Painting a bus

[paul iossi]

try the paint store for mistakes/colors that wern't right, and have them mix or retint mistakes into a color that you like. $ discount prices are better than the paint store having to throw the paint out and pay disposal fees. get a color wheel and you can figure out what color you will end up with or at least what direction you will be going.

[motorcyclemarty]

Can you use an oil based house paint ?

[paul iossi]

house paints typically don't have a high gloss hard finish that you are going to want on a vehicle to seal out road dirt and grease to say nothing about 60 mph insects committing suicide on the front of your bus.

[lapeer20m]

wagner power painter.......

i know there was some discussion about using one of these a while back, and havn't heard how it turned out. I just bought a fancy wagner airless sprayer, the kind where the hose is separate from the power unit. it did a fantastic job on the interior of my house, and it also sais it can be used with any kind of paint. I think i'm gonna try it on a vehicle soon just to see how it does. It seems to spray super nice, i can't immagine that it wouldn't do an excellent job on a skoolie. and no paint thinner required! the latex house paint i used was the thickest paint i've ever sprayed. i'm in love with this wagner.

[junkyardkid]

What i do, at least when my big fan is broke is take a big push broom and dip it in paint then i hold it up while someone drives the bus back and forth

[carlsauction]

Junkyardkid

That is a great idea. I like to use one of those pumps that go on an electric drill a couple of lengths of garden hose and a lawn sprinkler. just suck the paint out of the can with one hose run it through the drill powered pump to the sprinkler sitting on top of the bus.

permanent markers are another option....unfortunately the carpel tunnel syndrome really slowed that process down.

Carl

[davido]

Just an update on our paint (Olympic Alkyd from Lowes), one year later. It has held up great. We touched up the scratched spots with a brush. It hid the brush marks well. Really easy. We did notice that the new paint kept it's shine. When we painted it originally, it rained about 10 minutes later and dulled out the paint. I think we're going to hit it again with high density rollers to give it a shine.

It's far from the luster that you would get with an Acrylic Enamel (auto body paint). It was ubber cheap <$300 for the whole bus. You can get Enamels cheap thoough also. I would still try Enamel if I did another one, but for cheap and simple, this has been ok.

[Sketchbang]

After sanding every square inch of its supple curves and wiping down with acetone I used the Industrial Enamel Sherwin-Williams peddles. Through a gun, 2 gallons of primer and we got two coats in with 3 gals. of color. It turned out great. I couldn't imagine it being any better or cheaper.

Very smooth, very shiny, and stuck like it should.

[davido]

It looks groovy also!

[timbuk]

oh yea sketchbang i love it she sure took alot of paint is the drivers seat up there nice timbuk

[jottoh12]

Hello, Be careful what you apply as removing paint is a real time intensive effort. I have had great luck with am oil based equipment paint made by Miller. Made in the northwest, it used to come in just a few colors but now can be tinted to whatever you want. Its listed as an equipment paint but keeps its shine for several years and still looks good when it dulls out a bit. I repaint after 4-5 years to keep prep time to a minimum. Another paint to consider is marine boat paint, the "above water line" rated stuff. Its really nice to apply. I use a roller matched to my surface smoothness, keep a small brush handy for those pesky inside corners and try to keep a wet edge or use the seams or corners on the bodywork as stopping and starting points. One last tip, a foam roller, if used over the paint before drying ( when to paint is still sticky)will give the finish a "stipple" look. Kinda bumpy in a weird attractive way. It keeps you from worrying about brush marks and roller edge marks and looks 100% intentional. If you do this, paint the area you have selected as well as possible and then go back with a pretty dry foam roller to give the effect. The foam roller "tugs" at the pain die to its tackiness but the effect settles out and looks great IF you time it right. effectively you are adding a very light layer of fresh paint over the now drying initial coat. NOTE: Practice this technique first as some paints, especially fast drying paints, will WRINKLE is treated this way as the freshest paint dissolves the older paint. In any case, the real point here is that MILLER SPAR ENAMEL seems perfect for painting your bus. Good luck!

