"EMILEE" Our 1999 BlueBird TC2000 Full Conversion

[fadderall]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Hopefully I won't need the sunglasses you needed with the Tan coating. Looks good. After going on gloppy it flows out smooth during curing ,correct?

I saw the tan in the store. I wonder how it compares to the white for heat rejection? Let me know after you do it.

As far as working the paint, it’s different. It does “flow” but I found the best result by working it with the roller. Ya gotta give it a lil time to glow into drips but not too much that it makes a mess going back over it. I found it worked to get it on with a heavily loaded roller then go back over with the empty roller. Sometimes going back to the previous section. You’ll see once you start rolling. It will never come out smooth. The roller makes a stucco type finish. They recommend 1/2”-1” nap roller so it goes on thick. I would use much less with normal paint on smooth metal. I think we want the texture to help it do it’s job. I would love to see how it looks sprayed on. It says you can spray with a commercial rig. I did not think my airless sprayer would get it done nor did I want to contemplate cleaning the sprayer from all the silicone.

When are you going to paint?

[fadderall]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

I started out with my heaviest sledge hammer. The dents didn't budge.

I drilled holes at the deepest part of the big dent, attached a come-along from dent to tree, winched the cable as tight as I could and then pounded on the dent from the inside. Barely visible progress after an hour.

Then I moved the come-along from the tree to the trailer hitch on my Dodge 3500. I eased the truck forward until I was putting a load on the motor and had someone pound on the dents.

Four hours of pulling and pounding made it obvious to me that bus body repair is not my forte. On to plan B....

I decided to cut it out and make a near flat spot for the outdoor portion of the mini-splits.

I hope you have more success at dent repair than I did.

Originally Posted by BlackJohn

PNW Steve it all makes sense now removing dents.
Those panels are stamped by hydraulic presses delivering hundreds of tons of force. No wonder you took plan B and put new metal in.

Amazing the shapes that can be made out of one piece of steel.
Moral of the story..don't be running into trees with your bus roof..or anything else for that matter hear that Mark?



John

Wow that stuff kicked your but. So did you make a new front cap from sheet metal or buy one stamped from those super presses?
I’m going to give mine a quick look but I think I’m the end I will find some big Band Aid stickers and move on

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by fadderall

I saw the tan in the store. I wonder how it compares to the white for heat rejection? Let me know after you do it.

As far as working the paint, it’s different. It does “flow” but I found the best result by working it with the roller. Ya gotta give it a lil time to glow into drips but not too much that it makes a mess going back over it. I found it worked to get it on with a heavily loaded roller then go back over with the empty roller. Sometimes going back to the previous section. You’ll see once you start rolling. It will never come out smooth. The roller makes a stucco type finish. They recommend 1/2”-1” nap roller so it goes on thick. I would use much less with normal paint on smooth metal. I think we want the texture to help it do it’s job. I would love to see how it looks sprayed on. It says you can spray with a commercial rig. I did not think my airless sprayer would get it done nor did I want to contemplate cleaning the sprayer from all the silicone.

When are you going to paint?

I imagine it flows smooth no matter the nap per their anti puddle feature. I want to get the skylight in first. I'll cut in the lip of the skylight with the Henrys, and then mask the roof opening and then Henry's on the outer edge of the skylight and the rest of the roof. I checked on Lexan price/available,they haven't gotten back to me. It's suppose to rain here everyday this week, so not much will get done, try and finish sealing the floor.

[fadderall]

Its been a minute since I updated my progress. Had a little family vacation but now been back at it.

Ill break it up into a couple posts.
After being away for a week the Rustoleum Zinnser BullsEye 1 2 3 primer had a chance to fully cure. It is on there real good now.

First thing I worked on was getting all the seat and nail holes plugged. If you remember I had the bright idea of using Henry Extreme Wet Patch to seal up my holes. DO NOT USE THIS.

