Abominable Snowbus

[LRflip]

Got a nice gift from my parents...

5 Gallons of Rust-Stop paint, brushes, rollers, etc...

Aiming to sandblast/prep this weekend and lay some paint down.

After that, waterproofing and starting the frameout.

nice surprise indeed...

[nat_ster]

Looking forward to pics.

Nat

[The-Breeze]

When I got my first bus back in the early seventies the only thing my parents would give me (if they were to even think of giving a gift) would be the directions to the closest Nut House.

[CaptainInsaneo]

I am sure there are many parents who would do the same thing today. Also I know a lot of parents who are watching their kids struggle to find meaningful employment, decent housing, or a direction in life due to the general malaise of society. So I can totally see the shift.

[LRflip]

Granted, I'm a 29yr old professional and only ask them for favors when I really need. It was still really nice of them to insist. When they insist, it's hard to turn them down.

Anyways, Sandblasting pretty much done. Was having a real hell of a time getting the air/media correct. I went the cheap route on the media = play sand that I screened and let dry. But, even then I was splitting the load between two 60gal air compressors that are at neighboring shops (I'm parked in the middle). I could still only get 20-30 seconds of solid blasting coming out at a time. It was enough to get the remaining insulation off the walls/roof but, was slow going with the tar...

I tried stripper on the tar, but that almost made a bigger mess.
I tried the heat gun to no avail.
looks like I'll be using my favorite tool the angle grinder with a wire wheel on it.

Here's some pictures...of the work, my parents visit, and me getting weird, somewhere in there....I met the love of my life.

I know how much you guys like pictures:

[LRflip]

Also, if you're ever playing around with one of these things...don't do what I did.

I was trying to shake the cylinder to break the media loose, and the lid which is basically a vacuum cleaner comes slamming down across the 4 fingers on my left hand. I thought I had broken them. They're still swollen and I finally got my middle finger to quit bleeding today with some super glue. I'm lucky it came across the fat part of my digits, or else I'd had probably lost something it if was further towards the tip.

It was a dumbshit move, especially since I wasn't wearing gloves at the time.

oops.

[nat_ster]

Great pics.

I love sandblasting.

Glad you didn't loose any fingers. We can't grow them back yet.

Nat

[Tango]

Anyone here played with soda blasting?

[M1031A1]

Originally Posted by Tango

Anyone here played with soda blasting?

Adam & Jamie have!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjbJELjLgZg

[nat_ster]

Never did any soda blasting. Seen it on you tube.

Everything I ever blasted was big thick metal. C-can shipping containers, train cars, ect.

My blaster before the divorce was a 200hp skid mounted unit with a 1000 pound pot, and a 2 inch line.

It took every bit of strength I had to hold it when blasting.

Nat

[Tango]

I have discovered that thanks to the EPA (once again) it is getting harder & harder to find anyone doing sandblasting anywhere near a major metro area. The one shop here that did my rims said their industrial equipment would eat body metal in a heartbeat so they don't do any.

Found a couple who would, but they are out in the country and a long haul away. Another does soda blasting around town with a mobile rig. That's why I was asking. He claims the media will remove paint down to bare metal but not affect chrome, rubber or glass.

[LRflip]

just as I suspected, the tar is coming down very nicely with the help of my angle grinder and one of these: Wheel Brushes | MSCDirect.com

whoever is still screwing with stripper, ditch that **** and get one of these.

I'll have pictures of the finished product in a few days.

With that being said, I'm still going to wipe down the area with mineral spirits or more likely vinegar to remove any residue. There's always residue.

Should have the walls, and ceiling finished in a day or so and will tackle the floor this weekend and begin the paint.

shitty side note: emailed a guy about a pallet of 2" rigid insulation for $600. After my asking him a bunch of questions over 3 or 4 emails. He says: "oh, yea I sold that last week." WTF would I be asking questions about something that is no longer for sale?

What an idiot.

[nat_ster]

Is the wire wheel not just throwing the tar all over the place?

Nat

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by LRflip

just as I suspected, the tar is coming down very nicely with the help of my angle grinder and one of these: Wheel Brushes | MSCDirect.com

whoever is still screwing with stripper, ditch that **** and get one of these.

I'll have pictures of the finished product in a few days.

With that being said, I'm still going to wipe down the area with mineral spirits or more likely vinegar to remove any residue. There's always residue.

Should have the walls, and ceiling finished in a day or so and will tackle the floor this weekend and begin the paint.

shitty side note: emailed a guy about a pallet of 2" rigid insulation for $600. After my asking him a bunch of questions over 3 or 4 emails. He says: "oh, yea I sold that last week." WTF would I be asking questions about something that is no longer for sale?

What an idiot.

Me and eight other folks who have helped out all agree that the wire wheel was NO match at all for the tar. Maybe the temps here make it much too soft or maybe your bus has a different formulation, but I'd bet you a hundo that you couldn't clear one panel of mine in less than an hour without chemical help.
The stuff on mine, even in residual amounts, is completely impervious to mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, or acetone.
Whatever you have has to be different stuff than mine, however similar it may look.

[LRflip]

I saw nats response first this morning and got to thinking about it.

Estes Park is a high mountain desert, with low humidity and pretty mild temperatures at the moment.

I know that the bus has been here (from Texas) for atleast 10 years. We get subfreezing temperatures and very high winds for a good deal of the winter up here.

That combined with the low humidity has to have made the tar in my bus more brittle than the stuff you guys are working with. Yes, there are some places where a residue is left over, but it's just a thin layer (almost looks like a stain or tint) and I'm confident a wet rag and some mineral spirits will make quick work of it.

Nat, to answer your question: yes, it sends this stuff everywhere but it's not sticking to any other surface and falls to the floor. It's not a splatter as much as it is a dust. Fortunately, I haven't cleaned up the sand from my sand blasting endeavor so most of it seems to be bonding with that and is swept around easily.

CB, that sucks...sorry bro.

I'll take better pictures of the cleared panels tonight if light allows.

[EastCoastCB]

So jealous of your location!!!

The high desert would definitely make the stuff easier to get out!

[Tango]

I had my best luck using a wire wheel on an angle grinder too. And it sounds like the tar/asphalt/black goo on yours was in a similar condition. Pretty well dried out as opposed to still very sticky. After the wheel, the remaining very thin layer of the stuff wiped right off using an old towel and some "paint-prep" made for de-greasing metal.

[LRflip]

Here's an example of the fine dust and particles I was talking about. Covered everything but what I had covered. I'll be wearing a dust mask tonight since I got a good bit of it in my ENT and probably in my lungs. I'm still picking some chunks out of my beard and hair. But, it's elasticity is pretty much gone so it combs right out.



picture taken for my gf, I'm not in the business of taking selfies for you creeps.

[LRflip]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

So jealous of your location!!!

The high desert would definitely make the stuff easier to get out!

Yea, EP is awesome. Especially if you can find a decent job and a place to live. I'm fortunate to have both, and made some pretty good friends very quickly who for some reason tolerate me.

I've been here since February and would never go back to NC.

[LRflip]

Here's a picture of what the wire wheel leaves left for me. Light was getting sparse so it may be hard to see the residue left over. I have about 1/3 left of the bus to do and then I'm done. I'll probably finish it tonight and get wildly drunk after to celebrate.




For the tar left over on the ribs, I'm just gonna leave what I can't get off and paint over it. since the condensation doesn't really build up there, I'm not so worried about it. Hopefully will be ready to paint by next weekend, then I'll seal the windows up and do my leak testing/repairs. pray for rain (when I need it) and not snow.