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Old 04-19-2010, 09:41 PM   #101
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

After getting the exhaust tip, I started sanding...and sanding...and sanding... I prepped from the bottom of the windows to the top of the roof. After a few hours of 'sand left, sand right' and a great upper body workout, I washed the bus and masked the windows. Then I pulled out the new can of primer and discovered that brand new gallons of paint are very difficult to get mixed thoroughly with a simple stick. After stirring for about a half an hour, I mixed up some primer and climbed up on the scaffold. Here's some more of today's pictures....
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Old 04-19-2010, 09:50 PM   #102
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

It appears that I missed posting Saturday's pictures... I primed all the wheels with the same Enamel primer I used on the bumpers. Then I got this brilliant idea to paint the spokes black. Since the wheels are rough and I am not going to spend a lot of time prepping them, I masked off all but the spokes on the right front wheel and sprayed the spokes with gloss black Tremclad rust paint. Enamel over enamel should work, but I got a slight reaction and now the wheel is more textured than before!!! All in all, I think I like the black and I am going to do the rest with the same paint. After the black is cured well enough to mask I will mask off the spokes and spray the rest of the wheel with either a chrome paint or a very metallic silver. Not sure yet, for now it is grey primer with black spokes.
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Old 04-19-2010, 10:26 PM   #103
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty
Kinda proud of that exhaust pipe, eh?

I used to buy a liquid "masking", seemed like it was called Gorilla Snot (?). You brushed it on the tires, painted the wheels, then washed it off.....the overspray came with it. Beats the hell outta masking a tire/wheel Plastic is bad if you spray, because the paint will dry, then the pressure of applying the 2nd coat will blow paint flakes off the plastic all over the fresh (wet) paint.

Wheels will look good when you're done with 'em

Smitty
If you only knew how much time that would have saved me to know about the liquid mask... Masking off tires is such a big pain in the butt. I had to wipe them down with 'final wipe' in order for the tape to stick, then piece by piece tape around the tire, then find out how to make a sheet of garbage bag fit a round wheel. It took all morning just to mask the tires!!! I will have to look for the liquid mask if I ever do it again. At this point I am NOT removing the masking until I am totally finished painting the wheels and they are clear coated.
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Old 04-20-2010, 11:54 PM   #104
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

One wheel done....doesn't look too bad. I had some Metalcast paint sitting around from another project so I sprayed the wheel with the metallic silver groundcoat paint then about 3 coats of clear over that. I used the clear instead of the usual Metalcast anodizing color because I just wanted the super shiny reflective silver. I think it worked out really well. Here's the pics...
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Old 04-21-2010, 08:09 PM   #105
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Well, thanks to my wife for sanding the top of the starboard side of the bus, I was able to get the rest of the bus primed, except for a strip down the center of the roof and the back. It is starting to look great. Can you see where I missed a spot? I had already put away the paint guns and used the last of my thinner to clean them before I noticed. How embarrassing... Here's the pics...
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Old 04-21-2010, 08:20 PM   #106
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

While working on the bus today, a gentleman pulled up in a truck. He had a brand new RV shower pan that he had bought to use in his own bus conversion. He had lost interest in doing the conversion and did not need the shower pan anymore. He let me have it for $35. What a great deal! It is still in the original box! I guess this is one of the advantages of doing the project on the corner of a main street in the middle of the city. I have had more people comment on the project than I would have ever expected, and more than once I have been offered parts. Here's the pics of the shower pan...
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Old 04-21-2010, 10:11 PM   #107
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

The paint looks really nice so far. I really like the wheels! I am dreading getting to that part on mine...LOTS of sanding, but I am looking forward to being done with it. What are you using for paint? Sorry if you already posted it and I missed it.
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Old 04-21-2010, 10:21 PM   #108
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Quote:
Originally Posted by JakeC
The paint looks really nice so far. I really like the wheels! I am dreading getting to that part on mine...LOTS of sanding, but I am looking forward to being done with it. What are you using for paint? Sorry if you already posted it and I missed it.
I am using a two-part urethane industrial primer made by a company called Bernardo Ecenarro in Spain. It is very durable and goes on thick. It is a very light grey, almost white, which is good because I am going to paint the whole bus Gloss White. The primer is good because you can apply a few coats of it, then lightly sand with 400 grit paper to make a perfectly smooth surface ready for paint. It fills small scratches and imperfections really well. The final paint is going to be an industrial two-part polyurethane ultra-gloss white. I am used to sanding cars, so when I sanded the bus I did most of it by hand and actually sanded out all the runs and orange-peel from the factory yellow paint. It may seem like a bit much, but I can't seem to do it unless I do it the best I can. Should look good when it is done.
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Old 04-21-2010, 10:26 PM   #109
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Wow, that will probably be one of the best painted skoolies around, haha... I'm kinda on the fence between using rustoleum, or something similar, or just going ahead and using a good 2 part automotive paint. I know next to nothing about painting vehicles, but fortunately have a buddy who rebuilds cars for a living a has gotten pretty freakin good at it.
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Old 04-21-2010, 11:05 PM   #110
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Quote:
Originally Posted by JakeC
Wow, that will probably be one of the best painted skoolies around, haha... I'm kinda on the fence between using rustoleum, or something similar, or just going ahead and using a good 2 part automotive paint. I know next to nothing about painting vehicles, but fortunately have a buddy who rebuilds cars for a living a has gotten pretty freakin good at it.
If you can spray paint, you can spray two-part paint. The only difference is that you need to mix your paint before you put it in the paint gun. I use little plastic cups with markings on the sides. The biggest thing to remember is that you do not want to mix all the paint at once because once mixed it has to be used within a certain amount of time before it starts to harden in the pot. And never put unused mixed paint back into the can....it will harden the whole can! You will be able to get the information of the mix ratios from the place you buy the paint. I am getting 5 gallons of gloss white for $250 including the activator. I dont think rustoleum would be any cheaper...at least not by much.
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Old 04-22-2010, 10:26 PM   #111
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Today I took a trip to the local pick-a-part. I was looking for a new headlight bezel and some amber signal light lenses. I was passing by some old campers when I tripped over a big thick wire stuck in the ground. I pulled on the wire and found the end had a standard 30 amp RV plug on it. I followed it back to a camper. Inside I found a breaker box. I had no tools with me so I just grabbed it and yanked it out. Now I know why we refer to those things as 'Sticks-and-Staples'. It really was just made of sticks stapled to 1/8" plywood. I ended up getting the breaker box with breakers and about 25 feet of 10/3 cable with the plug for only $10!!! Guess I am going with 30 amp panel in my bus.
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Old 04-22-2010, 11:09 PM   #112
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