DO NOT USE THIS
It is a black tar mess to work with and while it did seal the holes, it sags a bit on the seat holes. I think it will hold but it does not give confidence. It is also loaded with VOC's and has a really strong gas type smell. I also read afterward that the foam board may react with some chemicals and I fear it wont like to be in direct contact with this stuff.
I ran out before I got all the holes and used some Henry Tropicool Caulk that I had laying around for the last few holes. I wish I used the Tropicool caulk on the whole thing! That stuff worked great. I know there is supposed to be issues with silicone caulk and metal over time, but I primed my floor before patching so no metal to caulk contact.

So, faced with the dilemma of scraping all the gooey black Henry Extreme Wet Patch and starting over I found another way. I let it air out and cure for a few days while I bumbled around. Then, I put the foil tape on top of all the Wet Patch. Sag reinforced and material separation from the insulation. Case closed ready for foam.

Henry Wet Patch covered in foil. You can see what I mean about sagging. I pushed on the one seat hole to illustrate you can see it dimpled in.
FOIL TAPE OVER WET PATCH SEAT AND NAIL HOLES

CLOSE UP OF METAL FOIL TAPE OVER WET PATCH SHOWING DIMPLE SAGGING

HENRY TROPICOOL SILICONE CAULK TO SEAL SEAT HOLES AND NAIL HOLES. I SHOULD HAVE USED ONLY THIS!!!


Next post Ill show you what I did with the XPS rigid foam board. I gotta get some pictures and video ready.

STILL LIVING THE SKOOLIE DREAM!

[fadderall]

Cutting Splitting XPS Rigid Foam Board Insulation. Or, "Dont Tell Me I Can't Do It"

I may have taken the road less traveled and its probably less traveled for a good reason...

Do to ceiling height in my bus I am painfully aware of insulation choices. I figured that 1/2" XPS foam board with 1/2" T&G plywood would be my best bet on the floor. My thinking was that the T&G would make the ply a more solid cohesive entity in the sandwich. Well, in Las Vegas 1/2" rigid foam board XPS is not available. Box stores wont order/deliver it either. Specialty builder supply stores want me to order pallet's. Whats a rainbow beard bumbling bus builder to do? Easy, buy 1" XPS Owens Corning Foamular 150 from Home Depot and make a large scale hot wire foam cutter on my kitchen counter then split each board into 1/2" thick boards. Of course. I made a little YouTube video to show how it works. Surprisingly, the foam came out great. Even and really clean cut with the wire.
My source on 1/2" TG Ply lied to me. It was plain CDX. Ended up with 5/8" ABX (it seemed less warped and had the clean filled knot side) from Home Depot since the 1/2" seemed real flimsy in person. In the end with finish floor I estimate I am only giving up 5/8" head room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXtJnelbnhI

Cut Boards Split to 1/2"

1/2" XPS Rigid Foam Board Insulation Laid on School Bus Floor (Dry Fit Still Needs Glue)

[Tango]

BRILLIANT!!! THIS...is what DIY is all about.

[ChrisFL]

Love it man. Was fun watching the evolution.

[EastCoastCB]

Seam sealer won't have the problems.

For anyone reading along- try going to autozone and buy some 550 Dynatron seam sealer. Its made by 3m and is darn good stuff and easy to work with. Paintable and all that jazz.

[fadderall]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Seam sealer won't have the problems.

For anyone reading along- try going to autozone and buy some 550 Dynatron seam sealer. Its made by 3m and is darn good stuff and easy to work with. Paintable and all that jazz.

I agree. I used Dynatron 550 on the sides of the floor and it is good stuff. I should have used this or the tropicool caulk worked nice as well. Whatever you do dont use the wet patch stuff I used.

