Transmogrifie and Me

[Motobus]

Call the local tag office and get the number for who is going to inspect it. Where I live, Kansas, they would give you the number of the State Highway Patrol. In Kansas, only troopers can do that inspection, I think all troopers can though. I know they only have 1 or 2 guys that inspect homebuilt trailers and other specialty stuff.

Talk to the guy doing the inspection if you can, hopefully you can talk to the guy himself to see how he will view things. Tell them what you have in mind, maybe he would pass you.


Good luck.

[Shadoll]

Originally Posted by Motobus

Call the local tag office and get the number for who is going to inspect it. Where I live, Kansas, they would give you the number of the State Highway Patrol. In Kansas, only troopers can do that inspection, I think all troopers can though. I know they only have 1 or 2 guys that inspect homebuilt trailers and other specialty stuff.

Good luck.

The woman at the DMV counter (who had to ask a person in the back a whole lot of questions) was the one who inspected it. She gave me a copy of it.

Might try someone else. Somewhere I saw they charge $50 to have an inspector do it. Learning as I go.

Thank you so much for the input and well wishes.

[Shadoll]

Just noticed I'm a Mini-member.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by Shadoll

... The rubber is glued with thick glue to the metal floor. I am pulling up small (very) pieces of rubber at a time and the glue remains on the metal.

Anyone have suggestions on how best to get rid of the glue and make the floor ready for Rustolium paint? Was thinking of sanding down to the metal but that seems it would be gummy. Anyway I can think of seems gummy actually.

??

Try sandblasting. We have the same kind of floor. The rubber will stay in place. It is SECURELY attached to the metal floor. We will floor over the rubber with commercial floor tiles.

[GreyEagle]

Originally Posted by Shadoll

Just noticed I'm a Mini-member.

Congrats!!1

[bansil]

Originally Posted by GreyEagle

Congrats!!1

that's just so wrong!!

[Shadoll]

Took my handy Makita Drill, my deceased father bought me before he died, charged up two batteries and headed to the bus. hmmm.. WOW. Took out like 100 screws on the strips along the sides of the floor and then started on the strips down the center rubber. Rolled up the existing carpet and got it out of the way and swept about a ton of dirt out of the bus. Started testing the rubber strip down the middle, comes off in small chunks just like the rest of the floor. It got dark on me.

A friend at work told me to use Aircraft stripper to get the glue and etc off to the metal. But it looks like that just works on paint? Acetone seems to get off epoxy, but what would it do to the rubber. If I could use it to soften the glue and scrap off the rubber as well, that would be handy. Someone else suggested a flooring heat gun to warm up the rubber and glue but I have no electricity where I am parked.

So off to O'Reilly's auto store who supposedly carries Aircraft stripper. They had paint remover and paint thinner. Acetone in very small cans. (Have to read up on Acetone).

But, I can get a generic air breather for $26 that will fit my Edelbrock carburetor (wow that word isn't spelled how I thought). One small step at a time.

Funny how the more I talk about my bus to people, the more they want to 'help' or at least give advice.

[Shadoll]

WOW.. acetone is actually pretty safe to use. And it is created in the human body. I did not know that. Also, melts rubber to mush. Says it is flammable but has a high ignition point. Breaks down under UV light. Is only really dangerous to water environments. So I'm reading. Aircraft stripper $39.99 a gal Acetone $16.99 a gal. Might buy a small bottle and attempt.

[bansil]

Originally Posted by Shadoll

WOW.. acetone is actually pretty safe to use. And it is created in the human body. I did not know that. Also, melts rubber to mush. Says it is flammable but has a high ignition point. Breaks down under UV light. Is only really dangerous to water environments. So I'm reading. Aircraft stripper $39.99 a gal Acetone $16.99 a gal. Might buy a small bottle and attempt.

