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Old 05-01-2017, 01:52 PM   #1
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Floor prep questions

Hey all.

Just finished grinding (hours and hours and hours) of rust off of the floor of the bus. I plan on painting on Corroseal to convert/seal what's left.

Questions are:

1. Should I make sure the floor is squeaky clean before applying (by wiping down with mineral spirits or somesuch)? I power-washed it, but it's not perfect.

2. I need to seal the holes in the floor. I am trying to choose between caulk, as I have seen many do, or aluminum tape, which I've heard of, but not actually seen. Regardless, should I do that before or after sealing?

3. A lot of the caulk around the joints between the walls/floor/floorwells was shriveled up and non-effective. It needs to be recaulked. Before or after sealing?

Thanks in advance!

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Old 05-01-2017, 03:01 PM   #2
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You're right, caulk doesn't work well. Some people epoxy pennies over the holes. Some people weld them closed. I don't know what's best. We'd have to see who still has a floor in their bus after 30 years.

If your metal floor is clean enough to paint, it should be good for the rust convertor followed by paint.
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Old 05-01-2017, 05:19 PM   #3
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I've got a BUNCH of scrap steel. My plan is to cut little pieces of 18ga and metal glue them over the holes from the seats.
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Old 05-01-2017, 05:44 PM   #4
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ECCB--You going to do that before or after sealing the floor?
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Old 05-01-2017, 06:02 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FuzzWantsABus View Post
ECCB--You going to do that before or after sealing the floor?
After. I'm gonna MOP my floor with Ospho since its heavily galvanized, then primer it, then put the patches on, then topcoat it with whatever color is on sale.

I'm now in love with 550 seam sealer, so maybe I'll just stick em down with that!
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Old 05-01-2017, 06:19 PM   #6
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After. I'm gonna MOP my floor with Ospho since its heavily galvanized, then primer it, then put the patches on, then topcoat it with whatever color is on sale.

I'm now in love with 550 seam sealer, so maybe I'll just stick em down with that!
Gotcha. Thanks! I may consider something along those lines. I kinda liked Robin's idea of pennies.
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Old 05-01-2017, 06:33 PM   #7
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Gotcha. Thanks! I may consider something along those lines. I kinda liked Robin's idea of pennies.
I just try to avoid dissimilar metals. Not sure if copper and steel cause a galvanic corrosion or not.
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Old 05-01-2017, 07:25 PM   #8
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I've got a BUNCH of scrap steel. My plan is to cut little pieces of 18ga and metal glue them over the holes from the seats.
Not done taking the rubber floor up yet but I've been thinking of this too. The plates from the school bus signs or the stop sign are perfect to punch out small circular hole "patch" material.

Are you going to do anything under to prevent the rust from coming up?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
You're right, caulk doesn't work well. Some people epoxy pennies over the holes. Some people weld them closed. I don't know what's best. We'd have to see who still has a floor in their bus after 30 years.

If your metal floor is clean enough to paint, it should be good for the rust convertor followed by paint.
That's a lot of Lincolns. (sorry, couldn't resist)
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Old 05-01-2017, 07:53 PM   #9
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Not done taking the rubber floor up yet but I've been thinking of this too. The plates from the school bus signs or the stop sign are perfect to punch out small circular hole "patch" material.

Are you going to do anything under to prevent the rust from coming up?



That's a lot of Lincolns. (sorry, couldn't resist)
What rust??
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:02 PM   #10
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What rust??
you may not have it now but traveling in the northeast during winter months, you are gonna have yourself a rust bloom by end of spring at those holes if you don't do something on the underside to prevent it.

I'm thinking of painting the bottom of the floor as well to prevent the holes from rusting in the future.
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:06 PM   #11
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I don't know about the usefulness of using pennies either. I was just using that as one example of how someone had done it in the recent past.

On the other hand, so what if it takes three for four dollars worth of pennies to cover your floor. It's one of the smaller investments you'll make in your bus and well worth it to plug up those holes just in case you need to be water tight.

I could not tell you if copper (copper jacketed steel) pennies would corrode or not. I know they're magnetic pennies. If it's a fancy bus maybe you should use nickles?
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:30 PM   #12
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you may not have it now but traveling in the northeast during winter months, you are gonna have yourself a rust bloom by end of spring at those holes if you don't do something on the underside to prevent it.

