Cost to paint bus...

[Diesel Dan]

So far I've not found a simple self-etching primer for galvanized. Home Depot has a huge rack of spray bombs, but none that fit that description. I found the self-etching stuff at Advance Auto Parts, but apparently it's not quite the right stuff either. I guess I'll try other auto parts stores. I only need two or three spray cans of the stuff for the few windows I've skinned, and a couple of interior pieces.

 

[jkindt]

So far I've not found a simple self-etching primer for galvanized. Home Depot has a huge rack of spray bombs, but none that fit that description. I found the self-etching stuff at Advance Auto Parts, but apparently it's not quite the right stuff either. I guess I'll try other auto parts stores. I only need two spray cans of the stuff for the few windows I've skinned.

They may not claim to be self-etching, but any good primer made for galvanized metal should work fine. I remember using some once on a metal fence my brother put up and it came in a can with a bright yellow cap. The stuff went on pretty much clear but it sure made the paint stick well. The weld-through stuff works great with galvanized metal.

 

[kamoo]

If you are going over a factory finish dont waste your money on priming the entire bus, especially a cheap laquer primer like duplicolor. It dries fast which could actually cause you more adhesion problems when you would have had none. Go to an auto paint supplier (see if Finish Master is around you) and get a quart of gray epoxy primer and the activator. Use this over any body filler (you can shoot it on before and fill over it also) and bare metal that you have. It is very durable, adheres very well and paint also adheres well to it. Self etching primers have an acid in them which can cause problems with certain things being applied over them, especially fillers. The worst thing you could do is strip a good factory finish, that is about the best paint base you will get. Just lightly sand the entire thing with 320, wipe it all with a wax/silicone remover, tack rag it, shoot the roof first , then come back and shoot the rest with your paint of choice. Buy a cheap palm orbital air sander and a roll of red 3m stik it paper (320) for it, its alot better than doing it all by hand.

 

[busdriver_phil]

So I did the first section of my bus today with rolling on Rustoleum. I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed with the results. I thinned it 50/50 with mineral spirits and used a high-density foam roller. I started by going around with a foam brush doing all the edges and uneven spots (rivets, panel seams, the edges of access doors, etc). Then I used the roller, which smoothed out the brush marks as much as possible. I went over a few times with the roller to smooth it out, the trick is getting the right pressure. Went to lunch while the first coat dried, then did a second, and got very good coverage.

I used Aluminum Rustoleum, and it looks almost as good as sprayed-on metallic. I had a couple spots that the color isn't even (I probably didn't mix the paint enough) that I can touch up when I do the next section. If you look really close you can see that it's not perfectly smooth, but from about 3 feet away it looks good. I'm happy doing the rest of the bus the same way.

 

[RUskoolietailgater]

If you are going over a factory finish dont waste your money on priming the entire bus, especially a cheap laquer primer like duplicolor. It dries fast which could actually cause you more adhesion problems when you would have had none. Go to an auto paint supplier (see if Finish Master is around you) and get a quart of gray epoxy primer and the activator. Use this over any body filler (you can shoot it on before and fill over it also) and bare metal that you have. It is very durable, adheres very well and paint also adheres well to it. Self etching primers have an acid in them which can cause problems with certain things being applied over them, especially fillers. The worst thing you could do is strip a good factory finish, that is about the best paint base you will get. Just lightly sand the entire thing with 320, wipe it all with a wax/silicone remover, tack rag it, shoot the roof first , then come back and shoot the rest with your paint of choice. Buy a cheap palm orbital air sander and a roll of red 3m stik it paper (320) for it, its alot better than doing it all by hand.

I am set to paint my bus in 2.5 weeks. I was going to sand the bus down from it's factory finish and apply rust-oleum metal primer on most of it and then something else over the window skins. Should I sand it down as planned and then use this epoxy primer with an activator from Finish Master? I'm not great with the paint lingo so you'd have to explain in more detail how you'd do it and what you'd get. I then planned on sanding the primer again, applying a base coat, sanding that, applying a top coat, sanding that and then applying a clear coat and wet sanding/buffering that. I'm also not sure what type of paint to get now for the red I'm using. I figured outdoor rust-oleum paint would be good or a cheaper can from paintforcars?

Also, some of ya'll are suggesting that if the factory finish looks fine (it does) then there is no need to prime before I paint? Should I just sand then and apply this epoxy primer that kamoo speaks of? Would it work over galvanized metal though? As ya'll can see, I don't specialize in this but I'm up for the challenge.

 

[kamoo]

When you say galvanized, is it paint grip or actual straight galvanized metal?
Just scuff the factory finish using 320 grit paper. Just enough to take the shine off, or the oxidation. You only need to use the primer over the bare metal or body filler. BLP mobile paint (sold through paint dealers, Sweets in florida) is good and inexpensive. I want to say their synthetic enamel (what rustoleum is) is about $35/gallon with a hardener and keeps its gloss for about 1-2 years in the Florida sun which is really good for this type of paint. If you want to use rustoleum, go to a place, like finishmaster, and get some synthetic enamel hardener and some mixing cups and mix it on what the label says. It will help increase the shine and also make the paint more durable. Don't buy synthetic enamel from finishmaster, it doesnt seem to hold up as long and is relatively expensive there.
I just painted 2 busses over the past few weeks and used BLP urethane and it was only $73/gallon with the activator which is really cheap for a urethane paint. It is a good paint and holds up well.
You will probably need about 4 gallons to complete your bus. Don't forget to get a gallon of reducer and mix it per the label using the mixing cups.
If you want to paint your hatches also, get an aeresol can of Bulldog from finishmaster and spray it on the plastic before painting, it's an adhesion promoter.
Shoot the center of the roof first front to back, far enough over to reach the sides from a ladder. Then shoot the sides of the roof. When that is done move on from there. The roof will use about a gallon, maybe a little less.

