About to paint - help!

[SarahNSam]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I bought a 20 ft 2002 chevy school bus last month and are currently prepping the bus to paint this week. We have sanded the bus down, washed it with acetone and are now taping. We plan to paint on the primer this evening. Then paint two coats over the next two days. We will be spraying. We are slowly figuring this all out but also feel very overwhelmed by the amount we don't know!!

Couple of questions if anyone has some advice for us:

1. We are using a rustoleum protective enamel and planning to thin it with acetone. Do we also need to mix in a hardener? I have read differing opinions on this.
2. What ratio should we thin the acetone to the paint?
3. Do we need to wash/do anything between coats?
4. Rustoleum primer and paint both say to wait 24 hours between coats - is it necessary to wait 24 hours?
5. How thorough does the acetone wash need to be before priming?

Thanks everyone!
Sarah

 

[Sleddgracer]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I bought a 20 ft 2002 chevy school bus last month and are currently prepping the bus to paint this week. We have sanded the bus down, washed it with acetone and are now taping. We plan to paint on the primer this evening. Then paint two coats over the next two days. We will be spraying. We are slowly figuring this all out but also feel very overwhelmed by the amount we don't know!!

Couple of questions if anyone has some advice for us:

1. We are using a rustoleum protective enamel and planning to thin it with acetone. Do we also need to mix in a hardener? I have read differing opinions on this.
2. What ratio should we thin the acetone to the paint?
3. Do we need to wash/do anything between coats?
4. Rustoleum primer and paint both say to wait 24 hours between coats - is it necessary to wait 24 hours?
5. How thorough does the acetone wash need to be before priming?

Thanks everyone!
Sarah

wiping it down thoroughly with acetone on a rag is ample - check the label on the paint can for the correct thinner to use - I've never come across a rust paint that required acetone to thin it, but that's not to say there isn't something new on the market - if it doesn't require acetone to thin it, it will create problems when applying the 2nd coat because acetone will soften the first coat on any rust paint I ever worked with - between coats it's best to give it a light sanding with fine grit sandpaper, then wipe the dust off with a dry cloth, followed by wiping with a 'Tac' cloth - if you add a bit of Japan dryers, or cobalt dryers to the paint, you can shorten that 24 hour drying time by a few hours - follow directions on the label for best results - what type of sprayer do you plan on using? ( I was a professional painter for most of my adult life )

 

[E450Shorty]

Hi everyone,
Couple of questions if anyone has some advice for us:

1. We are using a rustoleum protective enamel and planning to thin it with acetone. Do we also need to mix in a hardener? I have read differing opinions on this. Hardener helps, my bus took about 2 months to fully harden, conditions were not optimal tho. my brother painted a trailer with the hardener and it was fully cured in less than a week. Get a good respirator (not a dust mask!) rated for the chemicals if you spray the hardener
2. What ratio should we thin the acetone to the paint? i mixed about 1 part acetone to 2 parts paint. easy to spray and smoothed nicely
3. Do we need to wash/do anything between coats?if you do not use hardener the paint will rub and peel easily so nothing is required.
4. Rustoleum primer and paint both say to wait 24 hours between coats - is it necessary to wait 24 hours? I did not use primer. Just the paint worked very well.
5. How thorough does the acetone wash need to be before priming? i sanded and wiped everything down pretty well. but it was basically a once over. Although any dust on the surface will limit how well the paint sticks...

Thanks everyone!
Sarah

Hopefully my answers help.

 

[PigPen-SKO]

I recommend getting a piece of metal and testing your sprayer to see how it sprays without thinning. The instructions on the can are:

"Before using, stir thoroughly to ensure any settled pigment is re-dispersed. If necessary, thin the material with acetone. For brush or roller, thinning is not normally required. For air spray, thin up to 15% with acetone. Do not thin with gasoline, lacquer thinner, turpentine, etc. For airless spray, thinning is not normally required. Apply with a good quality brush, roller or spray gun."

When we sprayed our bus, we found that we got better results when we thinned the paint.

We also used a hardener. Make sure you get one that works with the rustoleum.

 

[PigPen-SKO]

And the advice to get a mask is also very important with the hardener. Get a good one.

 

[SarahNSam]

Thanks all for the advice!

I think we will go with a hardener - I have read a lot of people use valspar - does this work with Rustoleum? Also, I am realizing that we bought the gloss protective enamel, but I don't think/not sure if it is the 'high performance' - is there a large difference?

I am not sure what kind of sprayer we are going to use. We are heading to Home Depot today to rent one....

Sleddgracer - sorry, can you clarify if you are saying to use or not to use acetone to thin?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Sleddgracer]

Thanks all for the advice!

I think we will go with a hardener - I have read a lot of people use valspar - does this work with Rustoleum? Also, I am realizing that we bought the gloss protective enamel, but I don't think/not sure if it is the 'high performance' - is there a large difference?

I am not sure what kind of sprayer we are going to use. We are heading to Home Depot today to rent one....

Sleddgracer - sorry, can you clarify if you are saying to use or not to use acetone to thin?

Thanks everyone!

only if it recommends that on the label

 

[PigPen-SKO]

The brands don't really matter, you're just looking for a hardener that works with the type of paint you have. The valspar and majik hardeners both work with oil-based enamels, which the protective enamel and high performance rustoleum paints both are. I don't know the different between the two.

