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Old 03-15-2009, 10:40 AM   #1
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Paint pealing

I painted my bus about 3 years ago, and now I have a major pealing problem. When I painted it, I thought I'd go with real automotive paint rather than rustoloum because I wanted it to look good and last a long time (I plan to keep my bus as long as possible) Well first off my clear coat came out looking like complete crap - not shiny at all... I'm sure my $27 spray gun & total lack of experience had a lot to do with that.

Anyway now I have a much worse problem, my paint is flaking off; BAD!



When I painted I took the advise from other members and sanded the factory paint, then primed & applied the paint... Now 3 years later it's pealing all the way down to bare metal... even the factory paint and primer are coming off. Why is this happening, how can I fix it? I had a little bit last summer that I spray painted over to keep it from spreading, but that's flaking off now too. It's like the paint just wont stick to it.

Any ideas? I really hate to strip it and re-paint it every 3 years...

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Old 03-15-2009, 12:37 PM   #2
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Re: Paint pealing

ouch that sucks you will have to pressure wash that area and see what hangs on after that.looks like the area in the pic will have to go to bare metal,if the origional paint is peeling.if the whole bus is not doing this you may be able to build op the offending areas and blend in.moisture of some sort may have come in from underneath -sweat?
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Old 03-15-2009, 12:45 PM   #3
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Re: Paint pealing

Just after I posted that picture, I realized something... Notice the scratch on the bluebird in the pic? Those are all up and down the sides of the bus along the windows - from trees scraping it down some 2-tracks on a camping trip a few years ago... I bet the scratches broke through the paint and let water get in there. Dang it! I hope I can fix it.
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Old 03-15-2009, 12:54 PM   #4
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Re: Paint pealing

id take those areas down to metal and blend them in its hard to do a good blend in but a bus is really big if you have painted one before if you go to the metal clean it with a conditioner and use a bare metal etch primer on the bare metal,then build up with primer .toss that gun and get a hvlp unit.that foggy clear coat can be polished with 1000 grit-that might take a wh ile looks like condensation damage especially if the origional paint is letting go....timbuk
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Old 03-15-2009, 07:16 PM   #5
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Re: Paint pealing

did you follow the directions for the brand/type of paint that you used, an improper addative or one used at the wrong temp range can create problems,
ask your paint supplier/manufacturer if they have any ideas or suggestions, they might even help out with more mterials or at least technical support.

good luck
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Old 03-15-2009, 07:41 PM   #6
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Re: Paint pealing

to me it doesn't seem like an adhesion problem with the paint phil applied. His paint stuck to the yellow bus paint just fine. I'm more inclined to think it was a chemical incompatibility issue between the stock paint and the "new" paint. It's not likely that the yellow paint was applied improperly from the factory since it lasted the past 10 or 15 years.
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Old 03-15-2009, 10:03 PM   #7
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Re: Paint pealing

I also have been lurking here seemingly forever, but this subject is at least "up my alley" ( I work at a paint factory, and paint quite a few racecars) To me it is definately a lack of adhesion. From your build pix, you painted it in April, when its very hard to get all the moisture out of the surface. Secondly, if it was an incompatability issue, the lifting would have reared its ugly head much sooner, usually as soon as the next coat is applied. Like was said before, you'll probably have to blast the affected area and get off all of the loose, peeling paint off, rough up all the surfaces, blend the edges, and reshoot it. Don't blame the gun, some of the cheaest guns out there seem to practically out perform some that are 3 times the price. As for the clearcoat, shooting it wet enough is hard to keep up on that big of a surface, but it quite possibly held all of the non-adhering paint together underneath it! I know it sux but it's just my opinion. Tim
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Old 03-16-2009, 01:22 PM   #8
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Re: Paint pealing

the interesting thing is that his white/blue paint is still married to the stock yellow bus paint. The problem is that the yellow factory bus paint is not sticking to the metal surface.
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Old 03-16-2009, 09:39 PM   #9
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Re: Paint pealing

I don't know whats going on with it... I sanded the old paint down pretty good I thought, and even bought some high dollar (in skoolie terms) paint thinking I'd get better quality. I don't remember the place I got the paint from, some place on ebay - I got a kit with the thinner and clear coat, ended up paying $600 for it. The paint never really came out as good as I hoped, and my clear coat looked horrible from day one - now it's a serious let-down with it pealing off so bad.

The thing that gets me is, it's not my paint that's pealing - it's the factory paint. How does this suddenly happen after 17 years???

Anyway I bought a pressure washer last summer, so maybe I'll pressure wash off as much paint as I can and start over this summer. I'm not looking forward to that weekend. Anyone want to help? Cough*Jason*Cough
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Old 03-17-2009, 08:11 PM   #10
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Re: Paint pealing

How about the total of the new and old paint being too thick. When it got really cold the bus shrank but the paint didn't.

My 2 cents--for what it's worth.
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Old 03-26-2009, 09:41 PM   #11
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Re: Paint pealing

Rhino-Lining maybe? They can mix whatever color you want... at least that's why their website says. I'm sure that its going to be a bit expensive, but you will never have to worry about scrubbing bugs off the front or scratches...

Who knows, it might even add a little extra insulation. (I have no idea.)
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Old 03-27-2009, 01:38 PM   #12
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Re: Paint pealing

After looking at your page, when you painted it, you said you used some king of wallpaper stripper to remove the masking tape. Could it have been some kind of chemical reaction with that stuff? I don't know, just wondering out loud. It is a drag though. A lot of work went into your paint job. Hope we get it figured out here. Don't want the same to happen to mine, when I paint it. Good luck
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