Rusty 87 build thread

[musigenesis]

Tried out this stuff on a patch as a paint replacement.



Seems to be exactly the same color and texture, or if not at least it won't be noticeable as long as I don't try to blend the two areas like here. A single coat doesn't completely cover the wood but I think two coats should do it, so I'll still save some time using this. It's a bit more expensive than the porch paint but I shouldn't need more than two gallons to finish everything.



For fun I started up my Briggs & Stratton generator which I haven't run in more than a year and which has been sitting outside under a tarp the whole time. It didn't need more than four or five pulls to get it going. Love that old beast.

You guys might enjoy this video. In the late '70s, Briggs & Stratton built a prototype hybrid car which ran on a bunch of 6V batteries and an 18 hp gas engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftMx...Leno%27sGarage

[Veloc]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Well, that's my problem - my preferred third of a gallon isn't going to be enough to do even just a topcoat on the rest of the interior, let alone the touchups or the trim I still have to add (not to mention all the windows covers I'm going to make).

I think this made me realize that I don't really care if the new paint matches all that well. Valspar makes a combined primer/paint for interiors and I'm going to try out a small can of that to see how closely it matches. If it covers in one coat, that will also save me an immense amount of time.

Valspar does make a fine paint, and the primer plus paint does cover extremely well. I've been using that for years now, and found that one coat usually does the job unless I'm covering something really intensely colored, but you want to hit that with a coat of Kilz first anyway. The downside is you don't quite get the same coverage from a gallon of it that you do other paints, the upside being you can usually get it done with the first run where you're almost certain to need at least two coats of anything else.

[musigenesis]

So much fun to reinstall hardware after painting.



Seems I still have some window leaks to deal with.





Taping off the butcher block for painting.



Cat tax.

[musigenesis]

Started painting the bottom half of the bus. I'm hoping I can get away with just two coats but I'm not sure if I'll be able to.













Last minute wood filler touchup on the toilet.

[musigenesis]

More inside painting.



Looks like the same pic but this is after the third coat.









A bit of weird bubbling on the plywood veneer. I used something like five different types of 3/16" underlayment on my interior with highly variable results. Wish I could remember which type this was so I can avoid it forever. The veneer on this type could almost be taken off with a fingernail.







My not-perfect masking job. Going to need to touch these bits up.











Chillin' in my self-propelled hospital room.



First coat on the front door.

[musigenesis]

Got a quote yesterday for a new set of tires (all virgin): $2700.

[zkhennings]

Very nice work! I finally finished reading this after about two weeks. I had read the beginning of your thread years ago (2020) when I was looking to get a bus, your successful rust repairs were part of what made me decide to get my rusty (but cheap) shuttle bus and have at it.

I will say I have had bad luck with rattle can paint lasting for more than a few years, but if you ever repaint it, definitely invest in a small compressor and HLVP gun, it will overall be cheaper and a lot easier, and allows you to use a 2 part paint.

There are 2K paints in rattle cans available, but they are not cheap. Eastwood makes some good stuff.

I have also seen Marine grade paints get applied with rollers, and they self level pretty nicely.

Anyways I am sure the paint will last for a while, but driving in the winter will take its toll eventually (at least it has on all my cars). I do a lot of miles in the mountains though so results may vary!

[musigenesis]

More post-painting hardware reattachment joy.



Finally able to fold down this table - it is very in the way.



Disassembled my couch as much as possible for painting. There are still a couple of spots where I'm going to have to edge paint against fabric, which is probably not going to go too well.



Got the desk folded back down again finally.



Small spot I'm going to have to touch up.



First coat on the bottom on the driver's side.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by zkhennings

Very nice work! I finally finished reading this after about two weeks. I had read the beginning of your thread years ago (2020) when I was looking to get a bus, your successful rust repairs were part of what made me decide to get my rusty (but cheap) shuttle bus and have at it.

Thanks! I hope your rusty bus has actually worked out for you and that you're not, like, blaming for it.

Originally Posted by zkhennings

I will say I have had bad luck with rattle can paint lasting for more than a few years

Yeah, I can't say I'm 100% confident in its long-term durability. I'll just have to see how it goes.

