Diesel Dan's Skoolie

[Diesel Dan]

This week I'm pushing hard to get the outside of the bus prepped and then painted. I figured it takes me about 4 hours per side of sanding/taping windows/primering, etc. So far I have the roof completely done and painted white, and both long sides prepped and spot primered, though not completely taped. Hopefully tonight I will get the back and front prepped and taped, but that sounds pretty ambitious. Unfortunately I only get about 2 hours per night to work on it, and then it gets too late to be running power tools or risk pissing off the neighbors. But after 2 hours of sanding I'm pretty spent anyway. My goal is to start painting this weekend, and take another day off work either Friday or Monday to finish the job. Again, that seems unlikely, but I really need to get this done soon because the further we get into fall the more likely it will be windy and rainy and cold here in Austin. But do we get wind in the summer? Nooooooooo! 100 degrees and not even a breeze.

[CAMO-MONSTER]

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

cold here in Austin. But do we get wind in the summer? Nooooooooo! 100 degrees and not even a breeze.

cold in texas yeah sure! what ever you say! my ex wife always brags that it is so much wormer then here in washington.
all i can say is you can keep all the humidity!

[Diesel Dan]

[quote=CAMO-MONSTER]

Originally Posted by "Diesel Dan":2ddq5bzp

cold here in Austin. But do we get wind in the summer? Nooooooooo! 100 degrees and not even a breeze.

cold in texas yeah sure! what ever you say! my ex wife always brags that it is so much wormer then here in washington.
all i can say is you can keep all the humidity![/quote:2ddq5bzp]

Yeah, yeah, I know "cold" is a relative term. I grew up in New England, so I know what real cold is. But my blood has thinned after spending most of my adult life down south, and now anything below 60 degrees is "cold" to me. It does actually go below 30 degrees here in the winter every year, and once every couple years we get a dusting of snow or an ice storm. Anyway, it's cold enough to be an obstacle to painting outdoors.

[lornaschinske]

It got pretty cold in Corpus Christi last winter. Even had frost on the windows several mornings. Last winter Socorro had similar temps. I hope we have a mild winter here this winter. But the WIND here! My paint dries almost as fast as I put it on!

[CAMO-MONSTER]

[quote=Diesel Dan][quote="CAMO-MONSTER":3lzywe7v]

Originally Posted by "Diesel Dan":3lzywe7v

cold here in Austin. But do we get wind in the summer? Nooooooooo! 100 degrees and not even a breeze.

cold in texas yeah sure! what ever you say! my ex wife always brags that it is so much wormer then here in washington.
all i can say is you can keep all the humidity![/quote:3lzywe7v]

Yeah, yeah, I know "cold" is a relative term. I grew up in New England, so I know what real cold is. But my blood has thinned after spending most of my adult life down south, and now anything below 60 degrees is "cold" to me. It does actually go below 30 degrees here in the winter every year, and once every couple years we get a dusting of snow or an ice storm. Anyway, it's cold enough to be an obstacle to painting outdoors.[/quote:3lzywe7v]

yeah my ex wife ran to her sisters in southern texass on 12-2-09 and got caught in the little itty bitty bit of snow that you got umm what was it? like 6" of of snow the paralyzed the state!!!!
i say bring it on that is why i have the BEASTmy 71 chevy 4x4 i have had it on top of over 10' of snowup to like 20' in driffs.

[Diesel Dan]

Spent the afternoon and evening painting the bus. It took about 3.5 gallons of paint thinned with about 3 pints of acetone. The actual painting took me about 6 hours today, in addition to the 4 hours I spent on the roof. The roof has two coats of Rustoleum gloss white oil based enamel with Hytech insulating microbeads mixed in which I applied with a roller. The rest of the bus has a single coat of just the same Rustoleum gloss white that I applied with an industrial air sprayer I got a Harbor Freight. Other than a couple drips I think it came out pretty good. It was dark by the time I finished, so I'll have to look at it in the light of day tomorrow. For now though, I'm feeling really good about getting this job done, and now celebrating with some 1800 reposado and Shiner Bock!

Here it is prepped and ready for paint:



Making some progress:



Finally finished!:

[yankeflyer]

upload to your gallery that still works for me

[Diesel Dan]

So the next day I got a better look at the paint job. The second half of the painting was done after dark with inadequate lighting, and I noticed there were more drips on that side of the bus. Oh well. I should really get one of those halogen light stands.

Here it is with all the masking taken off and lights reinstalled. I put all the orange flashers in the front and reds in the back, and I'm pleased with how it looks. I'd prefer to have clear lenses, but just don't feel like spending the money right now. Plus it does add a bit of color to all that whiteness:







It does have a bit of that "prison bus" look to it for sure, but I will eventually paint the rub rails green and possibly also add some small mural art to the skinned windows and also the upper area between the flashers both front and rear. I'll also paint the wheels with hammered silver Rustoleum and bumpers and mirrors will get a new coat of black. Not sure if I should use flat black or gloss black though...