[Carrie]

Originally Posted by vonslatt

I ended up using TrueValue XO Rust and a 3/8" nap roller (the foam roller didn't spread well at all.


School Bus Conversion - Painting

It covered in one coat and 18 months later looks just like it did when I first painted.

Jake.

Jake, I have a crush on your bus! I'll be using your website tips for most of our conversion - I especially like that the paint job is possible without tons of special skills or equipment. Thanks so much for all the info!

[CaptSquid]

Don't want to drive around in a big Twinkie, so I, obviously, must repaint Brunhilde. From the bottom to the bottom rub-rail, I'd like to use bedliner paint. Is this a DIY paint job or should I refer it to an experienced dealer?

[Tango]

The bedliner material takes careful prepping. A buddy here did his old Toyota pickup and it started coming off in sheets after a couple of years.

[Pshots]

I've hear of good, great, and bad experiences with bed liner. Some people have said that it holds like a rock and takes a beating like it was nothing and others are able to grab a chip of it and peel it right up. I think it depends on what company you use. I almost did my trucks bed by... i can't remember who at the moment but I can look when i get off work. But they seemed to have very high ratings and looked like it was durable.
You should also think about if you wanted the gritted texture (rubber bits) or the smooth finish on it.
As for a company that will do it for you. Line-X will spray on their brand for you and I have heard good things from their products. (though it could be quite costly to have them do the work for you)

[Tango]

Bed liner is very tough stuff but unless the prep is right (like any other finish), it will peel.

[rvingoffgrid]

i have painted travel trailers with a oil base sherwin williams paint ,I didn't intend on it lasting that long was more of a hurry up and paint it for a trip to yellowstone. turns out, 7 yrs later the paint still looks good so I didn't repaint it just added a strip so it wasn't so plane.

[Goatherder]

I used Rustoleum Stops-Rust Professional. Got it at Home Despot. I came up with a nice medium green metallic.

I mixed:
1 gallon + 1qt (5qts) Hunter Green
1qt Aluminum Silver
1/2 pint Gloss Black


Sprayed with HVLP gun with the following mix:
5 parts paint
2 parts Acetone
1/3 part Enamel Hardener. (Valspar from Amazon or Magic from Tractor Supply)

The top I just rolled with 1 coat (2 qts) of Rustoleum Almond using a 1/4" nap roller. Worked out pretty good, but should have thinned about 10% w/ Acetone.

[Rainman4040]

Bought this gem ( Blue Bird TC1000 ) from a scrap yard and it was in surprisingly good shape. Took it to bus garage and only had to change the fluids and front tires. Anyway, I took the following steps to get it to its current condition.

-Removed all adhesives from the bus (school bus sticker, reflective tape using combination of eraser wheel on a drill and a heat gun with a puddy knife -just be careful not to scratch paint)

-lightly sanded sides and front of the bus especially the sections where the adhesives were. Used an orbital sander.

-washed throughly light pressure washer nozzle and hand washed small areas.

-Let it dry and removed lights and taped off all areas I didn't want painted (thankfully have a garage to keep in)

-Primed the bus all over dried for a few days

-Painted the top part (gray) first while the bottom was taped. 2 coats

-Next day taped top part and painted two coats bottom part.

-Used a roller on the roof and only did one coat.

-let dry for a day or so and removed taping and put back all of the lights and extras.

-cut out cardboard for wheels and used high temp wheel paint (auto zone).

-Had decals put on (blue-blue bird logo on top and business logo)

Anyway here are the materials I used:
-Kobalt 1.8-HP 20-Gallon 150-PSI 120-Volt Vertical Portable Electric Air Compressor
-Neiko® 31215A Air Spray Gun, 40 PSI, HVLP | 1.7mm Spray Nozzle
-Eraser Wheel by Wonder Wheel
-SherKem 400 Primer
-SherKem High Gloss Metal Enamel (Sherwin Williams they were able to color match)
-Sherwin Thiner (can't remember name brand)

[WanderWoman]

That looks sharp! Thanks for the step by step tips!
Sandi
www.thismidwifetravels.com