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Old 11-30-2003, 06:35 PM   #1
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When to paint

When you finnaly get your bus I would suggest to paint it as soon as possible. Remove the seats and then you will be able to conncentrate on the interior. I started with removing my seats and working on the inside, then painting then the inside . Paint first that way you can drive it around.



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Old 12-01-2003, 06:17 AM   #2
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Greetings,

I am waiting for a little while.

I still have vents and doors to cut thru the outside, so I will wait a little while so I don't mess up the paint job doing so.

Also, I will be painting outside, so the timing (read that as weather) has to be right!
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Old 01-08-2004, 07:48 PM   #3
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Re: When to paint

Quote:
Originally Posted by andybus9
I started with removing my seats and working on the inside, then painting then the inside . Paint first that way you can drive it around.


What did you paint the inside with? How did it turn out?
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Old 02-19-2004, 08:32 PM   #4
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Hi all,



I'd really like it if some of y'all jumped in on the tutorial section and wrote up something on painting the outside of your bus. I know if you've done it you think "big deal" but to those of us with no experience doing this sort of thing it would really be helpful.



Questions I have:



- How to prep the yellow paint

- What primer, if any, to use

- What paint system is good

- Roll or brush or spray



And anything else I can't ask about 'cause I don't know enough to ask !
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Old 02-19-2004, 09:47 PM   #5
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I painted my bus on Jan 1st, 2003. The high temp here in Michigan was approximately 37 degrees. I had owned my new project for about 2 or 3 weeks, and wanted to get it painted as soon as possible.



I went to my local sherwin-williams paint store for the product to use on both the interior and exterior of my bus. Automotive paint would be far too expensive for the amount of surface area that i needed to cover. (sherwin williams if you dont' know is primarily a home paint store) The gentleman at the paint store was very helpful. Not only did i find a paint that can be applied in temps as low as 35 degrees F, but it was rather inexpensive too. The www link to the product evades me! The gallon container reads: Chemical Coatings Quick Dry Enamel. It's akrilic based, and also bears the sherwil williams logo. I think it took about three gallons to cover the bus. I started with the roof to allow me to get aquainted with the paint sprayer. I figured if i messed up, the roof was the least likely place for people to notice.



I used Chemical Coatings Quick Dry primer under the paint. Scuffing the yellow paint was recommended, but i did not do this, I was fighting time before the temp dropped below freezing.



I've had to touch up a few places over the past year. The paint job would have been much better if the temp was higher, the air was dryer, and teh yellow paint had been scuffed prior to application. Overall, I'm happy with the paint job.
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Old 02-19-2004, 10:04 PM   #6
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My bus just after being painted.





I believe spraying is a better alternative to other methods of painting. I bought my paint sprayer from Wal-mart for cheap. It was less than 50 bucks.



If you don't have an air compressor, you can utilize the air system on your skoolie. simply unscrew the drain valve on the bottom of one of your air tanks. Add a "T", replace the drain valve, and add a quick disconnect for an air hose. (make sure to use pipe dope on all fittings) The air hose can be kept in your tool kit for later use. ie: filling tires to the proper pressure, launching your pnumatic potato launcher, filling air matresses ect.



If you're going to use the skoolie air for painting, you should also add an inline air filter to keep out some of the ickyness.
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Old 02-19-2004, 10:11 PM   #7
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i'm on a roll, why stop now??



I painted the inside of my bus with paint that required warmer temps. The inside did not get painted until we had a warm spell. I had insulated, added the flooring (except carpet) installed the wallboard, ran the electrical ect while waiting for the weather to cooperate.



One note: I foolishly had my inverter running while painting the interior. I used a sprayer, which gave a nice apearance, but the toxic atmosphere left something to be desired! Even though the inverter was well protected from direct spray/overspray, the internal cooling fan found a way to inhale the atomized paint droplets into the inverter causing total thermal nuclear meltdown. That was the first of many inverters that i ruined during the ongoing bus project.



Hope you find this info helpful
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Old 02-20-2004, 08:48 AM   #8
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Thanks so much for the great information; it really helps to get a handle (and the thought process going) on the project.



After having the bus sit next to my business/home (commercial building) since late October I have decided that one of the first things I need to do is paint it. There seems to be a considerable amount of indecisiveness in the household (and there are only two of us!) about just what the inside of the bus is going to be like. I think I'll get the outside done and keep the inside simple until the path becomes clearer (i.e. - she makes up her mind ).
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Old 02-20-2004, 12:37 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Les Lampman
After having the bus sit next to my business/home (commercial building) since late October I have decided that one of the first things I need to do is paint it. There seems to be a considerable amount of indecisiveness in the household (and there are only two of us!) about just what the inside of the bus is going to be like. I think I'll get the outside done and keep the inside simple until the path becomes clearer (i.e. - she makes up her mind ).