 

[Sleddgracer]

The brands don't really matter, you're just looking for a hardener that works with the type of paint you have. The valspar and majik hardeners both work with oil-based enamels, which the protective enamel and high performance rustoleum paints both are. I don't know the different between the two.

both of those brands of hardener will either be Japan Dryers, or Cobalt Dryers that someone has labeled as their own brand - if you have a choice between choosing Japan Dryers and Cobalt Dryers, Japan Dryers are more effective - DO NOT add more than recommended to the paint as it will create problems with the paint

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_drying_agent

 

[CMORGANSKOOL]

You should lightly scuff the surface and then clean. No hardener or thinner is required unless you're spraying. Then thin to the point it works in your sprayer. No prep needed between coats.

I painted right over the dirt with no prep and it looks fine. But the proper way to do it is above.

 

[HazMatt-SKO]

That's what I did, going on 2 years ago. Painted with a turquoise Kilz primer, just to get me sufficiently not-yellow to be legal to relocate.

... I painted right over the dirt with no prep and it looks fine. But the proper way to do it is above.

Since then, about a year back, I covered the primer with some fairly spendy white automotive paint, and now have patches and pieces of chromium yellow showing.
Reckon to revisit painting, after stripping away the poorly prepped paint.
Yay skippee...

 

[Johnny Mullet]

*Merged these threads together.

 

[Sleddgracer]

You should lightly scuff the surface and then clean. No hardener or thinner is required unless you're spraying. Then thin to the point it works in your sprayer. No prep needed between coats.

I painted right over the dirt with no prep and it looks fine. But the proper way to do it is above.

my painting business at one time was mostly larger projects, but eventually evolved to houses and smaller stores as I got older - when I was replying to a tender, I told my potential customers my price reflected what was needed to do the job the way I thought it should be done, that it was very likely going to be higher than some of the other bids - I spent whole painting seasons in individual neighborhoods, or doing almost every store front on a street - people could see my product and the preparation I was putting into it - I didn't have to chase work, it was chasing me - quite often I was the high bidder, not by a lot, but still the high bidder and I still got the job - the head of a department in Trail BC said he wished he could just hand the city painting to me, but it had to be awarded by tender - the reason for that all was directly due to the sand paper and filler I used - sand and fill holes etc before the first coat, sand and touch up any filler that needed work, spot prime the touch ups and sand them, then 2nd coat, sand again before the 3rd coat - you might not think it all worth the effort, but the difference in the final job is startling - I've been in this area for a long time, time enough to see my jobs still looking good while competitors jobs had already been repainted twice and likely needing to be done over again - cheap paint, poor craftsmanship, and cutting corners are the expensive way to do a paint job

 

[BlackJohn]

You must be close to a bazillion gallons of paint applied, lol .


Why doesn't my masking tape come off easily? Now it's taking paint off parts I wanted protected pulling it off.




Enough to drive me to drink!


John

 

[HazMatt-SKO]

While you're out for a drive, pick up some low-adhesion masking tape, first.
If you wait 'til the end of your drinkin' drive, you'll probably forget, but empty out the "impulse buy" racks by the check out...

 

[HazMatt-SKO]

And still not have the tape that doesn't strip paint...

 

[musigenesis]

my painting business at one time was mostly larger projects, but eventually evolved to houses and smaller stores as I got older - when I was replying to a tender, I told my potential customers my price reflected what was needed to do the job the way I thought it should be done, that it was very likely going to be higher than some of the other bids - I spent whole painting seasons in individual neighborhoods, or doing almost every store front on a street - people could see my product and the preparation I was putting into it - I didn't have to chase work, it was chasing me - quite often I was the high bidder, not by a lot, but still the high bidder and I still got the job - the head of a department in Trail BC said he wished he could just hand the city painting to me, but it had to be awarded by tender - the reason for that all was directly due to the sand paper and filler I used - sand and fill holes etc before the first coat, sand and touch up any filler that needed work, spot prime the touch ups and sand them, then 2nd coat, sand again before the 3rd coat - you might not think it all worth the effort, but the difference in the final job is startling - I've been in this area for a long time, time enough to see my jobs still looking good while competitors jobs had already been repainted twice and likely needing to be done over again - cheap paint, poor craftsmanship, and cutting corners are the expensive way to do a paint job

Are you saying you shouldn't paint over dirt?

 

[Sleddgracer]

You must be close to a bazillion gallons of paint applied, lol .


Why doesn't my masking tape come off easily? Now it's taking paint off parts I wanted protected pulling it off.




Enough to drive me to drink!


John

close - lol - one year I painted the exterior of 2 hotels and the interiors of spec houses in a subdivision - all of them were painted either an off white beige ( 'Coffee White' ) or an off white grey ( 'Bone White' ) - I don't remember exactly how many gallons of off white beige or off white grey I sprayed that year, but it was into the 1000's and one of the most boring years of my life - lol - you left the masking tape on too long after you painted, and/or put the masking tape on a surface that was too fresh, and/or on a surface not well prepared before it was painted - try using a heat gun to warm the tape up a bit and pull the tape off at a different angle - might have to experiment a bit to get the best angle to pull it from

 

[Sleddgracer]

Are you saying you shouldn't paint over dirt?

pretty much - lol