#BridatheBus- 2003 International DT466 in renovation stage

[Bridathebus]

Hey from Eastern Washington State! I have been reading the forum for about 2 years now, but this is my first post. April 2024 my partner and I purchased a 2003 International with a DT466 and Allison 3000 transmission. It was taken very good care of from what we can tell. Her name is Brida, and she has 184k miles, and a little over 7k hours. We are planning a full remodel, floor to ceiling. We live in WA State, but travel back to South Mississippi 2-3 times a year. (5k miles round trip) We are also planning on spending some time in the Northeast in the near future. At some point, we plan to live in it full time during the construction of our home. (The time frame for that could be up to 2 years)

We have FINALLY almost gotten the flooring up. Black plastic over 3/4 wood and what seems like thousands (probably only hundreds in reality) of screws.

The floor is not awful at all. There are some decent rust spots, but all surface rust. We have gone around multiple times poking amd prodding with a screwdriver, etc to check if the floor was solid. All good!

I've read multiple posts on the flooring, but i just wanted to make sure my plan checked out and see if anyone had any additional input? (And I wanted to make my first post!)

Our plan for the flooring is to have the floating subfloor, modeled loosely off of Chuch Cassidy (i think that's his name?)

We are planning to:
Use grinder and wire wheel to get off as much rust as we can and then use Ospho rust converter

Paint with oil based Rustoleum paint

1inch Foamular F-150 with Loctite 300 to painted floor

1/2 plywood to foam board with Loctite 300 between foam and plywood

Quietwalk 3mm underlayment with sound & moisture barrier

LVP on top for our finished floor

1-Does this sound like a decent idea?
2- After treating with Ospho, do i need to clean the Ospho up with anything or just paint right ontop of it? Mop with plain warm water? Leave as it dries and just apply paint right on top?

Also, we are keeping all of the original windows, but are planning on removing them, cleaning them and the seals up, and then putting them back with a fresh coat of sealant.
Once i take the aluminum bracing off the sides, will the window have anything else holding it in place, aside from the sealant?

I have a few other questions, but feel like this is long enough for now.

I would really appreciate any feedback, thanks a million!

 

[ewo1]

If you applied the Ospho on THICK, then it will turn Flaky white and before you paint you need to simply clean it off with a scotch pad.
If it is not flaky white then you can just spray primer over it.
Oshpo is self etching, helps with paint adhesion.

Nice bus BTW... !

 

[Bridathebus]

Thanks so much! So i need to out primer down between Ospho and Rustoleum?

 

[BamaBus]

Thanks so much! So i need to out primer down between Ospho and Rustoleum?

Directions for use

 

[Bridathebus]

Directions for use

Thank you, I appreciate it! The worst area we have notice so far is the rear passenger side, right in front of the wheel well. The window above that area leaks! (We are going to take the windows out and reseal them). We have tested that area with screwdrivers and hit it once with a grinder and it seems to all be thick scale, it actually came up quite easy. Doesn't seem to have any actual serious damage to it. I was thinking that may be one of the areas that may need a second coat of ospho.

 

[nikitis]

The thing about covering rust is to ensure it's completely encapsulated in paint. A thin covering of paint may have microscopic exposure and rust will continue. Ospho is self etching which means you can just through a primer on there, no need for a self etching primer, then on top of that use a thick oil based enamel paint to seal the deal. This helps with coverage preventing further exposure after the ospho.

I personally did not use Ospho, I just used a grinding wheel to take off any flaky rust, then I used a "Self-etching" primer which is more costly than regular primer. and then the thick enamel oil based paint.

Either solution works, but if it's extremely rusty as in your case, go with the ospho. I didn't have enough rust to justify the price of ospho in my case.

 

[Mr P]

Highly concentrated vinegar eats rust. Caution: any surface that's acidic will cause rust to grow quickly, so neutralize the surface after use.