What started as a great day turned grey almost instantly. Moments like this were when I'd usually turn to my father, lean on him for guidance, and figure out the next step together. Standing there with those eye‑watering quotes running through my head, I couldn't help but wonder where we were supposed to go from here.

It didn't take long to realise the problem: we'd chosen one of the hardest colours to paint — the kind that exposes every tiny flaw if the prep work isn't absolutely perfect.
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Over the next few days, I found myself with my head in my hands, questioning whether I'd taken on something far bigger than I could manage. The doubt hit hard. But then I thought back to the early days with Ludicruz — all the challenges we faced, all the setbacks we pushed through, all the problems we solved one by one. This was just another obstacle, another mountain to climb, and we'd climbed plenty before.

So we chose to keep moving forward and take each day as it comes. One step at a time, one problem at a time — that's how we've always made progress, and this build will be no different.

Within a few days, we managed to source an almost‑new pop‑up garage from Marketplace, and it turned out to be the perfect size — 4.5m by 3m. Mufasa would fit inside with ease, and there was still plenty of room around the car to work comfortably.

On 31 August there was a local classic car show, so we took Ludicruz down for a day out.




Among the lineup was this wild '61 sitting on air‑ride with a safari windscreen — absolutely insane in the best way.







Not long after, a mate of mine rolled in with his stunning '65.
He's running an incredible sound system in it too, unbelievably crisp and clean.





While we were at the show, I took the opportunity to chat with a few paint‑shop guys to get some quotes for the prep and paintwork on Mufasa.
Let's just say the numbers nearly put me on the floor. The quotes came back anywhere from £8,500 to £18,000, and I swear my heart skipped a beat.

Clearly, a proper paint job isn't for the faint‑hearted — or the light‑walleted!!!!

Are they putting an engine in at that price as well £8500 would make me buckle 

9.5 to 18 thousand a bargain this one had 650 hours in paint and the bill came out at £32,000 when talking to the painter. He quoted 12k to metal flake a buggy.

Knowing the car has already been through two colour changes, I decided to strip all the paint back to bare metal and apply a coat of epoxy primer to protect the surface. Doing this achieves a few important things. First, it allows me to properly assess the condition of the bodywork and spot any hidden damage or areas that may have been filled over. It also exposes any corrosion that needs attention.

Taking on the stripping and priming myself should also help reduce some of the overall preparation and paint‑job costs.

I know that many years ago Nitromors was the go‑to paint stripper, but research shows that the modern version is far less effective. The 2009 EU‑mandated removal of methylene chloride significantly weakened the formula, meaning it now works more slowly, often needs multiple applications, and struggles with thick or multiple layers of paint.

While looking for alternatives, I came across Starchem Synstryp, a heavy‑duty paint stripper. The "For professional use only" label gave me pause, but it does appear to be one of the stronger options still available.

I managed to source a 5‑litre gallon from my local car paint supplier, along with a couple of litres of epoxy primer, the matching hardener, thinner, and a cleaning agent. They also recommended picking up a rust‑killer treatment, which is designed to be brushed directly onto any rusty areas before applying the epoxy.

With the wings, doors, and rear glass removed, I carefully began work on one of the front wings.

I used Starchem on my Baja Nav it's pretty good stuff, not sure if you know a little tip wrap what you are working on with masking polythene, stops it drying out so has longer to work it's magic 

I used Starchem on my Baja Nav it's pretty good stuff, not sure if you know a little tip wrap what you are working on with masking polythene, stops it drying out so has longer to work it's magic 

Yes, i picked that tip up from watching a few of the American You Tube videos....

The paint stripper was easy to apply, and within a few minutes the top layer had already begun to bubble. After about twenty‑five minutes, I was able to remove the top coat and the primer with very little effort.




However, it quickly became clear that none of the previous paint layers had been removed during the earlier colour changes. I was potentially dealing with six layers in total, all of which needed to be stripped back.

The entire process ended up taking around half a day, as the Starchem needed a bit more time to break down the deeper, older layers.





The best part so far is that there's no real damage - just a few minor dings and, importantly, no rust patches at all.

I then used a nylon stripping wheel on a cordless drill to remove any remaining residue and smooth out the surface of the wing.






Now comes the fun bit. I don't own any professional workshop tools, and my compressor is a tiny silent Bambi BB24V—a dentist's unit that I normally use for airbrushing. You can just about spot it in the picture below next to Ludicruz.








As for the spray gun, I checked Amazon for reviews on a simple, budget‑friendly option and ended up picking this one up for around £30.





This was my first ever attempt at priming a panel, but for now the goal is simply to protect the bare metal from rust. The primer will likely be sanded back or even removed again during the final prepping stages





At 30 PSI I managed to get the wing painted, although the little tank needed three refills to get the job done.

Absolutely loving this thread - keep it up 

And your first time spraying looks like it went much better than when I tried to metal flake mine using a paintbrush !

its here, if you fancy a laugh of how not to do it   https://www.beachbuggy.info/index.php/topic,7580.msg78069.html#msg78069

[Primer...]

