Welcome to the world, Gypsy Bus 😻

[KatTravels]

Oscar1 and Native, awwww 🥰 thank you my loves!!

Sam and I worked on our bus for a good 7 hours today...and we never stepped foot in the bus! We spent it sorting out our energy needs and buying a charge controller, inverter, and batteries to build our battery bank. For more info on that process, follow the ‘What 500 watts of solar power will get you’ in the solar, electric, etc. category.

To make a long story short, we have 5 100 watt solar panels, a 40a mppt charge controller, a 2000 w pure sine wave inverter, and enough batteries to build a 12v 300 ah lithium ion battery bank all for under $1200! Is this what solar dreams are made of?!? 😻😻😻

[KatTravels]

This week, I’ve been all about the rust remediation. The first pic has side by side contrasts of before/after angle grinding with a wire brush attachment/ after the rust dissolver. Still many hours to go before the floor gets to a point that I can start plugging all the nail and screw holes, but it’s a start!!

[Native]

Can you still taste the rust after finishing for the day?

[KatTravels]

Sam and I took a bit of a break while he was finishing up school finals, but now we are back at it. The wheelchair lift is out and 2/3 of the floor has been treated for rust and primed with rustoleum. Hopefully, I will have the rest of the floor primed and all of the holes sealed with silicone by the end of the week.

[Native]

What paint are you planning after sealing the holes? (Hint: Make sure it can adhere to silicone.)

[Ronnie]

Silicone is hydroscopic, plus most paints do not adhere to it. Polyurethane is a better choice.

[Jocelyn]

Awesome work Kat!

[Oscar1]

Looking great Kat
Keep up the good work.
Cheers

[KatTravels]

Lol welllll too late on the polyurethane 🤷*♀️ I wasn’t planning on painting it since I used the rustoleum primer. Do I need to? I was just going to put plywood on top and flooring on top of that...

[Oscar1]

Originally Posted by KatTravels

Lol welllll too late on the polyurethane 🤷*♀️ I wasn’t planning on painting it since I used the rustoleum primer. Do I need to? I was just going to put plywood on top and flooring on top of that...

Think of it this way, your bus was bare steel before and now you've neutralized the rust and added a sealer in the way of primer. Carry on with the great work and get ride of the tube of silicone, it has almost no adhesive strength and the only place it belongs is in a tile bathroom.
Cheers

[Native]

Primer is not a sealer. It will absorb moisture and assist the rusting process when exposed to moisture. Paint is a sealer. The primer helps the paint adhere. Some primers (like the one you used) also act as a rust treatment and are a little added insurance that there will be no more rust if the metal is sealed and not subjected to abnormal amounts of moisture and oxygen. After all, it is the oxygen that forms the rust and the water acts as a medium through which the oxygen slowly "burns" the metal to form iron oxide (rust). The paint seals the surface from both moisture and oxygen.

[KatTravels]

Ahhhh ok, I understand now. I already plugged the holes with silicone so that ship has sailed, but I will find some silicone compatible paint to put overtop...or dab a bit of the primer on top of the silicone and then use whatever paint I want?

[Ronnie]

try the primer over the silicone as long as it sticks or at least sort of sticks then any paint compatable with the primer should be ok.

[KatTravels]

Okay, gotcha! Thanks for the help y’all!

[KatTravels]

Hey guys, I just wanted to update you, I painted primer over the silicone today and it adhered to it with no problem, so I guess I’m good to paint over everything ��

[Native]

That is indeed good news!