> I'd like to get my bus painted, but in order to cut the costs I want to
> do at least the prep work myself.  Does anyone have any suggestions on
> how the prep the car, besides sanding.  I especially am curious about the
> small areas, such as the rain gutters, under the sliding door mechanism
> cover, and in the air intake vents.  Thanks.

An excellent idea. The prep work makes or breaks the paint job--
applying paint afterward is almost a minor matter in comparison. And,
it's a long, painstaking job when done right. Meaning, EXPENSIVE when
you have pros do it. If you do some or all of it, you can turn a $3,000
paint job into something a lot less expensive.

There's a paste that comes in a small tube, half the size of a toothpaste
tube, that body shops use to fill small scratches etc. before painting.
It's not Bondo, but it's probably similar-- sorry I don't have the name.
It's available in most FLAPSs.

You squeeze a little of it onto the scratch or whatever (small ones only),
and then use a single-edge razor blade to smooth it into the scratch.
Sand afterward as you sand the rest of the paint (400 grit wet), and
paint. voila-- scratches are gone! It's nifty stuff.

 -Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com   '71 VW Transporter