I need advice on painting quick!

[KC10Chief]

I just found out recently that Ft. Sill in SW Oklahoma has a do it yourself paint booth that can fit a bus inside! Since I'm Active Duty, I can go down there and use it. It's only like $20 a day to use too and they provide all the tools! I also have a friend that works for DuPont that says he can get me all of the free paint that I want. About how much paint do you guys think I'd need to paint my 10 window International? I'd like to get it all painted in one day. Ft. Still is about two hours from my house in the bus. I also have to take a two hour safety course and schedule the booth for use. So, I'm thinking about scheduling the booth for the day after I go through the safety course. I figure I could go down a couple of days before hand, stay in a hotel and prep the bus in the parking lot. I could go through the course and then paint it and go home! How long does it take paint to dry? What kind of DuPont paint would I need? We're getting ready to move, most likely to Northern California and I'd like to get the bus painted before then. A $20 a day paint booth sounds too good to be true!

Also, I'd kind of like to whore off of Jason's jacuzzi bus paint job. I can't think of anything better than a black bus with flames. I'd probably paint yellow flames all down the roof so it helps with heat. Should I paint the lighter colors first, or could I just paint the bus black and then paint the flames on? Maybe I could schedule two days in the paint booth. Paint the yellow for the flames, go back to the hotel and mask it off and paint the black the next day. What do you guys think?

[the_experience03]

The last bus I particiapted in painting took just under 2 gallons of Rustoleum black. I'm not sure what type of paint you're using or the mix ratio with the thinner and hardener, but I would recommend getting 3 gallons just to be safe. Maybe you will need more. I'm not sure.

As for what to paint first...We did the light colors first. It's a lot easier to make a light color dark than a dark color light. The choice is yours of course. I think I would do the light color first just for the sake of not having as much to mask off afterwards! Also, painting the light colors first will give you some space to walk around the edges of the yellow in case it is still tacky after you paint it. Dry time really depends on the weather, the paint, the hardener, etc. I think you should be doing ok with professional paint in a booth.

[oldog12]

Masking and prepping takes a LONG time... Well, at least it did me.... Your plan on taking the safety class and then prepping that night and painting the next day might be a little TOO ambitious... Not that it can't be done, just that in MY case, it took most of one day to sand, and most of another day to mask... Actually, it took MORE than one day to sand, now that I think about it.... But what the heck... They got a sandblasting/media blasting area? See if they do... THAT will save A LOT of time....

[GoneCamping]

I also used gloss Rustoleum mixed down with 15% Acetone per the directions on the paint can. Not counting the roof it took me 2 gallons. The roof I used Kool Seal and rolled it on. That took 2 gallons too. I DO NOT recommend the Kool Seal as the stuff has not stayed white and it's only been about six months. I'm going to have to redo the roof, this time I'm going to spray that too, and I'll use more Rustoleum...I suspect I can do that with one gallon, perhaps one and a half...

[KC10Chief]

Actually, I planned to do all of the sanding at home. I could probably even prep the bus windows other than the ones I'd need to see out of. I was planning to stay for a couple of nights before I painted to give myself plenty of time. I don't want to drive a fully prepped bus 80 miles down the interstate with no mirrors or anything. Really, I can do most of the prep at home, and then just do the rest when I get there. The mirrors will come off in a few minutes.

[oldog12]

GO FOR IT

[KC10Chief]

WOO HOO! A guy that I race dirtbikes with is an exec or something like that for DuPont. He told me to let him know how I wanted to paint my bus. I gave him the info and he's bringing me about 20 gallons of aircraft grade paint that's good up to 700 mph! I'll be sure to keep the bus below 700 mph so as not to damage the paint. I'm going to do a black bus with flames. I'm going to extend my flames all the way down the roof so the roof isn't black for the summer time.

Also, I called the shop at Ft. Sill and they measured their booth for me. It won't fit my bus in there. However, a guy I know at work; his dad owns a business in Lawton, OK (Same town where Ft. Sill is) and he paints 18 wheelers for a living! Apparently, he checked with his dad on my behalf after hearing my painting woes and they are going to let me bring my bus down on a weekend and paint it for free! I get to use their paint guns too. WOO HOO! They don't work on the weekends so the booth will be open. I can't believe that I might actually get my bus totally painted for free! I have to work this weekend, but maybe next weekend I might be able to get her painted up!

So here's what I'm thinking. After sanding and prepping the bus, I'll lay down a nice coat of yellow where the flames will be. I will then draw the flames on with a pencil or chalk of some sort. Then I'll put the orange and red highlights on the tips of the flames. I'm also thinking of painting the middle of the flames a bright white. After that, I'll mask off the flames and paint all of the black on. After the black is dried, I'll paint a dark purple shadow around the flames with my airbrush. After it's all dried, I'll pull the masking off and clearcoat the whole bus. I think that will work. I've painted RC car bodies before. I'm thinking it's kind of like that only in reverse and 2,000 times bigger. Hmmmmmm. Does that sound like a good plan? At any rate, I'm off to start some sanding right now! WOO HOO! I'm amazed at how many people want to help or participate in the bus conversion or contribute somehow! This bus stuff is a blast!

[oldog12]

Good luck Chief... Wish I was nearby to lend a hand... All the best...

[Griff]

Outstanding, KC10Cheif! I love to hear things come together like that! Can't wait to see the results!

