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Old 09-23-2015, 07:22 PM   #41
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by family wagon
I snatched that up fast! I plan to combine it with PEX loops in the floor and shower walls (radiant heat), some of the heaters that came with my bus (forced air heat), and a heat exchanger for heating the domestic water too. I haven't tested this Webasto yet, but I hope it works! Sure am looking forward to running all that off the 100 gallon diesel tank I'm already toting around anyway, and reducing if not eliminating the need to have a propane system.
That sounds like an awesome heating system. You're going to be well-covered!

Quote:
Originally Posted by family wagon
I just gotta say this: you want radiant heating, and you already have half of a radiant heating system (the boiler), and you're concerned about energy draw of electric radiant heating... and you want to sell that Thermo Top?
With radiant heat, I was thinking of a space heater or a marine wood stove (which I guess is really convection heat). I hadn't considered hydronic heating, since it seems like an extensive project considering our location and needs. I'm in San Diego, so we get two nights a year of 40F temps, and I doubt we'll spend winters much farther North. During the day, I'm not too concerned about cold. It rarely gets below 60F, and the windows should let in enough sun to keep things warm. At worst, the kids will have to put on a sweater and some socks.

Nat, thanks for the link. I am reading through the thread right now and it's a wealth of information, whatever direction we go.

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Old 11-02-2015, 03:28 PM   #42
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It's been awhile since I posted--we've been working on a (house) bathroom update and didn't make time to post--but we're still chugging along and getting stuff done!

Our next task was dealing with the rust in the metal floor. mr. phoenix used an angle grinder with the wire wheel to remove big flakes of rust.



Here are what some of the worst areas looked like after grinding:






I treated the metal with Ospho, which rolled on easily. Here's a rusty area after being converted:



I filled the small nail holes with polyurethane caulk. There were over 1,000 of them. The larger holes were patched with steel plates (I don't remember the gauge) affixed with adhesive and held in place with bricks until dry.



Then the whole floor got primed with Rustoleum oil based primer.



I also cleaned up the wheel wells. We're going to build boxes over these anyway, but the adhesive was bothering me. I used a combination of an eraser pad (this one: AES Industries 4" Smart Eraser Pad with Drill Adaptor Arbor - Power Rotary Tools - Amazon.com) and paint thinner. Before:



and after:



I did the same to the entry steps before priming. Before:



and after:



This is one of my favorite finds from the bus:



My son begged us to let him use it as a lunchbox. It's probably a good thing he's homeschooled.

Next I'll show the installation of floor insulation and wood subfloor.
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Old 11-02-2015, 03:40 PM   #43
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That's hilarious as a lunch box!

I had not even heard of an eraser pad until now. You did a fantastic job polishing the wheel wells and steps.
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Old 11-02-2015, 03:58 PM   #44
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For the floor insulation, we used 1/2" rigid foam insulation. It was easy to cut and install, and we used roofing tape to seal the seams. It's also very thin, but works for our bus (warm temperatures, want to keep as much ceiling height as possible). It's been "cold" here the past few days and the floor feels fine so far.



For the subfloor, we used 1/2" plywood from Columbia Forest Products. It uses plant-based formaldehyde-free adhesives, and offgases less than typical plywood. We have three young kids, and the effects of household toxins on developing bodies aren't really clear, so we're trying to limit the chemical load they'll be exposed to, especially in such a small space. Some things will contain lots of toxins; I plan to use vinyl spray paint on the dining area (reused bus seats), and we're all exposed to stuff every day. So I hope to balance that with zero-VOC paint and some other more natural options. And hopefully they'll be outside most of the time, anyway.



Plywood flooring installed. We used #12 self-drilling flat head screws, which worked really well. Everything feels solid.



Next up: removal of rivets, side walls, and fiberglass insulation.
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Old 11-02-2015, 04:07 PM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by family wagon
That's hilarious as a lunch box!
I thought so too, but decided to keep it in the bus for storage. We bought him a normal lunchbox instead.

Quote:
I had not even heard of an eraser pad until now. You did a fantastic job polishing the wheel wells and steps.
Thank you. It seemed like a useless task, but felt great to get it done. Someone on skoolie recommended the eraser pad, and I bought it right away. I actually had better luck with the paint thinner on the interior (soft) adhesives, but the pad does really well on exterior (dried up) residues.
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Old 11-02-2015, 05:22 PM   #46
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The upper walls were affixed to the frame with screws, and came off easily. Underneath, the fiberglass was gray with mold and there were areas where critters had lived.



If you look closely, you can see a little green beetle in the fiberglass.



Some of the fiberglass looked fine. It was still good to get it all out. We used masks and eye protection to remove it.



mr. phoenix tested a few ways of removing the pop rivets in the lower walls: grinding, drilling through, air chisel, and chisel + mallet. Grinding was messy and time-consuming. Drilling took a very long time. The air chisel didn't do much. Using a chisel and mallet was by far the easiest, quickest way to remove them.



We wedged the chisel under the skin beneath each rivet, then swung, folding back the skin after each rivet came out. He was able to remove each rivet with 2-5 swings of the mallet, while it took me 5-10 swings each. The two of us removed all the walls in one afternoon.

When I stacked the fiberglass, I noticed water pooling on the floor underneath it. It rained about two weeks ago, so moisture is getting in somehow and staying there. We'll check for leaks and seal them this week.

