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Old 09-12-2016, 03:56 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Ontario
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Prepping to paint previously painted bus

So we are getting ready to paint our bus. However it's already been painted by the previous owners with a this horrible matte paint, almost like paint for a home exterior or something. They also just painted straight over any rust and didn't bother to peel any of the stickers off.

So, we are just trying to figure out the best way of prepping to re-paint. My biggest concern is sanding. I'm wondering if we should try to sand down to right to the yellow or if just giving it a light sand would be okay. In order to sand down some of the rough spots i've needed to use some pretty low grit sand paper and so the sanding is spotty, some spots have the old paint still with a light sand, and some are down to the yellow while others i've had to sand right down to the metal. Is this okay?

What's next? Clean with acetone? prime?

Any help would be awesome!

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Old 09-12-2016, 04:37 PM   #2
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Usually if you go to an auto paint store they'll give great advise. My area has a sherwin Williams automotive paint store and they've helped out a lot.
Maybe post a pic of what it looks like too
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Old 09-12-2016, 06:52 PM   #3
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Take it down to the yellow in the good spots. To the metal in the bad spots, prime lightly sand over primer use a enamel thinner to prep aka wipe down. Go to 80 grit on bad spots,drop down to 320 on good spots and primer.

Blow it down good, wipe with lint clothe ,paint. According to which paint you choose watch for lifting if using enamels you should'nt have that problem.

Like everything else in paint you get what you pay for Sherwin Williams , Ditzler or Dupont is ok just use quality paint.
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Old 09-12-2016, 06:55 PM   #4
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This is the wife taking now, wear good protection when breathing the dust and fumes. You can buy a throw away resperator from paint store.
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Old 09-12-2016, 10:18 PM   #5
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Need to determine just what kind of paint is on there first. If it is caca latex house paint...it will require very different prepping than if it is oil, enamel or acrylic.
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Old 09-15-2016, 09:28 AM   #6
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If you have latex house paint on there...you might consider renting a commercial-grade pressure washer. I'm talking one of the 4000 psi models used for cleaning masonry and the like. You might be able to blow most of the house paint right off the metal surface with that, and greatly reduce your workload in one easy step.

Just be careful with it; don't hit your leg or use it on the grille in front of the radiator. I once knew a brick mason who decided to pressure wash the bugs off his grille...and all this green juice ran out on the ground...

Then remove the stickers with a Smart Eraser Wheel.
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Old 09-23-2016, 01:14 PM   #7
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I second this guy's opinion. It's likely terrible latex house paint, and will have marginal adhesion to the underlying finish.

I would add that a hot water kerosene pressure washer would be the right choice here - it will blast a paint with marginal adhesion, and possibly the stickers, right off the bus. You will find where all the rust is hidden. Once you've washed it for a while, see what's left and use a smart eraser wheel on the remaining stickers.

Let everything dry. A flat 4.5" twisted knot wire wheel on an angle grinder will strip paint quickly, but I would only do that after you've tried the steam pressure washer.

After all that, you'll want to scuff all the original yellow paint, fix the rusty parts, and then apply an epoxy primer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goatherder View Post
If you have latex house paint on there...you might consider renting a commercial-grade pressure washer. I'm talking one of the 4000 psi models used for cleaning masonry and the like. You might be able to blow most of the house paint right off the metal surface with that, and greatly reduce your workload in one easy step.

Just be careful with it; don't hit your leg or use it on the grille in front of the radiator. I once knew a brick mason who decided to pressure wash the bugs off his grille...and all this green juice ran out on the ground...

Then remove the stickers with a Smart Eraser Wheel.
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Old 09-23-2016, 01:18 PM   #8
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Yep. Good advice, Aaron.
There's no substitute for good prep work.
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Old 10-07-2016, 06:11 PM   #9
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Yep. It's all prep.
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Old 11-05-2016, 07:42 PM   #10
Mini-Skoolie
 
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How ishould this project going?
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