Bare Metal Finish?

[Locutus]

I recently watched an episode of "Lords of the Car Hoards," in which they did a bare metal finish on a Dodge Charger. I've been contemplating what color(s) to paint my bus, and it dawned on me yesterday that since the Crown is aluminum-skinned, it might be a prime candidate for a bare metal finish itself. Sort of a "Classic-Airstream-Meets-Crown-Coach-And-Has-Babies" theme.

My bus is a later model (1990) Crown, which has fiberglass front and rear end caps, steel bumpers and maybe some steel trim. So those would all have to be painted. (I'm guessing chrome plating would be way too expensive.) Maybe a metalic silver paint, or a different but complementary color. Like Gold.

Other considerations include possible exterior spray foam insulation on the roof, or that bus coat that has the insulating glass beads. I wonder if a bare metal finish on the roof would serve to reflect Summer heat, or rather conduct it into the interior.

The thing I'm wondering is how to make the bus skin look good enough for a bare metal finish (with gloss clear coat). All the paint and primer would have to be stripped, including the nooks and crannies and rivets. It would then have to be sanded or buffed in such a way that it would have a uniform (for lack of a better word coming to mind) "knap." That is, a brushed finish with all the micro-scratches being uniform and in the same direction. Like on a DeLorean. Or the stainless steel side panels of a 1980s-vintage MCI coach. I think you get the picture.

What do you think? Is this in any way a practical alternative to paint, considering labor, cost and end results? Do any of you have experience with bare metal finishes? Where should I go for more information? Any important considerations I may be overlooking?

[nat_ster]

I like the chrome idea.

Problem with bare metal finish is you have no way of using body filler to fix small imperfections.

On a rat rod, this would not matter. If you do the chrome, you will be out doing gmarvel's pristine paint job.

Nat

[gmarvel]

Crown Coach did make some buses for charter services that had the polished metal look on the sides of the buses, like an MCI. I don't know for sure, but I suspect they used polished aluminum that was then chemically treated to prevent tarnishing and fading (kind of what Alcoa is now doing with their aluminum wheels). However, I don't ever remember seeing a Crown roof that was bare metal. I believe all were painted in some fashion.

I would think prepping the aluminum panels to get all the paint off would be very time consuming. As has already been said, every imperfection would show in the metal panels (no fillers could be used). Here is a wild idea with no thought to cost!! How about removing the side panels and replacing with polished aluminum panels. Very little prep work would thus be needed since they would be newly fabricated panels polished to a chrome like finish. That would be awesome to see. Lots of riveting would be needed. However, you would have an incredible Crown that just might rival my paint job!!!

[Scooternj]

As a model builder, I avoid doing natural metal finish *(nmf) on any aircraft I build, for the simple reason that it will show every little imperfection in the build. And NMF on a bus will not only be impossible to repair those imperfections, as Nat pointed out, but also call attention to any already existing within the body that were imperfectly fixed before the stripping and the polishing, and the buffing.

Plus there's the safety factor for the other drivers. Think about a 40' mirror rolling down the highway, reflecting the sun into everyone's eyes.

[nat_ster]

But the spray foam on the outside of the roof is a go.

Nat

[Diesel Dan]

Stripping the paint off a bus sounds like an insane amount of work. I would never dream of attempting that.

[Locutus]

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

Stripping the paint off a bus sounds like an insane amount of work. I would never dream of attempting that.

If I do this I'll have it done at a sandblasting shop. Probably won't though for reasons mentioned by the other posters above, as well as cost.

[crazycal]

They make vinyl wrap that looks like chrome.

[HolyBus]

http://www.sprayonchrome.com/index2.html

There are others out there too. Not rattle can paint.

A favorite of mine is a youtube vid titled "How to spray chrome, new revolutionary chrome plating system rear door"

My son works at a place that refinishes and customizes airplanes.They tested it but said it is different than just spaying on paint. The finish is amazing tho. I would love to get my wheels, bumpers and mirrors done. Maybe the bump strips too.

A paint supply store worker did his mercedes and it looks like a real chrome finish!