Here's the bus now:

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Old 11-02-2015, 05:47 PM   #47
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Great to see it coming along.
My air chisel kicks butt but whatever works!
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Old 11-02-2015, 06:01 PM   #48
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Originally Posted by EastCoastCB
My air chisel kicks butt but whatever works!
Ours was pretty old, so I wonder if that made a difference. It felt great to swing a hammer though, so I'm glad it worked out the way it did! (And who knows? If we do remove the ceiling skin, maybe the air chisel will become a favorite...)
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Old 11-02-2015, 06:31 PM   #49
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Such a clean bus yall got!
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Old 11-06-2015, 02:18 PM   #50
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Quote:
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Such a clean bus yall got!
We've got a lot of picking up to do though!

I've been trying to paint the metal dash for several weeks now, but it bubbles and pits every time. I'm using Rustoleum Ultra Cover 2X paint (gloss finish) and primer, which I've had consistently good results with in the past. It looks like this:



Here's what I've tried:

hot soapy water
light sanding (not down to clean metal)
degreaser (Formula 88 )
paint thinner
spraying primer first
painting while metal is warm
painting while metal is cold
different can of paint
different color paint:



My only thought is that the dash is coated in a silicone-containing finish and won't take paint, but I figured the degreaser/paint thinner/sanding would take care of that. What am I missing?
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Old 11-10-2015, 05:29 AM   #51
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What kind of primer? If you are using spray paints you need to make sure that the thing you are going to paint and the paint are the same temp. Try a different primer. If that doesn't work try airplane remover, then sand to metal and start from scratch.

Some times certain paints won't stick to each other.
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Old 11-10-2015, 07:57 PM   #52
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What kind of primer? If you are using spray paints you need to make sure that the thing you are going to paint and the paint are the same temp. Try a different primer. If that doesn't work try airplane remover, then sand to metal and start from scratch.

Some times certain paints won't stick to each other.
Thanks for your thoughts on this. I used Rustoleum Ultra Cover Primer. I wasn't clear about the warm/cool metal temperatures; the paint and metal were always the same temperature, I just tried it alternately on cold and warm days (no difference).

I talked to someone at Napa Auto Parts today, and he suspects there was a protectant applied at some point that's keeping paint from adhering. He recommended sanding down to bare metal, using mineral spirits, and painting with the paint/primer combination. I sanded, and it still bubbled on bare metal. Mineral spirits + etching primer is next.
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Old 11-10-2015, 08:32 PM   #53
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Have you tried ospho?
It etches into the steel pretty well. Works really well on galvanized stuff and helps the paint to adhere.

I'm having wonderful results with Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer. I use stripper where necessary, then I use a wire wheel and/or friction disc. It then gets wiped down with mineral spirits or acetone. After that the surface is ospho'd twice and then lightly brushed off by hand. Paint sticks to it really well!
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Old 11-11-2015, 06:31 AM   #54
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Have you tried ospho?
It etches into the steel pretty well. Works really well on galvanized stuff and helps the paint to adhere.
I hadn't thought of this, but I have some sitting around and will give it a try. Thanks!
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Old 11-12-2015, 05:44 PM   #55
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Figured it out, here's what worked:

Sand to bare metal
Wipe 2x with mineral spirits
Rust oleum self etching primer
Rust oleum 2x ultra

No bubbling, perfectly smooth. So if you are preoccupied like me with perfectly painting your dash instead of actual necessities like plumbing or electrical, here you go.
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Old 11-14-2015, 02:03 PM   #56
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Going through the bus, vacuuming up the rivets and fiberglass remnants left in the interior walls, I noticed 1-3 holes in each section of the floor behind the chair rails.

I think I remember some threads mentioning this, but I don't remember where and can't find anything with the search function. Are the holes purposeful, for drainage? I had planned on closed cell spray foam for the interior walls, which would have sealed them up. But for a number of reasons, we'll probably use polyiso instead. I'm replacing all the weather stripping in the windows and caulking the corners, so hopefully leaking won't be an issue anymore. Should I seal the holes or leave them?
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Old 11-15-2015, 01:49 AM   #57
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They were drainage holes for the condensation and window leaks.

I'm filling them full of foam, and painting the underside.

Once the void is full, there will be no condensation inside the walls, and my new windows won't leak.

Nat
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Old 11-18-2015, 11:50 PM   #58
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Nat, would you consider those drainage holes to be harmful in some way? The logic that drains aren't needed because the windows won't leak and there won't be condensation in the walls seems reasonable. But if for some unforeseen reason one of those assumptions proved wrong -- the flashing/sealant between the window and body sheet metal is somehow compromised, for example -- it could be disastrous to have the drain permanently closed. Agreed, that's a low risk. But it might not be zero risk. And so I wonder, what's the risk or cost associated with leaving the drainage holes functional? All I'm coming up with is "can road spray work its way in there? What about insects?" But these risks existed for the whole life of the bus and seem not to have created any disasters of their own.
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Old 11-19-2015, 10:19 PM   #59
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There is no way to leave them open and fill the cavity with foam.

If there is a leak, it will find it's way down. You can count on that.

The foam will not stop water from draining.

Nat
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Old 11-20-2015, 04:13 PM   #60
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nat_ster and family wagon, I appreciate you thoughts on this. I will probably fill them with polyurethane caulk, but have been considering this too:

Quote:
Originally Posted by family wagon
And so I wonder, what's the risk or cost associated with leaving the drainage holes functional? All I'm coming up with is "can road spray work its way in there? What about insects?"
I can tell you that yes, after 20 years, some dirt and grime deposited itself on the lower part of the previous fiberglass batting (it wasn't mold, although there was some of that in other places). I'm not sure about insects. Without spray foam to entirely fill the cavity, there will still be a chance that fumes/dirt/insects could get in. Road spray would probably be limited to the very bottom of the polyiso foam, while insects could tunnel through it if they were determined enough.
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