Bus down by the river

[Native]

I would not have thought to use a shop-vac. Thank you for that tip.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Native

I would not have thought to use a shop-vac. Thank you for that tip.

give it a try -

[HazMatt]

What are your thoughts &/or recommendations regarding a Wagner airless sprayer?
Bought mine ages ago, and am only now considering giving it a go.
It has a viscosity cup, I suppose a measured amount of paint must drain out in X amount of time.
I have all the gear, I believe, but the manual went hasta la by-by some time ago...
Its currently buried out in my yard box, else I'd supply unit-specific specifications.

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

thinning not more than 10% is a good rule for brush, roller, or airless spray gun - not so much for an HVLP gun - have to thin the paint enough that the droplets shear together and the paint flows out to make a beautiful job of it - 'HVLP' stands for 'High Volume Low Pressure' - while your little compressor may put out enough pressure, it's volume is far too low - if you have a good shop vac, it might put out the volume of air you need for your HVLP - set the hose up so it's blowing rather than sucking, tape a suitable sized airline into the hose from the shop vac and try it on your HVLP - doesn't cost you anything to speak of and it's quite possible that the shop vac will build the pressure you need - it should have ample volume - thin your paint until you get a nice vaporized spray - the HVLP's usually come with a viscosity gauge - use that if you have it to judge how thick/thin your paint should be

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by HazMatt

What are your thoughts &/or recommendations regarding a Wagner airless sprayer?
Bought mine ages ago, and am only now considering giving it a go.
It has a viscosity cup, I suppose a measured amount of paint must drain out in X amount of time.
I have all the gear, I believe, but the manual went hasta la by-by some time ago...
Its currently buried out in my yard box, else I'd supply unit-specific specifications.

I've used one of those Wagner vibrating airless cup gun sprayers for touching up previously painted surfaces and I was able to get a finish indistinguishable from what I had laid down with my big airless while painting drywall in new apartment blocks - my son uses one for painting some of the cars he rebuilds and the finish looks ok - viscosity of the paint and your spray technique are important, but yes, one of those Wagner cup guns can work

[HazMatt]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

I've used one of those Wagner vibrating airless cup gun sprayers for touching up previously painted surfaces and I was able to get a finish indistinguishable from what I had laid down with my big airless while painting drywall in new apartment blocks - my son uses one for painting some of the cars he rebuilds and the finish looks ok - viscosity of the paint and your spray technique are important, but yes, one of those Wagner cup guns can work

I figured I'd give it a go, tho don't hurt to first ask the pro.
Thanx!

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Congrats on the raise!

Nice to see one that's sensible. I cringe when I see folks flexing egos going for 3 foot raises.

I agree. People need to think about where they'll be driving these things. Most skoolies are 10'0" tall from the factory for a reason. All that time and effort making an extreme roof raise will be for nothing when the local Eleven-Foot-Eight munches it.

11 FOOT 8 - The Canopener Bridge

[Ronnie]

I have done some good paint jobs too with the wagner airless sprayer. I do find that when you pull the trigger each time is when it may splatter before getting a nice spray, so I start the spray aimed at masking or out in the air for a second or two to be sure I am getting a nice spray

[HazMatt]

That's a helpful piece of gouge! Thanx Ronnie!

Originally Posted by Ronnie

I have done some good paint jobs too with the wagner airless sprayer. I do find that when you pull the trigger each time is when it may splatter before getting a nice spray, so I start the spray aimed at masking or out in the air for a second or two to be sure I am getting a nice spray

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

I have done some good paint jobs too with the wagner airless sprayer. I do find that when you pull the trigger each time is when it may splatter before getting a nice spray, so I start the spray aimed at masking or out in the air for a second or two to be sure I am getting a nice spray

good point - I forgot to mention that - I hold a piece of cardboard in my left had to catch that first spray - then keep your hand moving in a smooth back and forth motion keeping the tip of the gun pointed squarely at the surface you are painting - watch for paint build up on your spray tip because that will spatter too - stop and wipe it off before it does

[HazMatt]

I'm a southpaw. Would I still hold the sacrificial sheet in my left hand..? [emoji848]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

good point - I forgot to mention that - I hold a piece of cardboard in my left had to catch that first spray - then keep your hand moving in a smooth back and forth motion keeping the tip of the gun pointed squarely at the surface you are painting - watch for paint build up on your spray tip because that will spatter too - stop and wipe it off before it does

I like that, tho. I'm on a rented concrete slab, and the owners would prolly not be pleased to find a painted, 30' long bus silhouette.
Personally, I think it would be a hoot! Good girl she is, its not like she's marked territory on the slab!
Well, not much. Hardly noticeable, in fact...
That may not be the case when I back her out, and leave.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by HazMatt

I'm a southpaw. Would I still hold the sacrificial sheet in my left hand..? [emoji848]I like that, tho. I'm on a rented concrete slab, and the owners would prolly not be pleased to find a painted, 30' long bus silhouette.
Personally, I think it would be a hoot! Good girl she is, its not like she's marked territory on the slab!
Well, not much. Hardly noticeable, in fact...
That may not be the case when I back her out, and leave.

