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Old 07-25-2014, 07:26 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 55
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Crown
Buster

Well, we have decided to join the family of Skoolies.
We have the rubber flooring up and are working on scraping off all the gum and dirt on the inside. We just received our "BusKote" paint for the roof.
My question is: how do I prepare the roof for the bus kote? Do I need to sand and prime or just sand?
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

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Old 07-25-2014, 09:22 AM   #2
Bus Nut
 
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Re: Buster

First off, welcome to the gang!

Depending on the condition of the roof I would just give it a good bath with some tsp (trisodium phosphate). You can find it at Lowes or HD. This takes off the oils and grease on the surface. Then rinse it well and let dry. Then roll on the buskote.

Now if you have flakey areas make sure to scrape them off where all the loose areas are removed.

Afterward, your paint job should be good to go!

-Doc
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:37 AM   #3
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Re: Buster

Thanks Doc!
We will head over there tonight and start on that.
We were fortunate to get a bus that is structurally sound and mechanically sound with only 76,000 miles on it. It also had all the seats removed already! Yah! So the job of getting the rubber flooring up was not so bad.
Any ideas on how to get all the remaining glue off the metal floor?
We would like to put down some rustolium to protect it. Are there other suggestions?
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:45 AM   #4
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Re: Buster

Welcome to the site.
We washed the roof with automotive style sponges and soap. We got two palm sanders and paper from Wal Mart for around $50. We sanded the roof, then cleaned it with vinegar. Primed it with self etching primer (from hytech as well) and then applied the bus kote. We are sealing it up next weekend with the clear sealer. good luck with your roof.
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Old 07-25-2014, 06:21 PM   #5
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Re: Buster

I have not done the BusKote paint, but Welcome to Skoolie Family and have a great time on your project
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Old 07-25-2014, 08:56 PM   #6
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Re: Buster

Welcome to the madness that is Skoolie World!!! You will have great times and frustrating times often all at once. However, you will have memories that last a lifetime and a conversion that will be one of the best recreational vehicles on the road.
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:16 PM   #7
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Re: Buster

Welcome!

It's likely that your floor is galvanized steel. Oil-based paints like Rustoleum react with the zinc coating and have problems adhering. The safe thing to do, after you've done any grinding/sanding/wire-wheeling and washed it with tsp/acetone/soap+water, is use a water-based primer like Kilz 2.

Having said that, I put Rustoleum directly on the galvanized steel after heavy grinding and it seemed to adhere just fine. We haven't seen long-term results, so it may be a problem in the future. Not that we'd ever know.

As for the glue, acetone didn't work for me. I ended up using a wire wheel, which didn't remove the glue, just moved it (violently) to the walls and roof. After seeing those results we decided to wash the glue with soap and water and paint over it. By that point though, there wasn't much glue left. The wheel wells were the big glue areas, and it DID help going over them with the wire wheel.
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Old 07-25-2014, 10:20 PM   #8
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Re: Buster

The heavy grinding and rust probably removed bulk of the zinc. The 'proper' way to paint galvanized metal is to etch it first. There are etching primers, or you can just give it a spray down with Ospho.

I washed down the floor, TSP'ed the floor to remove all the goop and grease, gave it another hose out. After it dried, I used a pump sprayer to spray down the entire floor with Ospho. Once that dried, I ended up having to fine-wire-wheel the zinc oxide. Don't breathe that stuff. I then put a coat of Rustoleum Pro primer and matching top coat. Worked very well.
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Old 07-26-2014, 08:53 PM   #9
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Re: Buster

Wow! Long day today. I spent most of it on my knees scraping Adhesive off the floor. I am about half way done.
The heatgun idea worked great for the stickers and decals. They came right off and with some goo gone, I was able to get the adhesive gunk off. Thanks for all the great advise on this site. It helps a whole lot. All the boys in the house took a camping trip so I think we will tackle the roof when they get back.
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Old 07-27-2014, 10:18 PM   #10
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Re: Buster

The majority of my decals are reflectors, and they are everywhere. There is a brittle yellow outer layer stuck on a gummy white adhesive layer. Is this what yours were like?
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Old 07-27-2014, 11:04 PM   #11
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Re: Buster

