This is Willow, my 1972 Volkswagen Beetle. I purchased it 5 years ago (it was red and cream) and when my paint started to peel from the roof, I told my husband I wanted to restore it. I am a 57-year-old woman who has never done any kind of restoration work before, but decided I wanted to do it all myself.

So, I began on June 1, 2024 sanding my car, taking it back to metal. I worked every night after work and on weekends to get to my dream of rat rodding my car. When I had my whole car back to metal, I started painting with shaker can paint (spray can). I used a good etching primer, then another primer and then the final coat of paint.

My final coat of paint was done by a friend who paints vehicles for a living. After that paint was dry, I started sanding to make my rust come to life. All of this work was done in my driveway under a canopy. Big thank you to my husband for cheering and supporting me through this whole this process, it has been so much fun learning and seeing my dream come true.