Floor prep questions

[Robin97396]

Yeah, I was wondering about the statute a little until the BS started piling up. My hip waders are in the other bus, of course. I've gotten in trouble for exhibiting humor without adding the "ha ha" at the end of the line. Some people get it and some people think your nucking futz.

I think the plastic with a dab of caulk would be very adequate for plugging the bolt holes. If I had holes in my floor I'd probably do it that way. Welding is good but you spend a lot of time on your knees and then you've still got to climb underneath and dab each plugged hole with something to keep it from rusting on the bottom side of the floor.

My knees would be aching for a week, so yeah I'd go with the plastic. 5 minutes and you're done. The screw holes are a different matter unless you can find tiny plastic thingies. A dab of caulk pretty well covers a screw hole.

[EastCoastCB]

Plastic is fine. Its dissimilar METALS that cause galvanic corrosion. Are we still confused on this??
Copper, Aluminum- those kinds of materials react with steel. Plastic will not.
Little scraps of steel could be glued in place and forgotten, too.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Some people get it and some people think your nucking futz.

He only has Midwest as his location. Had he a state or city I could have had a good time.

They wouldn't be wrong but that's another story.

I think the plastic with a dab of caulk would be very adequate for plugging the bolt holes. If I had holes in my floor I'd probably do it that way. Welding is good but you spend a lot of time on your knees and then you've still got to climb underneath and dab each plugged hole with something to keep it from rusting on the bottom side of the floor.

Yeah, I'm going to have to remember to get a rattle can of black for the bottom of my patches. Hopefully I can get to them all without having to drop the differential or someone equally as stupid.

My knees would be aching for a week, so yeah I'd go with the plastic. 5 minutes and you're done. The screw holes are a different matter unless you can find tiny plastic thingies. A dab of caulk pretty well covers a screw hole.

I would sit or lie on my belly but yeah, I hear you.

I'm sticking with the spray foam idea.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Plastic is fine. Its dissimilar METALS that cause galvanic corrosion. Are we still confused on this??
Copper, Aluminum- those kinds of materials react with steel. Plastic will not.
Little scraps of steel could be glued in place and forgotten, too.

This guy... confusing everyone with facts.

[Robin97396]

The first floor I ever replaced I used Blackjack roof repair to seal the steel floor before laying down new plywood. The holes go away. That bus still leaks because of the type of windows it has and the plywood is rotting again, but that steel floor is as good as the day I put that tar on it. When I went under the bus I could see each little screw hole had about a 2" long tar worm hanging from it. The odd part was it didn't smell like tar at all even on hot summer days.

That was long before I found this site. I'd never even heard of ospho.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

The first floor I ever replaced I used Blackjack roof repair to seal the steel floor before laying down new plywood. The holes go away. That bus still leaks because of the type of windows it has and the plywood is rotting again, but that steel floor is as good as the day I put that tar on it. When I went under the bus I could see each little screw hole had about a 2" long tar worm hanging from it. The odd part was it didn't smell like tar at all even on hot summer days.

That was long before I found this site. I'd never even heard of ospho.

That might be worth looking into AFTER the rust treatment.

[produster]

"That sounds like the 11th commandment. Yeah, that plastic might corrode from contact with the steel floor." It could very well be the 11th. I was told the 12th commandment is "Thou shall not commit douche' baggery"

Side from the humor, I am liking a lot of the ideas that are being posted. I am hoping to get into mine shortly. only issue with mine is I can not have it down long as I need it to go racing. Hoping this winter the drag car will be done and ready for spring in Dec and I can get the bus interior done.

[Robin97396]

The floor I repaired with tar was heavily pitted and was unusually thick metal. I never thought about painting it before applying the tar since the tar is petroleum based. I did not use marine grade plywood, but the standard 3/4" plywood is holding up well except near the sidewalls where the windows still leak. That bus became a mobile storage container and it's still here.
The cheapest shortie I bought was $400 back then. It was for hauling bicycles and canoes as well as going to the kids' sporting events. I thought putting new plywood on the floor was a little extravagent, but look how much money I've pumped into this '97 bluebird. I even sprung for a $50 paint job this time.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

The floor I repaired with tar was heavily pitted and was unusually thick metal. I never thought about painting it before applying the tar since the tar is petroleum based. I did not use marine grade plywood, but the standard 3/4" plywood is holding up well except near the sidewalls where the windows still leak. That bus became a mobile storage container and it's still here.

Not sure if you're implying it's a bad idea or not.

Rust treat, Rust-Oelum, roofing tar, foam board, marine grade. Rust-Oelum is oil based. I wouldn't think that would be a problem but then I don't know a damn thing about paint.

[Robin97396]

I don't think there would necessarily be any problems with using other rust treatments. At that time rust treatment meant using oil base paint. I just felt that with all that tar on the steel it would have been redundant to have painted the steel first. If the paint eventually pealed it could allow water to get under the tar allowing rust, because the tar would be adhered to the paint rather than the steel floor.
I thought the tar worked quite well actually. That metal floor is still protected after over 20 years. Surprisingly it didn't stink. The biggest drawback is pitying the next person that tries to replace that floor.
That was an extremely pitted floor, but it was still strong. I wanted to apply something that would fill all those pits to stop rust and prevent water contact. It worked and it was a cheap fix. A bit on the unorthodox side possibly, but it worked.