I'm thinking of painting the bottom of the floor as well to prevent the holes from rusting in the future.
I've already painted and undercoated most of my chassis. Used a bunch of RUst Reformer made by Rustoleum.
And I have zero plans of driving my 40 footer to the northeast ever. But my bus is gona be nearly invincible to rust by the time I'm done with it. I've ospho'd and primed the ENTIRE inside skeleton. Way past what 99% of builders do.
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:32 PM   #13
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I don't know about the usefulness of using pennies either. I was just using that as one example of how someone had done it in the recent past.

On the other hand, so what if it takes three for four dollars worth of pennies to cover your floor. It's one of the smaller investments you'll make in your bus and well worth it to plug up those holes just in case you need to be water tight.

I could not tell you if copper (copper jacketed steel) pennies would corrode or not. I know they're magnetic pennies. If it's a fancy bus maybe you should use nickles?
steel wheat pennies from ww2 would do.
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:43 PM   #14
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There was one time I received a Silver Certificate dollar while I was back east. I think I forgot and spent it.

I had lots of wheat pennies. The occasional Indian head nickel. I'm not compelled to put any change into the build of this bus. It's already taking bites out of my budget.
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:45 PM   #15
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There was one time I received a Silver Certificate dollar while I was back east. I think I forgot and spent it.

I had lots of wheat pennies. The occasional Indian head nickel. I'm not compelled to put any change into the build of this bus. It's already taking bites out of my budget.
I still get silver certificates sometimes.
My buddy and I got a $5 one one night as change at a bar!
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Old 05-01-2017, 09:07 PM   #16
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Not done taking the rubber floor up yet but I've been thinking of this too. The plates from the school bus signs or the stop sign are perfect to punch out small circular hole "patch" material.
So, not to sound dumb, but what would you use to punch the holes out with? I've got all my interior skins sitting around, but it's all 16ga. Doesn't seem like it would be easy to punch or cut.
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Old 05-01-2017, 09:18 PM   #17
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I know a way that only cost a penny a hole. They've already been punched out. For any coach owners I'd suggest using quarters.
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Old 05-01-2017, 09:39 PM   #18
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I know a way that only cost a penny a hole. They've already been punched out. For any coach owners I'd suggest using quarters.
LOL I do wonder about a galvanic reaction, though. I wonder if the epoxy/glue/whatever is enough of a barrier to prevent it?
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Old 05-01-2017, 10:07 PM   #19
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I'd have a hard time saying if there'd be a reaction. Considering the pennies are largely steel electroplated with copper, I just don't know enough about metalurgy to venture a guess. I don't think copper is a reactive metal, and it's already on steel penny blanks.

Someone plugged holes in their floors with pennies a while back and I thought it was a cute and useful idea. They did use epoxy of some sort. I'd think pennies would be pretty good because the copper coating would keep the penny from rusting. Not that our pennies are best used to plug holes or anything. They do make cheap washers.
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Old 05-01-2017, 10:35 PM   #20
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Fuzz

I Corrosealed my floor today actually...

1. Yes, all that grinding was worth it and the more rust you can get off, the better. In regards to wiping it down with mineral spirits, it says on the bottle to not use mineral spirits. I went with Krud Kutter instead from Home Depot and it was perfect.

2. I haven't sealed the holes yet but now that the floor is done, I was planning on sealing it with Gorilla Construction Adhesive. Hope it's a good solution.

Gorilla 9 oz. Construction Adhesive-8010003 - The Home Depot

3. I grinded/cut out the caulking and will re-caulk it with the Gorilla stuff now that it has been Corrosealed. You want to do it after you Corroseal since you may cut the caulk off and find rust hidden under there. I basically mopped the floor with Corroseal and got every crack covered.

*Note - Trim out the edges first and then take a roller and do the rest of the floor. I did it the other way around and just started rolling and realized that it wasn't filling in the sides, so after it dried a bit, I went around the edge with a foam brush and got in the cracks. Very slippery!

The stuff comes out just like milk. Super thin. So just take and lather it on and go over it a few times to layer it.

Good luck!
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