Some of the bus companies have gone to using the stick on reflectors. They are cheap, cheap, cheap, compared to more traditional reflectors. They do become brittle with age and getting them off can be a "fun" task. On our Crown Coach bus, all of our reflectors are the traditional kind that are screwed into preconfigured slots and areas on the body.
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Old 07-28-2014, 07:46 AM   #12
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Re: Buster

Ha! We haven't even started on the outside decals I was working on the interior ones. There appears to be few outside ones other than the bus lettering etc. I will tackle that after work this week.
I will try to get some pictures up here shortly.
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Old 07-28-2014, 07:48 AM   #13
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Re: Buster

Quote:
Originally Posted by Timelord
The heavy grinding and rust probably removed bulk of the zinc. The 'proper' way to paint galvanized metal is to etch it first. There are etching primers, or you can just give it a spray down with Ospho.

I washed down the floor, TSP'ed the floor to remove all the goop and grease, gave it another hose out. After it dried, I used a pump sprayer to spray down the entire floor with Ospho. Once that dried, I ended up having to fine-wire-wheel the zinc oxide. Don't breathe that stuff. I then put a coat of Rustoleum Pro primer and matching top coat. Worked very well.
Where do I get the Ospho?
The whole interior side areas seem to be rough enough but the center isle is was very well protected so I will need to rough it up or something before coating it.
Again, thanks so much for all the input--it is very helpful as we have no clue what we are doing.
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Old 07-28-2014, 07:06 PM   #14
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Re: Buster

Had a major cloud burst while working on the floor. Not a drop inside!!!! three windows aren't working so I was worried they would leak but they didn't.
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Old 07-29-2014, 02:55 AM   #15
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Re: Buster

Quote:
Originally Posted by Laurel
Quote:
Originally Posted by Timelord
The heavy grinding and rust probably removed bulk of the zinc. The 'proper' way to paint galvanized metal is to etch it first. There are etching primers, or you can just give it a spray down with Ospho.

I washed down the floor, TSP'ed the floor to remove all the goop and grease, gave it another hose out. After it dried, I used a pump sprayer to spray down the entire floor with Ospho. Once that dried, I ended up having to fine-wire-wheel the zinc oxide. Don't breathe that stuff. I then put a coat of Rustoleum Pro primer and matching top coat. Worked very well.
Where do I get the Ospho?
The whole interior side areas seem to be rough enough but the center isle is was very well protected so I will need to rough it up or something before coating it.
Again, thanks so much for all the input--it is very helpful as we have no clue what we are doing.
I bought mine at the local McCoy's. https://shop.mccoys.com/painting/paint/ ... rs/p.25442

From the Ospho website, the following retailers have it:
ACE Hardware Stores (Check ACE Warehouse if local store doesn't have it)
True Value Hardware
Do-It-Best Hardware
Handy Hardware
Orgill, Inc.
Sherwin Williams
Duron Paints & Wall Coverings
Lancaster
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Old 08-10-2014, 03:01 PM   #16
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Re: Buster

Took a week off to go visit the ocean. But now we are back and the bus awaits!!!!
Still working on prep for painting. I was recommended by a local mechanic to fill in all holes with a fiberglass putty so that it will bend and not crack. Any suggestions from people?
I don't weld and am still looking for someone locally that can help us with removing two windows and repairing one panel behind the one wheel well that is rusted through.
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Old 08-12-2014, 09:32 PM   #17
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Re: Buster

Bus prep is taking a while. We finally got all the adhesive off. Now we are going to start patching the holes in the floor.
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Old 08-16-2014, 04:35 PM   #18
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Year: 1995
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Re: Buster

Major score. We were able to locate a great matching sofa bed and recliner that someone was getting rid of. They are marine leather and are in great shape. Someone was renovating their RV. We just got them home.
We are starting on prepping the roof for coating.
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Old 08-16-2014, 04:36 PM   #19
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Re: Buster

What is the vent on the front of the bus roof for? Can that be sealed up or should we leave it?
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Old 08-16-2014, 04:44 PM   #20
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Re: Buster

http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/LumberL ... ?$373x273$
Looking at this for flooring.
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