 

[RUskoolietailgater]

When you say galvanized, is it paint grip or actual straight galvanized metal?
Don't forget to get a gallon of reducer and mix it per the label using the mixing cups.

It's just straight galvanized metal skins put up over our windows. If you look in my sig it's a link to my bus, click on page 2 I think and you can see pics of the metal. So I'd need to figure out what primer to cover the skins with. You said self-etching primer is no good. Also, after I sanded, should I wipe the area down with paint thinner or is that unnecessary? I understand the rest but what does a reducer do? I'll just buy a can or 2 or metal primer to prime over the bare metal and body fillers like you said. I can probably buy the rust-oleum cans for that. I understand the sanding obviously. I'm still split on where to buy the paint from (paintforcars/Finish Master/BLP Mobile Paint) I'll probably call around and ask.

 

[jkindt]

...Shoot the center of the roof first front to back, far enough over to reach the sides from a ladder. Then shoot the sides of the roof. When that is done move on from there. The roof will use about a gallon, maybe a little less.

I absolutely agree...do the center of the roof first. It allows you to get the hang of your setup without the risk of making a mistake in a highly visible area. Then when you go to do the rest you can either use a ladder as suggested, or build a scaffold to stand on. The scaffold is great because it doesn't touch the bus and you don't have to worry about the ladder scratching your freshly painted sides. Here's a pic of mine. It is 8ft long, 4ft high and 2ft wide, or something close to that....

 

[busdriver_phil]

An update to my rolled-on Rustoleum job. The second coat wasn't going down as evenly as I first thought. I could've done more coats, but I decided to try the next section rolling the Rustoleum full-strength without thinner. With the high-density foam roller, it still has minimal texture, and the color looks even after 2 coats. Now if it would just stop #*%ing raining, I could finish my silver (and fix the section I was doing when it started raining if it got screwed up).

 

[jkindt]

Don't forget the pics...

 

[Mintpony]

How many gallons of paint?

Does anyone know how many gallons of paint would be used for a 24ft bus? My dad is painting the bus for us, and we planned to start with a gallon and just order more the day of painting if we didn’t have enough... but now with the virus and everyone shutting down, our local paint shop won’t be open the day we plan to paint so we have to decide how much paint to get so we don’t run out. We are spraying, and we are priming first.

 

[shaymcquaid]

Call me a cheapskate...
YOU’RE A CHEAPSKATE!

I rolled on rustoleum in a can.
It’s more than satisfactory.

It’s really more like painting a metal building than a car. (I’ve painted cars too)

I personally feel that sanding and priming is overkill.
If you a building a showpiece that’s another thing...
Scuff (key) the surface with scotchbrite/wash with soap and water/roll your brains out/enjoy a beer while you admire your handiwork.

YMMV

 

[Mintpony]

Thanks for the reply! I’m wishing we did go the Rustoleum route! My dad is very particular how he does things, (and old school), so we are following his lead on this one. But I did mention the Rustoleum AFTER ordering our paint, and he said “oh that coulda worked”. ����* Ya win some, ya lose some... but I’m definitely going to have that beer! Your bus looks sharp!! ����

 

[Brad_SwiftFur]

My bus is about 24' and I bought a gallon of white. However, since I plan on more than one color, I don't foresee running out as being a problem, as the white is intended simply for the roof. It might be enough to cover the whole thing, or close to it.

 

[dwood443]

Call me a cheapskate...
YOU’RE A CHEAPSKATE!

I rolled on rustoleum in a can.
It’s more than satisfactory.

It’s really more like painting a metal building than a car. (I’ve painted cars too)

I personally feel that sanding and priming is overkill.
If you a building a showpiece that’s another thing...
Scuff (key) the surface with scotchbrite/wash with soap and water/roll your brains out/enjoy a beer while you admire your handiwork.[emoji41]

YMMV

I like this color. How did you come up with this? All the rust oleum paint I see are just basic colors

 

[Drew Bru]

I like this color. How did you come up with this? All the rustoleum paint I see are just basic colors

We used Rustoleum too. We played around with mixing colors from the 4oz cans until we found a blend we liked, then we scaled it up. It came out to more or less what we wanted. We didn't really like the stock colors so blended our own.

 

[farok]

I like this color. How did you come up with this? All the rust oleum paint I see are just basic colors

Looks like "Almond", which is what we plan to use as well!

Chris

 

[brokedown-SKO]

+1 for rustoleum!

 

[Mintpony]

Are you spraying or hand painting? Let me know how you make out!

 

[Native-SKO]

Call me a cheapskate...
YOU’RE A CHEAPSKATE!

I rolled on rustoleum in a can.
It’s more than satisfactory.

It’s really more like painting a metal building than a car. (I’ve painted cars too)

I personally feel that sanding and priming is overkill.
If you a building a showpiece that’s another thing...
Scuff (key) the surface with scotchbrite/wash with soap and water/roll your brains out/enjoy a beer while you admire your handiwork.��

YMMV

Wow, your roof raise looks even better with the paint and the RV windows installed! Great job.