[musigenesis]

First coat above the couch.



Couch bits.



Second coat at the back.



I moved my floor prototype with ripped peel-and-stick vinyl flooring into the bus to see how it handles the heat. This stuff doesn't seem to expand at all in the extreme heat, so I think it's going to work out OK.



More coats. I should be able to finish this all up tomorrow, and then after I get new tires I'll be able to drive the bus home and put all the hardware and cabinet doors back in.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

you are using your bus driving time off to make some good time on yours.
when do you have to get back to school duty instead of skoolie duty?

[musigenesis]

Interior painting all finished!









And I (mostly) managed to not get any paint on the couch fabric.







Next up: a new set of tires so I can drive the bus home and reinstall all the hardware. Then a whole bunch of interior trim along with hooking up the electrical and the lights, since I'm going to be using the trim as conduit for the light wires and I need to figure out how I'm going to be doing all that. Concurrent with this, I'm also going to be finishing the XPS window inserts and doing the floor for the front third of the bus.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

you are using your bus driving time off to make some good time on yours.
when do you have to get back to school duty instead of skoolie duty?

Ironically enough, I got a summer run which has basically the same hours as my regular gig, but for some other unknown reason I'm motivated to work on the bus again. My regular run starts up again on September 6th. The week before that I might be taking Rusty 87 up to eastern Long Island, which scares me a bit since it's a 5-hour trip through NYC.

[DeMac]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Interior painting all finished!

Attachment 66674

Attachment 66675

Attachment 66676

Attachment 66677

And I (mostly) managed to not get any paint on the couch fabric.

Attachment 66678

Attachment 66679

Attachment 66680

Next up: a new set of tires so I can drive the bus home and reinstall all the hardware. Then a whole bunch of interior trim along with hooking up the electrical and the lights, since I'm going to be using the trim as conduit for the light wires and I need to figure out how I'm going to be doing all that. Concurrent with this, I'm also going to be finishing the XPS window inserts and doing the floor for the front third of the bus.

------------------
Yay!
Painting out party?

Consider Surface Raceway for adding wire, recepts, lights & cords.

I like the Corner Duct Surface Cable Raceway for bundles. Ive included some trade names in the text of the Gooble link below.

panduit, electroduct, wiremold, star-tech, D-line, cordmate

Big box stores stock Legrand wiremold, panduit.

You're probably already hip to the various shapes & materials of Surface Raceway & Cable Duct, but I'll piggyback your vast readership & spread the word.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by DeMac

You're probably already hip to the various shapes & materials of Surface Raceway & Cable Duct

Not even remotely hip - I've given this no consideration whatsoever up to this point. Thanks very much for the links, I'll check this stuff out.

[Rwnielsen]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Not even remotely hip - I've given this no consideration whatsoever up to this point. Thanks very much for the links, I'll check this stuff out.

I've used a lot of different forms of surface raceway and generally it works really well. Some of it has self-adhesive tape on it but I'd caution you to add a couple screws to keep it level and straight. Most of it is paintable as well.

[musigenesis]

Reassembled some of the couch base with brass screws.





Tried a little brass screw replacement to see how things look. This pic is blurry but the brass looks good, not obtrusive at all.



A little more noticeable here on this side panel. This will be a lot of work but I'll do it in dribs and drabs so my wrist doesn't fall off.

[musigenesis]

$2700. All new stems and they balanced all the wheels. Guy said they normally don't bother balancing the wheels on dump trucks and garbage trucks and the like. I dunno.



Sailun
Takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
Soon I will be free



Nice aggressive tread on the drive tires.







Guy agreed wholeheartedly that it was time for new tires, since mine were eight years old and one sixth exploded.

[musigenesis]

Holy cow. The chaise lounge I was originally thinking of buying for the bus and which I decided not to buy for $400 is now selling for $1200. I'm glad I went with "free" instead.

[musigenesis]

Reinstalled the pillars that I painted last Fall. Getting back in the groove and remembering that everything takes 10X as long as I think it should.









One of them broke somehow just sitting in my garage attic all Winter.



Painted the ends of my removable countertop backsplash.



Painted the bits that (fingers crossed) keep my microwave from falling out again.