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Old 03-19-2020, 07:11 PM   #521
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On a close examination, there is a little rust in there! That is why I want to do a proper remediation and repaint.

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Old 03-19-2020, 07:29 PM   #522
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Personally, I do not think so. You would most likely get a slow leak that would progress into not being able to hold any pressure in the tank.


My tanks were like yours. The paint came off because a layer of rust had worked its way in there between the paint and the metal. Once the paint was gone, the rust layer was mostly surface rust. I did a light brushing and a treatment with Ospho. In the pictures, there is a bit of dirt on the tanks, but there is actually paint on them. The dirt looks a lot like rust though.
Oh good. I thought from the pictures the brown parts were rust, and you were telling me I was being overoptimistic about how long my rusto paint job is going to last.

I actually opened the valves a bit before scraping and I was surprised that there was still pretty good pressure. My PSIs seem to drop pretty quickly after running the bus, but I guess maybe whatever slow leak I have in the system only bleeds air above a certain pressure? I dunno about this stuff.
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Old 03-19-2020, 07:31 PM   #523
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On a close examination, there is a little rust in there! That is why I want to do a proper remediation and repaint.
How did you treat and paint those tanks? Aka "what should I not do?"
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Old 03-19-2020, 10:01 PM   #524
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How did you treat and paint those tanks? Aka "what should I not do?"
My method was to use the angle grinder with a wire wheel for the areas I could reach, then scrape and wire brush to get in more places. I could not get at the top with physical methods. I did spray Ospho over all of the surfaces. I then sprayed primer then paint. The aerosol carries the primer and paint into many of the cracks and crevices.


Due to time consrtaints, I did not dismount the tanks and get deep conversion on the tops. When I actually get to the total underside remediation, I will dismount, repair/replace the mounts, and use the conversion product that EastCoastCB keepstalking about but I can not recall atthe moment ... after much more physical removal.


Sort of like all the work you have been doing on the underside already.
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Old 03-19-2020, 10:06 PM   #525
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My PSIs seem to drop pretty quickly after running the bus, but I guess maybe whatever slow leak I have in the system only bleeds air above a certain pressure? I dunno about this stuff.
There is a pressure valve that feeds the air brakes which closes when the tank pressure is beloow the minimmum service pressure ... around 80 PSI. So, if you loose air most quickly at higher pressures, the leak is *probably* in the air brake lines, valves, leveling valves, connectors, etc.
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Old 03-20-2020, 08:19 AM   #526
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OK now it's personal coronavirus

It seems Rustoleum rusty metal primer is becoming unavailable anywhere.
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Old 03-20-2020, 08:34 AM   #527
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It seems Rustoleum rusty metal primer is becoming unavailable anywhere.
Whew, managed to score 8 quarts of it and 2 more gallons of the safety yellow. Also got a cheap toilet seat for my DIY. Fortunately nobody's hoarding toilet seats.

Only thing I'm worried about now is Ar/CO2 for my welder. The place I get it from is probably still open since they mainly sell propane. If not, it will be time to learn to use flux core.
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Old 03-20-2020, 08:42 AM   #528
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My method was to use the angle grinder with a wire wheel for the areas I could reach, then scrape and wire brush to get in more places. I could not get at the top with physical methods. I did spray Ospho over all of the surfaces. I then sprayed primer then paint. The aerosol carries the primer and paint into many of the cracks and crevices.


Due to time consrtaints, I did not dismount the tanks and get deep conversion on the tops. When I actually get to the total underside remediation, I will dismount, repair/replace the mounts, and use the conversion product that EastCoastCB keepstalking about but I can not recall atthe moment ... after much more physical removal.


Sort of like all the work you have been doing on the underside already.
My method is a little different (which doesn't give me confidence for its longevity, if yours is already rusting through). I scrape off the loose rust with my assortment of paint scrapers, then do a couple rounds of painting on ospho with a brush, wire-brushing (by hand, probably could have used a power tool for this but it didn't seem to add much) the residue and applying more ospho etc. and then power-washing. Then one coat of the rusty metal primer and two coats of the safety yellow enamel.

I did this on one of my rusty metal test brackets from the underside of the bus, and it's formed into a hard coat that seems very solidly adhere to the metal. On one bracket I even skipped the ospho steps and painted the primer right on the rusted metal, and that seems to be adhering just as solidly. It will be interesting to see how this holds up (or doesn't) going forward.
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Old 03-20-2020, 01:36 PM   #529
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My method is a little different (which doesn't give me confidence for its longevity, if yours is already rusting through). I scrape off the loose rust with my assortment of paint scrapers, then do a couple rounds of painting on ospho with a brush, wire-brushing (by hand, probably could have used a power tool for this but it didn't seem to add much) the residue and applying more ospho etc. and then power-washing. Then one coat of the rusty metal primer and two coats of the safety yellow enamel.

I did this on one of my rusty metal test brackets from the underside of the bus, and it's formed into a hard coat that seems very solidly adhere to the metal. On one bracket I even skipped the ospho steps and painted the primer right on the rusted metal, and that seems to be adhering just as solidly. It will be interesting to see how this holds up (or doesn't) going forward.

You do know that the useability/reliability of air tanks depends on metal thickness? So when you are going down the road and your brakes slam on, you will know that your paint is not holding pressure.