One thing about the 550. I used a cheap caulk gun that I have had around forever. I dont know why, but with the 550 it left 1/3 to 1/2 in the tube. The cheap caulk gun pusher plate kept cocking sideways a bit and I think that let the dynatron squeeze out the back. It only happened with the 550 not other caulks. In any case, get a decent caulk gun.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by fadderall

I agree. I used Dynatron 550 on the sides of the floor and it is good stuff. I should have used this or the tropicool caulk worked nice as well. Whatever you do dont use the wet patch stuff I used.

One thing about the 550. I used a cheap caulk gun that I have had around forever. I dont know why, but with the 550 it left 1/3 to 1/2 in the tube. The cheap caulk gun pusher plate kept cocking sideways a bit and I think that let the dynatron squeeze out the back. It only happened with the 550 not other caulks. In any case, get a decent caulk gun.

I use a nice caulk gun, so yeah that may help.

Leave the tube of 550 in the sun for a half hour. It will come out easier.

[fadderall]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I use a nice caulk gun, so yeah that may help.

Leave the tube of 550 in the sun for a half hour. It will come out easier.

Oh good tip. Get it warm.

[bridg73988]

I am almost to the point of filling holes in my floor and was leaning towards the seam sealer because I have been in and around the body shop business. Was wondering if anybody has ever used the Flexseal stuff on TV, they have it in spray cans, gallons, cut to fit patches, and tape. Anybody use this stuff? Any thoughts on it? Any results if you did use it?

[brokedown]

I met a guy who use Flexseal to coat his floor. A month later almost all of it had worn away.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by fadderall

Oh good tip. Get it warm.

Yep.
Here's another- If you put it in a bag and refrigerate it, you can store partially used tubes for a while.
Lay it out in the sun for a bit and its good as new.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by brokedown

I met a guy who use Flexseal to coat his floor. A month later almost all of it had worn away.

Flexseal, Plasti-dip.... Shawn loves those products.
IDK why. They cost more than real paint and they fade and peel quickly.

I guess I'm just predisposed to hating rubberized coatings miracle "fix alls".

[bridg73988]

Good info on the Flexseal, didn't know if it would be a good product to seal holes on floor or not, never used it for anything. Guess I'll stick with the seam sealer. Great build on "EMILEE" so far, keep up the good work and please keep the progress reports coming, they are an inspiration to others working on their buses!

[ekyoung]

Hey there what's your plan with that access panel over the gas tank? I'm at about the same phase as you. And I pulled that thing up and am perplexed as to what to do with it.

Did you just leave the plywood down and then insulate around it? What about when it comes time for floor covering? Cut around it?

[cadillackid]

I used flex-shot to seal holes in my DEV bus and also t oseal around heater hose holes in the firewall.. that was 2 years ago and its still holding up well.. I roughed things up a bitr so it would adhere... I wouldnt coat anything with walk traffic with flexseal though.. seems like a good product if the only thing hitting it is water / snow..
-Christopher

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by ekyoung

Hey there what's your plan with that access panel over the gas tank? I'm at about the same phase as you. And I pulled that thing up and am perplexed as to what to do with it.

Did you just leave the plywood down and then insulate around it? What about when it comes time for floor covering? Cut around it?

How many times during the life off the bus did the fuel access door need to be accessed under the vinyl and plywood floor? My money says never. The fuel gauge unit that is accessed through the trap door can be accessed from under the bus. If the patch is under a cabinet I will try and keep access, if not, I don't think it's an issue that needs lots of engineering to work around. My bus has 250k on, doubt I'll need to access that anytime soon.

[bridg73988]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I used flex-shot to seal holes in my DEV bus and also t oseal around heater hose holes in the firewall.. that was 2 years ago and its still holding up well.. I roughed things up a bitr so it would adhere... I wouldnt coat anything with walk traffic with flexseal though.. seems like a good product if the only thing hitting it is water / snow..
-Christopher

Good to know, I was just thinking Flexseal would fill the nail holes easily and the Flexseal tape or patch could seal the seat bolt holes. There will be insulation and flooring over it and rust converter/paint under it.