that's a situation that requires a LOT of drop sheets - once oil paint hits concrete you literally have seconds to get down on your hands and knees, wire brush in one hand, cotton rag in the other and a can of paint thinner within reach, and scrub it up FAST, otherwise, you've left marks for posterity - if it's windy out, either put off spraying until it's calm or make sure your liability insurance is paid up because over spray can travel MILES on the wind - if it's a slow drying product like rust paint, it's still wet when it settles out of the air - if it settles on a parking lot or wafts across a busy highway, there will be a lot of car owners very unhappy

[HazMatt]

Good gouge, thanx Al! Fortunately, my Little House's parked on the prairie, with prevailing winds towards bovine pasturage, with a freight train right-of-way intervening, lined with a brushy windbreak.
I feel pretty confident that any overspray wont be dappling anything too costly!

[inhof009]

Finally got the RiverBus (shortened version of the currently working name [that probably will become the permanent name soon]) all painted up! My, she is purdy!

For comparison, pre-paint:

The inside is marginally cooler, and this is without any insulation or HVAC. Today was a horribly hot day, and I was sweating up a storm working inside, so it's nice and hot, humid, and smelly in there. That being said, I have finally done what I needed to do on most of the vehicle electronics.
Here is the current view looking back:

Here are the wires at the front, not yet cut but I will figure out where to cut them soon:

And here are all of the wires I successfully removed WITHOUT cutting:

Turns out the connectors can come apart and you can remove the wires. So I was able to reduce the 3 connectors at the rear to only 1.

I checked after doing all of this and all of my lights still work! With the exception of the right turn signals along the side, but that's because I intentionally unplugged them. Instead of running from the back of the bus to the front, I will run them along the roof above the ceiling. I also re-wired the rear flashers to be brake and respective turn signals. I'm not overwhelmingly pleased with my brake light job:

But it works. My turn signal solution, however, is much better (the electrical tape part):


We laid out the floor plan in painter's tape today, which was a very successful adventure. Successful in that we realized our floor plan will NOT work. Back to the drawing board!

Future plans are to run the wires along the seat rail, then insulate the walls, then run the house electronics and water. We're going to a junk yard this week to peruse their Rv(s) and see what we can "salvage" from them.

Question about spray foam insulation on my walls. I know they say nothing is guaranteed but it should work, but should I paint the galvannealed steel I put up first, or will that interfere with the adherence of the spray foam?

[inhof009]

Also, how much foam do I need, 1" or 2"? If you recall, I was banging the "2' raise" drum for a while here and got talked out of it, which is a good thing. I'm currently banging the 2" insulation drum, so I'm curious to see what all y'all's opinions are. I'm looking at Tiger Foam here:
https://tigerfoam.com/sprayfoaminsul...oard-foot-kit/
for $585 for one kit, which is 600BF. That SHOULD cover the bus for 1", but probably not 2". So do I NEED that extra inch? Should I drop another $500 for that extra inch? It's a tough decision right now...

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by inhof009

Also, how much foam do I need, 1" or 2"? If you recall, I was banging the "2' raise" drum for a while here and got talked out of it, which is a good thing. I'm currently banging the 2" insulation drum, so I'm curious to see what all y'all's opinions are. I'm looking at Tiger Foam here:
https://tigerfoam.com/sprayfoaminsul...oard-foot-kit/
for $585 for one kit, which is 600BF. That SHOULD cover the bus for 1", but probably not 2". So do I NEED that extra inch? Should I drop another $500 for that extra inch? It's a tough decision right now...

If you have 20' of wall and ceiling to cover you're looking at around 380sf. If you fill the cavities to the flush front, you're looking at 1.5" thick. You would need at least 2 kits to complete the job at 1.5-2". If money was no object, I'd put as much as I possibly could, can't have too much, unless it hinders the build.

[dgorila1]

Paint looks great!!

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by o1marc

If you have 20' of wall and ceiling to cover you're looking at around 380sf. If you fill the cavities to the flush front, you're looking at 1.5" thick. You would need at least 2 kits to complete the job at 1.5-2". If money was no object, I'd put as much as I possibly could, can't have too much, unless it hinders the build.

I'm planning on putting 2x4s on the supports, so I actually will have about 3" depth in the cavities to work with. I really want to go for 2", but that extra $500 would be very helpful other places in the bus...

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by dgorila1

Paint looks great!!

Thank you! It took a hell of a lot of trouble shooting, but once I finally got a more powerful compressor, 3/8" hose, added a regulator at the gun to get the correct pressure, and then practiced some, I finally got a good paint job going. What you see there is two coats (excluding the original rolling).

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by inhof009

Thank you! It took a hell of a lot of trouble shooting, but once I finally got a more powerful compressor, 3/8" hose, added a regulator at the gun to get the correct pressure, and then practiced some, I finally got a good paint job going. What you see there is two coats (excluding the original rolling).

what gun were you using?

[Mark_In_MA]

I think I'd spend the extra money and go up to 2" of insulation. You've done all the work to prep for it, may as well go all the way. I'd also want to be sure it was thick enough to get the benefits of spray foam in the first place. Some products have a minimum thickness they specify for their performance rating.