Make sure to have plenty of ventilation!!acetone evaporates so fast and it will turn most glues into a nasty sticky gummy paste.and when it quickly evaporates the glue will become glue again,it will be a lot of work...good luck and let us know how it works

[proconsul100]

i found that using acetone on the rubber was disappointing as it evaporates too fast, it doesn't get under the rubber to break down the glue, and it makes the rubber sticky . I found that using elbow grease and a good paint striping knife worked the best for getting the rubber off the metal. the only drawback is sore muscles and it takes a long time.

[Tango]

Was discussing a similar situation with a friend recently. My buses interior sheetmetal was treated with old fashioned asphalt. Did a great job of preventing rust but a monster to remove, plus it flames of anytime you are welding. He said he'd had good luck freezing it (he's an engineer and had access to some liquid nitrogen)...then it separated from the metal and chipped off easily. Said it could be done with ice but he's not that patient. Didn't help in my case cause the stuff is only on the inside between the interior & exterior skins and you just can't get to it. Wound up having pretty good luck using a twisted wire wheel on my 4.5" grinder where I could reach it.

[ol trunt]

Tango makes a good point about the asphalt. I know you said your bus had a rubber floor covering but who knows, maybe it was put down with tar like the rubber mats were in our old busses. Grab a heat gun and see if the stuff melts easily. If so you would be in luck.

[bus-bro]

Tango, if your bus is a '46 they might of used coal tar, which you wouldn't want to breath if you're burning steel. Not that I know about buses, but I do know they used it on ships of that era.

[Tango]

BusBro --- thanks for the tip...could well be. It's smart to remember that there was a lot of stuff commonly used "way back when" that is toxic or a controlled substance these days. I can still remember my Dad buying little cans of hydrogen cyanide at the hardware store to eliminate ant mounds. Same stuff they used in most gas chambers. Try asking for some today and they'll call Homeland Security. And...if you come across any old stuffed animals at yard sales or antique shops...be aware that the older skins were treated using arsenic, mercury and all kinds of potentially lethal compounds. You don't even want to touch them. Just remember...the term "Mad as a Hatter" came from the real world. The poor suckers working in that trade handled mercury all day long and eventually went seriously bonkers. Kinda' like the Romans adding lead to make "sweet wine"...
hey...who knew?

Gotta' wonder what all from our times will be banned in the future...

"Can you imagine...back in the twenty-first century...people actually drank from plastic...ugh!"

[ol trunt]

Probably SKOOLIES as they cause serious bouts of bad judgement and loose spending for most of us

[Shadoll]

Found a tool at Home Depot for $30 that is like a shovel with a blade on it and a foot bar. I am seriously considering the purchase but then I will have to sell it after as I'm sure I won't have further need for it. Maybe chopping roots?

Have considered just leaving the rubber as someone suggested but I hear popping when I walk on certain spots and I 'need' to see what's under there. So, tedious as it might be I'm at least going to get the rubber off, if not the glue. 6" strip at a time if that's what it'll give me.

And a heat gun might be good, but I have no electric where it is at the moment. Liquid nitrogen I think I'll leave alone.

[eyedeal.ink]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

Probably SKOOLIES as they cause serious bouts of bad judgement and loose spending for most of us

I'll second that

[Shadoll]

Asked the woman at Home Depot if I could buy carpet only, without the installation. She said of course, but it would be better to have them install at only $37. I said, but do you do install in a school bus? She just sort of smiled and said 'no'. But then she was interested in what I was doing and showed me a lot of stuff. I'm getting a big kick out of the reactions I get from people.

[Shadoll]

Using the small chisel I was using to test what was under there. Me and another person chipping away for several minutes at 2x5" pieces at a time.

Bought a shovel size scraping tool at Home Depot. (only because I won some money in a costume contest) Bigger chunks coming off, still tedious some. Seemed to triple the size of chunks in less time frame.

I'll need to invest in Ben-Gay for sure.

Oh and bought a stove top online, new swap out from a dealer, with some of the money.

Still messing with DMV on the correct VIN# for the title.

[Shadoll]

OKey.. and I couldn't resist playing with the drawing program.

sort of the idea. The front 10' is going to be sewing room. Fold out cutting board from the one sideboard and a closet with fold down ironing board next to it.