Would I do that again? Yeah, given a similar situation with a heavily pitted floor in a low end bus.

Somebody was putting tar on the roof of this '97 I'm in now. I could see spraying the roof with bedliner.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

That was an extremely pitted floor, but it was still strong. I wanted to apply something that would fill all those pits to stop rust and prevent water contact. It worked and it was a cheap fix. A bit on the unorthodox side possibly, but it worked.

Would I do that again? Yeah, given a similar situation with a heavily pitted floor in a low end bus.

Sealing the holes is my end game. Painting would ensue no rusting and just be an extra. Roofing tar would be cheaper than spray foam by a mile and a half.

How do/did you apply it?

[Robin97396]

I used one of those large tile combs to spread the tar out evenly, just like if you were preparing to lay down large tile. I did use some screws to prevent any lifting on the corners or warping/buckling of the plywood.

I lay full sheets of plywood down the center of the bus so there's no seam in the center isle, then cut to fit on both sides. Pick up all the fitted pieces of plywood and start applying tar to the floor replacing the plywood on top of the tar as I moved through the bus. It was pretty fast actually. It wasn't even messy like I expected.

I wouldn't be afraid to use tar on a steel subfloor again. For a live in bus I'd be cautious of anything that has solvents in it, but that was a camper bus to haul bicycles, a canoe and for snowboarding trips.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I lay full sheets of plywood down the center of the bus so there's no seam in the center isle, then cut to fit on both sides.

What; why? The bus is 7 1/2 feet wide. Plywood is 8'. Chop 6" off the end and go across the bus.

I wouldn't be afraid to use tar on a steel subfloor again. For a live in bus I'd be cautious of anything that has solvents in it, but that was a camper bus to haul bicycles, a canoe and for snowboarding trips.

Aside from being all hippy dippy too, the gf claims to be sensitive to chemicals and the like so tar might not be on the approved materials list. She's looking for formaldehyde plywood, this and that free insulation, etc. I mean she's going to end up killing the new bus smell at this rate.

[Robin97396]

Nobody could smell the tar in the bus even after it has been closed up on a hot summer day sitting in the sun at the park. On the other hand I wouldn't risk having to take the tar back out if I was with someone that was sensitive to chemicals.

You can't get formaldehyde plywood around here anymore. It's even getting difficult to find a good oil base paint. The foam insulation smelled a little like elmer's glue when it was fresh, and no smell after that. In fact, I'm the smelliest thing in this bus.

[AKshortbus]

So I just finished fixing up holes, rust, etc.. on my floor. Luckily there wasn't too much rust for an east coast bus (mostly around the wheels). I've broken the steps own below:

Step 1) After removing the coin grip and plywood I grinded using a brush and then treated with Ospho,

Step 2) I used Rustoleum paint in two coats to treat the whole floor.

Step 3) Using a sheet of metal from the local hardware store ($25) and some flat topped bolts I began patching various sized holes in the floor. The bolts plugged small holes left from the old bolts. The sheet metal covered larger holes caused by rust/corrosion. I secured the bolts with a nut and washer on the undercarriage and used metal specific adhesive to glue down the sheet metal and also on the tops of the bolts (why not). The bolts were free from the shop I have access to (probably some cheaper recommendations such as pennies in this thread haha - but works well).

All in all I'm pretty happy how things turned out, the flat topped bolts are great as they sit flush to the floor. The next step will be blasting the undercarriage with black rustoleum at which points the bolts (pictured) will get the final step of protection.

[Robin97396]

AKshortbus; You had a pretty nice looking subfloor anyway. Nice job of patching and plugging.

[AKshortbus]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

AKshortbus; You had a pretty nice looking subfloor anyway. Nice job of patching and plugging.

Thanks Robin, I should say that the pic of the floor as a whole is after I painted with Rustoleum (just happened to grab the flashy finish) but yes I was so relieved as the plywood was coming up that it was just plugging old bolt holes and some patches around the wheel-wells.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by AKshortbus

Thanks Robin, I should say that the pic of the floor as a whole is after I painted with Rustoleum (just happened to grab the flashy finish) but yes I was so relieved as the plywood was coming up that it was just plugging old bolt holes and some patches around the wheel-wells.

You resheeted the whole floor? Or is that silver paint? Looks like a shortie. I'd love to resheet mine but I don't have access to cheap metal and mine is a 40 footer.

[AKshortbus]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

You resheeted the whole floor? Or is that silver paint? Looks like a shortie. I'd love to resheet mine but I don't have access to cheap metal and mine is a 40 footer.

Paint I wasn't particularly worried what color paint I grabbed (they were all same price) so I ended up with the futuristic look haha. I completely hear you on the expense of resheeting the whole floor, I'm glad I didn't have to buy more than $25 worth of sheet metal to patch some small sections around the wheel wells!

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by AKshortbus

Paint I wasn't particularly worried what color paint I grabbed (they were all same price) so I ended up with the futuristic look haha. I completely hear you on the expense of resheeting the whole floor, I'm glad I didn't have to buy more than $25 worth of sheet metal to patch some small sections around the wheel wells!

I'm going to get away with $20 in metal but I would still like to replate the entire floor just as overkill. But I won't.

Next step is Dollar Tree and some buckets to drain the coolant from the heaters.