Great to see someone having a go at the painting lark Nav....  The £30 gun is pretty much a standard and they are fine. Keep the spray fan as wide as the knob will allow.
Just a few hints to hopefully encourage you forwards.  My first spray job was on my first Beetle way back in 1970. I either did it myself or it wouldn`t have got done. Used an electric hand held thing that buzzed away when the trigger was depressed. Did the whole car and was gobsmacked at the bright orange shine. then moved onto a small compressor no bigger than yours. Thought I was the bees knees with that   
 The compressor will be usable, I would think, as long as the air supply is consistent with no stutters. I am guessing the spray gun is a HVLP version. Therein lies a key factor. This, as the box probably states, relates to High Volume/Low pressure. Now then that simply means lots of volume of air which you don`t have. Low pressure which say 30 psi you have but the pressure/volume ratio is not a good option here. I have always opted for LVHP, (Low Volume-High pressure), and still do today 50 plus years on.
Right Low volume air is what you have. 30psi you have with maybe a bit more in hand. A LVHP gun you may find more useable with a bit of practice also regarding paint to thinners mix. I have not looked but I would expect LVHP guns to be still available. Don`t want to complicate things by going into nozzle size but I use 1.6 on my small guns. 1.8 on mid size. Hope this helps but what I really want to advise on is as follows.
Primer... I have seen so many people  caught out when they prime a bare panel and leave it standing for a while. I understand the thinking that the primer will protect the steel. However primers based on nitro-cellulose. acrylic etc are porous. After just a short while rust will start to appear, initially as small brown dots but underneath rust is spreading. Once there it can never be fully removed.

Worst colour to finish.....  No doubt about that as I soon found out...... Black.    Keep the photos and narrative coming. P.

Update.... Dug out a HVLP gun (small 1) this morning . The nozzle is 0.8 not 1.6   

[Primer...]

Great to see someone having a go at the painting lark Nav....  The £30 gun is pretty much a standard and they are fine. Keep the spray fan as wide as the knob will allow.
Just a few hints to hopefully encourage you forwards.  My first spray job was on my first Beetle way back in 1970. I either did it myself or it wouldn`t have got done. Used an electric hand held thing that buzzed away when the trigger was depressed. Did the whole car and was gobsmacked at the bright orange shine. then moved onto a small compressor no bigger than yours. Thought I was the bees knees with that   
 The compressor will be usable, I would think, as long as the air supply is consistent with no stutters. I am guessing the spray gun is a HVLP version. Therein lies a key factor. This, as the box probably states, relates to High Volume/Low pressure. Now then that simply means lots of volume of air which you don`t have. Low pressure which say 30 psi you have but the pressure/volume ratio is not a good option here. I have always opted for LVHP, (Low Volume-High pressure), and still do today 50 plus years on.
Right Low volume air is what you have. 30psi you have with maybe a bit more in hand. A LVHP gun you may find more useable with a bit of practice also regarding paint to thinners mix. I have not looked but I would expect LVHP guns to be still available. Don`t want to complicate things by going into nozzle size but I use 1.6 on my small guns. 1.8 on mid size. Hope this helps but what I really want to advise on is as follows.
Primer... I have seen so many people  caught out when they prime a bare panel and leave it standing for a while. I understand the thinking that the primer will protect the steel. However primers based on nitro-cellulose. acrylic etc are porous. After just a short while rust will start to appear, initially as small brown dots but underneath rust is spreading. Once there it can never be fully removed.

Worst colour to finish.....  No doubt about that as I soon found out...... Black.    Keep the photos and narrative coming. P.

Hey Paul, this is great information - I had no idea there was so much detail involved with spray guns.
I checked mine out and you're right, it is an HVLP, and it came with 1.4mm, 1.7mm, and 2.0mm nozzles. I've been using the 1.4 mm for spraying the primer.

Thanks as well for the heads‑up about the rust and those brown spots.
I'm still not sure what direction to go with the colour yet, but we've got plenty of time to think about it.

It was mid‑September and there was still a bit of sunshine around, and one great thing about the pop‑up garage is how well it traps heat.
The sun warms it up nicely inside, which made it the perfect opportunity to tackle the inside of the roof. I knew it would be the dustiest job of the whole project, but the extra warmth meant the metal would stay warm enough for primer afterwards.

So I suited up in my favourite Louis Vuitton hazmat outfit, pulled on the mask, and went to town with the orbital sander.








After two and a half hours of sweating away, I was finally ready to brush on a coat of the corrosion sealer.





Once the sealer had dried, I was back out with the spray gun, and after five tankfuls of air the primer was finally laid down....

By this point we'd sold the interior, including the door cards, for a decent price and had already started planning the new seating. Porsche 924 front seats have always been a favourite of ours, and luckily I managed to pick up an original pair for next to nothing.





All I really needed were the actual frames, since the plan was to buy new foam cushions.
Carefully stripping and disassembling the original leather covers, as they'll be used as patterns for upholstering the new ones...





Once they were fully stripped, I sanded the frames back and gave them two coats of smooth Hammerite.





I also managed to source new foam cushions, as the old ones were worn, torn, and crumbling in places.