How expensive are used replacements?
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Old 03-20-2020, 02:46 PM   #530
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It's hard to care about the bus at all with what's going on, but I have nothing else to do so it goes on. First coat of yellow is on, now I have to do the second. The first coat took a little more than a half gallon and I have almost a full gallon left, so it should be enough for the second coat and also the air tank area.

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It was raining a bit last night, and this was the condensation on the bottom of the fuel tank. I'm surprised it's this bad, and that my tank wasn't further damaged by it.

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"If I stay very still, nobody will notice I'm not an RV."

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Old 03-20-2020, 02:52 PM   #531
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You do know that the useability/reliability of air tanks depends on metal thickness? So when you are going down the road and your brakes slam on, you will know that your paint is not holding pressure.


How expensive are used replacements?
I am of course not relying on paint to hold air pressure. The tank as it is right now has sufficient metal thickness to hold the air; my ospho-and-paint job is to arrest the rust so the metal remains that thick.
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Old 03-20-2020, 03:04 PM   #532
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More Craigslist luck

Got this small washing machine for $75 (guy was asking $125 but replied yes to my email offer in about half a second):

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It's 22" wide, 23" deep and 34" tall, which will fit perfectly just behind my human litter box. I didn't think one of those 1- or 2-cubic foot washers was going to cut the mustard, and this is about 4. A little rusty, of course, but ...

And the spot where I'm picking it up is right by my metal supply place, so I can load up on the scrap I'll need for anchoring my transit van seat and for supporting my gray water tank on the underside. Nobody's ever in the scrap warehouse so social distancing will be no problem, but I'm still going to carry a long pole in with me just in case.
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Old 03-20-2020, 03:17 PM   #533
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Got this small washing machine for $75 (guy was asking $125 but replied yes to my email offer in about half a second):



Attachment 42337



It's 22" wide, 23" deep and 34" tall, which will fit perfectly just behind my human litter box. I didn't think one of those 1- or 2-cubic foot washers was going to cut the mustard, and this is about 4. A little rusty, of course, but ...

.
I don't think you'd have it any other way.


You're doing awesome work. The first-ever yellow tank in existence.
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Old 03-20-2020, 04:58 PM   #534
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I don't think you'd have it any other way.


You're doing awesome work. The first-ever yellow tank in existence.
Damn, should I paint my washing machine yellow?
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Old 03-20-2020, 05:56 PM   #535
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Got this small washing machine for $75 (guy was asking $125 but replied yes to my email offer in about half a second):

Attachment 42337

It's 22" wide, 23" deep and 34" tall, which will fit perfectly just behind my human litter box. I didn't think one of those 1- or 2-cubic foot washers was going to cut the mustard, and this is about 4. A little rusty, of course, but ...

And the spot where I'm picking it up is right by my metal supply place, so I can load up on the scrap I'll need for anchoring my transit van seat and for supporting my gray water tank on the underside. Nobody's ever in the scrap warehouse so social distancing will be no problem, but I'm still going to carry a long pole in with me just in case.
The rusty washer will fit right in the Rusty 87! I can visualize it now, a yellow washer! (just kidding)


No need to bring your pole, they should have plenty of stock at the scrap yard.
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Old 03-20-2020, 06:05 PM   #536
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Damn, should I paint my washing machine yellow?
No.
Mostly because it's very hard to get average paints like you'e using to adhere to an appliances' powder coat or enamel finish... It will likely do the "orange peel" thing --
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Old 03-20-2020, 06:19 PM   #537
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No.
Mostly because it's very hard to get average paints like you'e using to adhere to an appliances' powder coat or enamel finish... It will likely do the "orange peel" thing --
Ha ha, I'm definitely not painting it yellow. I don't have to, since even white now looks yellow to me after all this yellow paint.

I would take any tips you might have for the best primer and paint to deal with the small rusted areas. I'm resigned to the fact that it's going to look like ass no matter what I do. I'm usually going to have something covering this, maybe a plywood cabinet for it or something like that.
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Old 03-20-2020, 06:35 PM   #538
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I forgot to mention in my earlier description of painting my tanks ... I only applied a light coat of Rustoleum Professional paint ... it was no where near as thick as even ONE coat of your yellow paint. I knew I would be doing it again later and did not have the time to do it right. Even so, it is way better than it woud have been if I did nothing. I looked under there a few minures ago and saw that it really is mostly rust and not dust.
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Old 03-20-2020, 06:50 PM   #539
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I forgot to mention in my earlier description of painting my tanks ... I only applied a light coat of Rustoleum Professional paint ... it was no where near as thick as even ONE coat of your yellow paint. I knew I would be doing it again later and did not have the time to do it right. Even so, it is way better than it woud have been if I did nothing. I looked under there a few minures ago and saw that it really is mostly rust and not dust.
It will be interesting to see when and where my undercarriage starts showing signs of rust through the yellow. Just hope it's not "three months" and "everywhere". I'm probably more worried about the (very few) patches where the original factory black paint is still on and in perfect shape. The yellow doesn't seem to adhere as well there as it does to the pitted osphoed parts, although with a second coat it seems fine.
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Old 03-20-2020, 08:31 PM   #540
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Experiment with welding thin LDPE plastic for a urine diverter.
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