One of the first things I needed to do is paint the outside because of where I keep it also. Like everyone I was undecided about how to paint it. I took a picture of it and then used the program Adobe PhotoShop to color the bus various colors. The layers feature in PhotoShop makes it look very realistic. Take a look at some of my examples here:



http://www.skoolie.net/bus/color.html
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Old 02-26-2004, 09:42 PM   #10
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After reading a lot about painting from experienced skoolies, I decided to foam-roller paint, using X-O-Rust from a True Value Hardware store. Great. Now I just have to find a True Value in the Great State of New Jersey that even carries the stuff. When I finally did fine one, they only carry the spray cans, not the full gallons that we skoolies need.
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Old 02-26-2004, 11:40 PM   #11
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Hi Steve,



I saw your paint schemes in your photo album; very cool. Then I saw the photo you posted of Bessie...that's very cool too. Now I think I better hire someone better than me to paint my bus!



I can't really afford that but I might make the paint job a little more interesting now that I've seen yours and Bessie's examples. Thanks for the extra work!
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Old 03-24-2004, 08:39 PM   #12
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Why not Wrap it?

http://www.jsisign.com has inexpensive vinyl in sheets .. you could design a wrap for your bus..just like the "big boys" do, the city buses. Also, from surfing I came across posts from people who paint Art Cars. They use One Touch sign paint, and all seem to swear by it. They almost all use just brushes or rollers. Or you might use part wrap/ part paint.
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Old 11-29-2005, 03:17 PM   #13
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looks like an interesting source for paint

I just came across this online retailer today and he seems to carry the ideal line of paint for schoolies, it's an industrial paint for heavy equipment/tractors but his available colors are a bit wider in selection. the URL is as follows: http://www.autobodysupply.net/store/...A-D6458B2CD638 and the retailer is called "Auto Body Supply, Inc" looks like it may be a winner, and he ships UPS for free on orders over 35 bucks I'm just not sure about Alkyd based paints vs polyurethanes.
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Old 11-29-2005, 03:47 PM   #14
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in talking to the sales person I found this out:

Their sales guy claims that the Alkyd enamel without hardener should last about two years or so while the more expensive polyurethane automotive enamel will last up to 5 years so there's that for you
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Old 11-30-2005, 11:44 AM   #15
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Painting The Bus

If a True Value doesn't stock XO-Rust in gallons or quarts, they can order it; just be aware they may need to order case lots (four cans per case). Now and then it comes up on sale, watch for a flyer....

Tractor Supply Co. (TSC) carries a good supply of tractor/implement paints. Not a huge selection of colors, but hey........Google them for a location near you, cool place! They do catalog too, IIRC!
Maybe Agway carries similar stuff, I don't know.....

Rustoleum is sold in quarts and gallons in many places, including Home Depot. HD usually also sells a 'house brand', but I'm not as happy with that as I am with Rustoleum.

Spray cans can be done, they just take forever, expensive. Pretty convenient, tho! Do a bit at a time; if you only have 15 minutes a day, it can be done! Just watch out you don't spray the neighbor's Mercedes by accident on windy days.
Again, watch for it on sale, and buy it by the case (6 to a case, you'll need LOTS of cans).

Many paints can use brush, roller, or spray. If using a roller, use a LOW NAP roller for the smooth surfaces, and be prepared to overbrush in spots with a hand brush.
Prep by scuffing the area with 3M pads, then wash with PLAIN (not scented) dish detergent and water. When fully dry, you can paint.

Treat rusty spots with POR-15 primer. Good clean metal uses brown primer.
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Old 11-30-2005, 05:46 PM   #16
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speaking of spray paint....
I have never had good luck with cheap spray paint, but I bought some wal-mart colorplace brand for $.96 per can. It works awesome, covers great, looks pretty good. Definitely the best cheap spray paint I have found. I used the flat black on the inside of my windows that I covered. I use the blue color (only one choice) for touchup on my exterior, not exact match, but not too bad.
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Old 11-30-2005, 08:24 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bdavis441
speaking of spray paint....
I have never had good luck with cheap spray paint, but I bought some wal-mart colorplace brand for $.96 per can. It works awesome, covers great, looks pretty good. Definitely the best cheap spray paint I have found.
I agree!


When i wash the exterior of my bus, i use cheap wal-mart spray paint to "touch up" my rims. The gloss black makes my rims look brand new (because they were literally just painted!) It only takes 1 to 2 cans total to do all 4 rims.

I've panted lots of things black with the same paint inside my skoolie too.

However, i'm not convinced that spray paint is the best solution for painting the exterior of the bus. Rims are one thing, but i don't think i'd waste my time painting the body it'self with cans of spray paint.
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