you've passed the point of diminishing expectations. No shame in a little bit of filler to get things across the line, IMO.

Totally agree. There is nothing but nothing like a little swipe of filler to save you hours and hours of work and frustration so you can get done.

Seen plenty of restoration videos where people brag about no filler but are gunning on many coats of slick sand.

I remember a youtube video from when I was re-glassing my boat's hull. The guy observed that refinishing was all about building up layers that you then had to sand them down again, hopefully to a finish more to your liking.

In high school body shop class the instructor would drill into our heads not to put on any more filler than you wanted to sand off. And Glaziers putty for the final touch ups.

Last edited by Tierney on Wed, 01 Feb 2023 15:04:13 +0000; edited 1 time

I can back that up. Having just stripped a frame to bare metal, the only places I had rust was wherever there was filler. Where the original paint was still on the bike, there was no rust.

In this case, I will be using filler over epoxy primer.

In future projects, I plan to epoxy prime as soon as the bare metal is ready for it. Makes sense to seal up bare metal ASAP.

Finished the tap-tapping with the chassis anyway. This is closer than I have ever got anything to straight, so moving along. After recoating, I will use Dolphin glaze or icing for any left over ripples in the metal.

One thing I noticed with Vespas…a lot of the parts that go on it; glove box, legshield trim, floor rails also serve to reinforce the sheet metal and help it hold its shape. From a design perspective, it's pretty cool; making something simple and economical look curvy and luxurious. It also gives wiggle room in aligning things.

I bet the had a dedicated guy in the factory. He would show up drunk to the night shift with a box of homemade tools and correct any bodywork issues and align panels and trim.

I can't speak to Italy specifically, but based on past experiences working in Europe, you're describing the entire factory crew after lunch every day.

The dedicated guy was the one whose motto was, "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

Great read for me going from Osopho rinse to here.
I had my Allstate frame sand blasted - left it bare - now it has flash rust on it.
Not sure how I am going to try and treat...
Perhaps I should wire brush and then paint a coat of osopho on it and leave it!

body work is looking good.
orange scoot on front of orange bus would be pretty damn cool - IMHO

You can just hit it with Ospho the way it is. It will covert the rust. You may want to wire brush it if it will show thru any primer/paint.

I think VW had their own version of that guy, for sure.

CM22; you could go over it with 80 grit on a palm sander or DA or just wash it down with Ospho.

Back to the Ospho/primer thing…I believe that some (maybe older 1k) primers may be incompatible with Ospho, but many newer epoxy primers actually suggest a going over with a metal prep solution before priming. If you were really worried about it, you could use a metal prep from the same manufacturer as the primer. This is just stuff I've read and I've read way too much about this stuff.

Years ago, I used POR-15 on the inside of rocker panels before welding them on my bus. It was a complicated process of cleaning, soaking with a metal prep solution and getting them completely dry before brushing on the POR 15. It ended up peeling off in sheets a couple years later. I thought it was the Ospho, but I think it was the smoothness of the new metal. It didn't do that on parts of the bus that were rusty or sandblasted. I don't use it any more, because there are cheaper options that work better and that are easier to use. Even weld through or cold galv primers work better for the back side of panels.

No matter how many times I do it, I always forget how long and tedious sanding and priming can be. Still, things are moving along. Hope to prime and seam seal the chassis on Sunday now that I'm done sanding it it. There are a number of spots where I have sanded through to bare metal. Gonna scuff those spots with 80-100 grit and 2 build coats of primer. The chassis is a big clunker. The other bits are easier.

Feeling optimistic enough to call the potential painter. Didn't want to yank his chain until the end was in sight.

Got a coupla K bonus from NYS for being a mental health worker who showed up in person throughout COVID, so pulling the trigger on my Scooter Mercato engine build order. Yer tax dollahs at work.

The higher quality car manufacturers all do a hot dip galvanization of their steel parts before any priming or paint. I'm not going to do that (I worked briefly in a metal plate shop during high school & college...Hard Pass on that), but I figure Ospho gets me close enough to what's good enough for Mercedes/BMW/Audi/etc.

That's been a game changer with modern cars. Cars used to rust to bits in the northeast. My last 2 cars (O4 Civic, 16 Subaru) have not had any rust problems in spite of hard winter use and long commutes.