[crazycal]

With twenty gallons, you should be able to paint my bus too. Right?

[Elliot Naess]

I'm heading for OK with Millicent, right now!

Chief, I have some thoughts that may be helpful. It's about how colors appear
from a distance. Years ago, I arranged to have two drag chutes made to order for
a quarter-mile dragster. The chutes were to look like the Norwegian flag. The
average spectators would see them from a quarter mile away. I know the correct
proportions of the colors in the Norwegian flag (12, 6, 1, 2). I brought those
numbers and talked to the manufacturer. He told me to make a partial mock-up
of the flag and look at it from a quarter mile away. We were amazed. It didn't look
right at all. Different colors "fade" differently in the distance. To look correct at a
distance, we had to change the proportions of the colors.

Then there’s the phenomenon we call “Built in too small a garage�. This is when
a guy builds a vehicle without considering how it will look on the road. It looks
great up close, shiny and clever, but on the road something indefinable is wrong.
This could easily happen with a vehicle as large as a bus!

Finally, my “red� bus. The bus that several people called red, was actually white
with red rub rails. What they noticed, was the red. All that white... was just
background.

Now plan your paint job, and have fun!

[Griff]

I'm gonna paint mine the color of road grime so I can stealth park in the big cities!

[Elliot Naess]

All right, we're drifting here , but...

There's an other trick for parking: That is to make the vehicle look very official or
important. With a school bus, it would have to be a fairly new and nice looking bus,
but you could then decorate it like some sort of urgent service. NOT blinking lights
Emergency Vehicle, which would be illegal, but something like environmental
cleanup or 24-Hours-Help or whatnot. Or surveying. Or utility service. A fake
important sounding company logo might be good. And wheel chocks!

There is a real company called SafetyClean. Their trucks are a wild "emergency
lime green" kinda color, and say SafetyClean and other important sounding stuff all
over. What meter maid would ticket that, if it looks like it is "on a mission"?!

Back to work.

[DGC3]

Originally Posted by KC10Chief

WOO HOO! A guy that I race dirtbikes with is an exec or something like that for DuPont. He told me to let him know how I wanted to paint my bus. I gave him the info and he's bringing me about 20 gallons of aircraft grade paint that's good up to 700 mph! I'll be sure to keep the bus below 700 mph so as not to damage the paint. I'm going to do a black bus with flames. I'm going to extend my flames all the way down the roof so the roof isn't black for the summer time.

Also, I called the shop at Ft. Sill and they measured their booth for me. It won't fit my bus in there. However, a guy I know at work; his dad owns a business in Lawton, OK (Same town where Ft. Sill is) and he paints 18 wheelers for a living! Apparently, he checked with his dad on my behalf after hearing my painting woes and they are going to let me bring my bus down on a weekend and paint it for free! I get to use their paint guns too. WOO HOO! They don't work on the weekends so the booth will be open. I can't believe that I might actually get my bus totally painted for free! I have to work this weekend, but maybe next weekend I might be able to get her painted up!

So here's what I'm thinking. After sanding and prepping the bus, I'll lay down a nice coat of yellow where the flames will be. I will then draw the flames on with a pencil or chalk of some sort. Then I'll put the orange and red highlights on the tips of the flames. I'm also thinking of painting the middle of the flames a bright white. After that, I'll mask off the flames and paint all of the black on. After the black is dried, I'll paint a dark purple shadow around the flames with my airbrush. After it's all dried, I'll pull the masking off and clearcoat the whole bus. I think that will work. I've painted RC car bodies before. I'm thinking it's kind of like that only in reverse and 2,000 times bigger. Hmmmmmm. Does that sound like a good plan? At any rate, I'm off to start some sanding right now! WOO HOO! I'm amazed at how many people want to help or participate in the bus conversion or contribute somehow! This bus stuff is a blast!

Dude, u gotta stop saying "WOO HOO"

[Elliot Naess]

I need advice on painting quick!

If only the Chief had asked for "...painting quickly".

[BusNut]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

If only the Chief had asked for "...painting quickly".

That would be the new XHVULP (Extra High Volume, Ultra Low Pressure) sprayer.

[w1bmw]

I'm figuring you'll have a lot better equipment with the spray room, but for anyone else coming to this thread for advice, I have had great luck with my little $59.99 Wagner HVLP gun from Home Depot and Rustoleum thinned with Mineral Oil.

Surface prep was to sand out the few rust spots (maybe 12" sq. total) and to wash with a mix of TSP and bleach.

[nyrockingchairs]

Sorry I gave some bad info in the last blurb. I just painted this weekend and my sprayer only wants to see 45 PSI max. I remember having a $10 cheapie that was around 85 PSI but that was years ago.

For your personal edification I painted a 4-door Chrysler Concorde this weekend, and it took 2, 20-ounce mixings to cover it. That was also laying a new metallic blue over a sky-blue base coat. The areas where I was covering body-filler/primer took a few more passes to get a good solid color matching the rest of the car. If the whole thing would have been primer colored it would have easily taken 3, 20-ounce mixings.

I also found out the hard way to never use the nice, expensive, blue painters tape on a car. It peels off great when used on drywall, but when used on car glass and rubber trim, not so great, 2 hours with a razor blade and I think I got most of it off.

Razor blade works great for getting rid of over-spray on glass.