[Griff]

Looks great from where I'm sittin' too, DD! (Prison buses are beige in my current locality, so no comparison there...)

[putterspitt]

Bus looks great, I am currently painting my roof, where did you find clear lens? I called Kennedy and they didnt have in stock, and wont order the ones I need. Any other idea where to find some? South Austin looks about right this time of year......

[CAMO-MONSTER]

hey looks like moby dick the land wale

just kidding

it is looking good thou

[Seeria]

Nice nice nice paint job I'm curious about those top lights. In WI they have to be removed TOTALLY. So is that a problem for people just passing through (non-resident) you think? Sure looks beter with the lights up there.

[Diesel Dan]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I must admit I had a moment of doubt when I walked out in the morning and saw that huge white thing in my driveway, shining like a beacon that could be seen from space. I had at one time considered painting it green to blend in better. But I'm still happy with my decision to go white, not only for the sun-reflecting properties but also because I will be adding color to the rub rails and various other places, and I hope that eventually the white will be more of a canvas that is filled in sparingly with color/images/graphics etc... I've been wanting to do some artistic stuff lately, and perhaps this will be my medium. Not a full-on art bus mind you. I do really love those art buses, like the "Willow Bus" in the gallery, and more recently, Lily's "Sunflower" short bus, but I think I've become just a little too conservative to pull that off.

[putterspitt]

Are you really gonna paint burnt orange longhorns on the side?
would look good.....

[hkemper]

What part of kansas are you coming to that is were I am Kansas city Kansas

[Diesel Dan]

So I've been finishing up some details from the paint job - Used Gloss Black spray cans to paint the mirrors and bumpers and the little housings for the clearance lights. Just those details made a noticeable difference in the washed-out whiteness of the bus. It really has a nice stark contrast with the black on white. I'm liking the look. So now every time I add any detail to the outside it will be some other color than white. I had bought a white outdoor electrical outlet, and will now trade that in for the other option which is grey. I also found these lights:

http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fans- ... ogId=10053

I plan to install one on each side of the bus for outdoor lighting. I kind of like the nautical look they have. I've got two switches to the left of the stairwell that will turn on the lights. I also finally finished the stain and polyurethane on the stairs, front engine hutch and grab rail panel. Sorry no pics, I was too tired last night. I'll get some posted soon.

Current project is getting the couch permanently installed with paneling on the wall behind it, and then get the booth seats installed. Also, I've been working on the bunk bed framing. I'm planning a camping trip on the first weekend of November, so want to have the bus ready to carry people, and have at least the lower bunks finished so people can sleep there.

[Diesel Dan]

I finally finished staining the stairs, engine cover and grab rail panel. I also installed the couch and booth seats with the wall paneling behind them. I made boxes under the seats that will be enclosed with paneling and likely have a door, or perhaps just an opening. Not sure yet. Right now, I'm trying to stay focused on priority framing and electrical work:





The past few nights I've been working on framing the bunk beds:



I have a wood futon couch in my house that is ready to be downgraded to the bus. So I'm going to take apart the frame and use the bottom and back frames for the lower bunks. I have two futon mattresses which I will cut in half length-wise and use for the 4 bunks in the bus. My immediate goal for the remainder of this week is to get the lower bunks completed along with the paneling, extra insulation, and wiring in the walls behind the bunks.

[browncrown]

Have to agree with Dr LuLu - eveything looking nice!

[Diesel Dan]

Thanks for the encouragement folks! Progress has been painfully slow throughout this conversion process. This month marks the 1 year anniversary of my ownership of the bus. I typically have only 2 hours per evening to work on it, and in that time I can only accomplish one small task. One night I'll get the inner bunk supports put in, and maybe stain some woodwork; the next night, the outer supports and maybe wire up one outlet. Argh! It's really hard to be patient. But now that I'm building the actual components of the bus, rather than doing the tear-out and rust treatment, subflooring/insulation, etc., I feel like the progress is somehow more tangible and gaining momentum. And it feels good to see a permanent part of the bus created, like seats installed, bus painted, etc.

I am feeling more pressure now though because we have a camping trip coming up in the next week or two, and we are getting some remodeling work done on the house soon, and will have to be out of the house for several days or a week or so. I'm hoping to have the bus ready for us to live in it during that time. So once I get the bunk beds framed, I'll have to shift back to finishing the electrical and also get some basic plumbing installed. And probably curtains and interior doors/room dividers for privacy. Hmmm... this increased time pressure sounds like a good excuse to take a day off of work!

[Seeria]

Love those stairs!