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Old 08-09-2016, 05:09 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
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Year: 1999
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Engine: Cat 3126 7.2 / Allison AT545
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Metal Ceiling Paint

I have to think this has already been discussed but could not find it...

I want to paint AND seal the original ceiling in my Thomas; however, I have now put 2 heavy coats of thick Rustoleum paint on one section and it appears as though the little holes just suck the stuff right through!!!

What has anyone else done??

My next attempt would have to be something like Flex Seal?!?!!

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Old 08-09-2016, 06:38 PM   #2
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You're talking about the exterior roof, correct?

You want to use an elastomeric paint designed for roof use, like this one...

Gardner Sta-Kool 5 Gal. 770 Cool Roof Elastomeric Coating-SK-7705 - The Home Depot
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Old 08-09-2016, 07:27 PM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
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no I actually mean the interior ceiling which has like a bazillion little holes in it as part of a pattern!! brutal...
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Old 08-09-2016, 07:35 PM   #4
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You have the perforated ceiling panels. Not sure how people seal them.
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Old 08-09-2016, 09:24 PM   #5
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Good luck on that with paint. This may sound crazy, but run a a very thin coat of (plaster) joint compound over the holes as necessary to fill, prime with cheap latex wall paint, then roller coat with any paint of your choice. This will be a permanent cure as long as it stays dry, A more ascetic method would be to glue very short nap carpet to the ceiling---looks good and deadens sound. Jack
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Old 08-09-2016, 09:40 PM   #6
Mini-Skoolie
 
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I actually thought about the joint compound idea but wondered ( being in a bus ) if it would just crack down the road!!??
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Old 08-30-2016, 03:31 PM   #7
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Those tiny holes in your ceiling are for sound dampening as I am told and comparing my bus to others will full metal roofing I believe it to be true. My entire ceiling is done with that stuff and it is awesome.

As it so happens I just painted the entire inside of my bus this past weekend. Took a ton of planning to figure out how to paint it but not fill the holes and get it looking right. Let me provide what I can.

First you need to buy the 64 oz HVLP Professional from Harbor Freight. There are other solutions but with the volume of what your painting, the angle you need to paint it, and flow... this is the best product for the money. I have a few HVLP guns now from figuring this out and this is the winner. You can spray this upside down or any which way all day.

64 oz. Professional HVLP Air Spray Gun Kit

You need a large compressor that can run air tools. Specifically I went with one from Home Depot that is a 20 gallon tall monster. Most reviews of this HVLP gun are from people who I believe used the gun incorrectly and gave it negative reviews (they over preasured the system). Using the instructions that are included, set the air compressor when fully open to about 45 psi. I did not adjust the regulator on the unit. Oh, clean the hell out of the gun kit cause it stinks to high hell and is oiled when shipped. Anyhow use the paint flow bar to adjust the flow of paint.

Now this particular gun as a spray fan of like 1 foot which seems large. I shot white gloss rustoleum from Home Depot cut 80/20 with accetone. The accetone helps the paint cure faster and worked awesome.

My bus is a 30 foot Amtran Genisis and it took 1 gallon to paint the ceiling and walls (not the walls under the windows). The final product was amazing and dried the next day. I picked up a gallon of accetone and a gallon of paint thiner for clean up. It took longer to clean the gun than paint.

I took out all of my windows, wiped down all of the walls with the paint thinner, and taped off the vents, lights, speakers and windows that didnt get removed. I then sprayed using the method above. I had to fill the tank regularly and had my wife doing this. I dont think I would have wanted to do that alone as the paint dried super fast.

All said and done it looks like it was done at the factory and couldnt be more pleased. First time using an HVLP gun but I did air brush as a kid so it wasn't bad.

*** Forgot to mention, if you still want to fill the holes you can still do this, just keep the gun in one spot for a bit longer and the holes will fill. I have about 20 where I paused moving due to a hose getting caught up and need to re-open them. Just dont thin your paint and it will be easy to fill them.***
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Old 08-30-2016, 05:09 PM   #8
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Personally, I ripped all that perf panel ceiling stuff off. Air exchange through the holes causes the insulation to be brown/black and gross.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PoolRoom View Post
I have to think this has already been discussed but could not find it...

I want to paint AND seal the original ceiling in my Thomas; however, I have now put 2 heavy coats of thick Rustoleum paint on one section and it appears as though the little holes just suck the stuff right through!!!

What has anyone else done??

My next attempt would have to be something like Flex Seal?!?!!
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Old 10-12-2016, 08:09 AM   #9
Mini-Skoolie
 
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I think you should get some self tapping screws and a few sheets of 1/8" A-B birch ply. install, and paint or stain.
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Old 10-12-2016, 12:28 PM   #10
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I like the carpet idea myself. Looks like a great way to cover the holes add a bit of insulation and pick up some great noise absorption quality's.
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Old 04-19-2020, 09:43 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Geo Jeff View Post
I like the carpet idea myself. Looks like a great way to cover the holes add a bit of insulation and pick up some great noise absorption quality's.
I like the carpet idea too, but have a question. If you plan on removing the metal ceiling and replacing the insulation up there, how could you put carpet up so it would stay and also not sag?
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Old 04-19-2020, 09:58 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggie01 View Post
I like the carpet idea too, but have a question. If you plan on removing the metal ceiling and replacing the insulation up there, how could you put carpet up so it would stay and also not sag?
School buses often have a condensation problem inside. I imagine a carpeted ceiling would get pretty nasty pretty quick.
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Old 04-19-2020, 10:11 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis View Post
School buses often have a condensation problem inside. I imagine a carpeted ceiling would get pretty nasty pretty quick.
It does. Before the days of the internet I remember folks doing carpet over the metal. Its smelled RANK.
Buddy of mine has an OLD conversion from the 70's that's carpeted like that. He uses it for storage. Man it smells so bad!
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