In an attempt to figure out which holes still need to be filled and which ones are needed, I started remounting some of the lights and stuff. I changed the front roof lights to a different style light. I think it makes the bus look newer....or maybe I am just thinking it does. Anyways, here's the pics...
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Old 04-23-2010, 06:52 AM   #113
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Looks like you did a super job on the paint and the new clearance lights look good too...thanks for all the great picks
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Old 04-23-2010, 08:06 AM   #114
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

I'm glad to see you're starting to paint. Judging from your posts it seemed like you were working your ass off sanding. I'll be using your thread and several others as a guideline when we paint our bus in 7-8 weeks.
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Old 04-23-2010, 08:57 AM   #115
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Was over spray at all an issue with things surrounding your project? I knew a guy that sprayed his vehicle out side and got over spray on vehicles 3 blocks down. LOL
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:28 AM   #116
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bus Project
Was over spray at all an issue with things surrounding your project? I knew a guy that sprayed his vehicle out side and got over spray on vehicles 3 blocks down. LOL
Overspray is one of my greatest fears being that I am in the middle of the city. So far I have only sprayed primer, there is no way I could spray the topcoat in the city. The primer I am using pretty much dries on contact. I am also using a very small spray gun set up for lower pressure. It is very similar to using a large airbrush, I am able to control the airflow and paintflow independantly which works well with the primer. I also added a regulator and gauge right on the end of the spray gun to help control nozzle pressures. I will admit it is not the smoothest surface, I occasionally get some spatter due to the lower pressure, but it is just the primer coat, it needs to be lightly sanded again before topcoat anyways. I actually get less overspray than a regular spray-bomb can and much better control. When it comes time to do the actual topcoat paint, I will have to move the bus out to my sister's acreage and borrow her husband's industrial compresser so that I can use my larger HVLP spray guns. The other main consideration is wind...if there is wind, it is not time to spray anything, you will just waste too much paint and at reduced nozzle pressure you won't even be able to hit the surface you are trying to spray. My average distance from spray gun nozzle to surface is is only about 4 inches while spraying.
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:26 PM   #117
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Well I finally did it! From the ground you cannot see any more yellow! The only thing left to prime is a 3 foot wide section down the middle of the top of the roof. Now that it is all primed I can go back over it and see where I need to touch up some body work. It is amazing how no matter how much you sand the letters they still manage to show through at certain angles. I am just so relieved that I wont have to deal with nasty yellow dust any more! Here's today's pics...

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Old 04-24-2010, 09:42 AM   #118
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Very nice!
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Old 04-27-2010, 10:38 PM   #119
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

Not a lot to update on the bus project other than....I have electricity!!! I went to the local RV place (do they know how to bend you over and rip you off or what!!!) and bought a 'mousehole' hatch for my 110V cord. Then I went to the local Pick-A-Part and found an old camper with a breaker box, about 25 feet of 10/3 cable with a 30A plug on the end. I ripped it out and got it for $10. I guess that makes up for the overpriced plastic 'mousehole'. I took a 3" holesaw to the side of the bus under where the fridge sits and installed the 'mousehole'. Then I mounted the breaker box inside one of the cabinets and wired in the main wire. I then added an outlet behind the refridgerator for it to plug into and another to the side of my countertop. So far that is all that I have wired into the 110V system, but at least I can plug in the bus and run my tools without extension cords! I attempted to use a 4 stage battery charger as a converter/charger but found that it was too finicky and took it back. I decided to go with a Progressive Dynamics PD9270C 70A converter/charger with a 4 stage charge. I found that these things are about half the price through online dealers so I am ordering it and hopefully will get it before the end of May. Until then, I just hook up my old manual charger when needed which is easy now that I can just open the fridge panel on the outside and plug it into the outlet that I mounted there, it is close enough to the battery compartment that I don't need extension cords there either. Other than that, I tried to mount my new westcoast mirrors on the factory hoops, but I hate them. They are terrible. I found that they are too narrow and hard to adjust so I took them back and will keep looking for wider mirrors. They were 6"x16" mirrors and I think I may have found some 8"x16" mirrors with built in convex section at the bottoms. That should work much better.
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Old 05-03-2010, 07:26 PM   #120
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Re: Canadian Skoolie Project

ooh, mirrors? Where did you find these mirrors? I went to a semi truck wrecking yard in Grand Rapids, MI, but they still wanted $250 per mirror head for the ones I liked. Craziness. I will keep my fingers crossed to find some another time at a price I can afford.
Can you PM me the place you found the mirrors you mentioned?
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