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10-23-2019, 11:17 AM
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#1
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 22
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Filling holes in the subfloor??
After doing lots of research it seems like the best way to fill the holes in the subfloor would be to use 100% silicone caulking OR a heavy duty epoxy on top of the holes and then pennies to cover them. I'd love to hear any and all input on which method would work best?!!
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10-23-2019, 11:28 AM
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#2
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
Posts: 1,494
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: T444E 7.3L
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That is exactly how I did my floor and it worked out well.
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10-23-2019, 12:29 PM
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#3
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
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One word came to mind reading the title, PENNIES.
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10-24-2019, 01:27 PM
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#4
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Hagerstown, MD
Posts: 55
Year: 2001
Coachwork: Thomas
Engine: CAT 3126
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seconding pennies epoxied to the floor. I get it... it's like just gluing money to your bus...
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10-24-2019, 04:19 PM
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#5
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StatTarget
seconding pennies epoxied to the floor. I get it... it's like just gluing money to your bus...
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Every penny ups the value of the bus at resale.
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10-24-2019, 07:27 PM
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#6
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
Posts: 1,494
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: T444E 7.3L
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It's the only option that makes cents ;)
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10-26-2019, 01:44 AM
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#7
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: GA
Posts: 611
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Amtran RE
Chassis: International 3000
Engine: T444e 7.3L
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I bought a bus that somebody had started the conversion - they ripped out the seats, and redid the floor, and not much else.
1. They painted over the floor rust with rustoleum.
2. They put a drop of silicon in each floor hole
3. They put particle board down for the floor (no insulation)
When I ripped up the wood, I found it full of mold from where water had penetrated the floor. It looked like they had put the wood down before the silicon dried, but I'm not sure if that was the problem. The silicon stuck to the wood and didn't adhere very well to the painted metal floor at all. Clearly, large amounts of water came through the holes despite the silicon, were absorbed by the particle board, and proceeded to swell and mold the wood.
The rust under the rustoleum was bubbling up. It was a total mess, and the paint seemed to have increased the rate of rusting. The rust hadn't yet compromised the integrity of the metal, but there were a couple small places where half the thickness was gone. Most of the floor just had surface rust on it, but even that seemed to be the start of some big problems.
However, rustoleum doesn't come off with paint stripper, so I had to grind it off the whole floor. Chemical strippers didn't work. A heat gun and scraper didn't work. Wire strippers didn't work. Metal grinding pads just scored the metal and left most of the paint. Flap disks worked slowly and were out too quickly. I finally used a "paint and rust stripper disk" (looks like a black sponge almost, except hard and stiff) for my angle grinder. They're expensive in the store, but they come in 10-packs on Amazon. I also needed a respirator and I recommend goggles. 60 hours of paint/rust stripping is awful.
To redo the floor, here's what I did
1. Ospho twice
2. Rinse and dry
3. Polyurethane caulk the holes and wait for caulk to dry (about 500 holes)
4. Check all the caulk with a flashlight to make sure none had tiny holes (about 10% did) and add more caulk where appropriate. Let dry.
5. Check holes again - find 2-3 that need more caulk. Dry again.
6. Paint with metal primer (2 coats)
7. Paint with an oil-based paint (2 coats)
8. Install furring strips on floor with self-tapping screws and insulation between strips
9. Install quality plywood over the floor.
Good luck. I have my fingers crossed that my bus will last 20 years without further floor problems. If I had left it with the half-assery that was done earlier, I'd have had a disaster on my hands.
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10-26-2019, 09:20 AM
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#8
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Moved to Zealand!
Posts: 1,517
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freightliner FS-65
Engine: 7.2L Cat 3126 turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 71 passenger 30,000 gvwr
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam
I bought a bus that somebody had started the conversion - they ripped out the seats, and redid the floor, and not much else.
1. They painted over the floor rust with rustoleum.
2. They put a drop of silicon in each floor hole
3. They put particle board down for the floor (no insulation)
When I ripped up the wood, I found it full of mold from where water had penetrated the floor. It looked like they had put the wood down before the silicon dried, but I'm not sure if that was the problem. The silicon stuck to the wood and didn't adhere very well to the painted metal floor at all. Clearly, large amounts of water came through the holes despite the silicon, were absorbed by the particle board, and proceeded to swell and mold the wood.
The rust under the rustoleum was bubbling up. It was a total mess, and the paint seemed to have increased the rate of rusting. The rust hadn't yet compromised the integrity of the metal, but there were a couple small places where half the thickness was gone. Most of the floor just had surface rust on it, but even that seemed to be the start of some big problems.
However, rustoleum doesn't come off with paint stripper, so I had to grind it off the whole floor. Chemical strippers didn't work. A heat gun and scraper didn't work. Wire strippers didn't work. Metal grinding pads just scored the metal and left most of the paint. Flap disks worked slowly and were out too quickly. I finally used a "paint and rust stripper disk" (looks like a black sponge almost, except hard and stiff) for my angle grinder. They're expensive in the store, but they come in 10-packs on Amazon. I also needed a respirator and I recommend goggles. 60 hours of paint/rust stripping is awful.
To redo the floor, here's what I did
1. Ospho twice
2. Rinse and dry
3. Polyurethane caulk the holes and wait for caulk to dry (about 500 holes)
4. Check all the caulk with a flashlight to make sure none had tiny holes (about 10% did) and add more caulk where appropriate. Let dry.
5. Check holes again - find 2-3 that need more caulk. Dry again.
6. Paint with metal primer (2 coats)
7. Paint with an oil-based paint (2 coats)
8. Install furring strips on floor with self-tapping screws and insulation between strips
9. Install quality plywood over the floor.
Good luck. I have my fingers crossed that my bus will last 20 years without further floor problems. If I had left it with the half-assery that was done earlier, I'd have had a disaster on my hands.
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Mold sucks -- good to get it gone!
Patching holes --This is clearly the best use for pennies I can think of unless the thickness matters.
If the existing paint is that hard to remove I would leave it -- it's doing it's job.
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10-27-2019, 02:06 AM
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#9
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: GA
Posts: 611
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Amtran RE
Chassis: International 3000
Engine: T444e 7.3L
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Quote:
Originally Posted by banman
Mold sucks -- good to get it gone!
Patching holes --This is clearly the best use for pennies I can think of unless the thickness matters.
If the existing paint is that hard to remove I would leave it -- it's doing it's job.
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The rust was bubbling up under the paint - the paint had broken down in some places, was sticking to the rust in others, and adhering well in others. Even so, you couldn't have drawn a 6-inch circle on the floor without having at least one problem inside of it.
Half-assing, no matter the technique used, is going to cause hidden problems. Tearing up the interior of your skoolie in two or five years because the floor is full of mold and soft spots is best avoided.
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10-27-2019, 10:04 PM
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#10
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New Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 4
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We used Fiber Bondo, its green bondo with fiberglass hairs in it. Worked great! You can see the patches on our floors in this video if you look close!
https://youtu.be/RXEIJdG6e9c
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