01ThomasMVP
Advanced Member
Hello everyone!
I joined this forum awhile back when I purchased our school bus and haven't updated our progress on here since. It's been going good and we haven't ran into much issues. Until recently.
We bought some 20 Gauge sheet metal from a local metal shop and had it cut to size before we went and picked it up. We took it home and immediately began installing them onto our bus. We removed all the original bus windows and completely covered every window space. We then cut out holes to fit in our used RV windows that we got from an old RV.
Then we were ready to paint... and this is where the issue begins. We decided to paint the whole bus a flat white, then in the future we were planning on adding some color to it. For the roof we bought a 5 gallon bucket of Henry Solar-Flex White Elastomeric Roof Coating. We put 3 coats on the roof using a roller until I felt it was a nice thick coverage. Then I had an idea that maybe wasn't the best. I thought that since we still have over half of the 5 gallon of Henry left, lets just cover the whole bus with it! Then it'll be really cool in there right?
So maybe some of you have realized from my description and the pictures.. THE SHEET METAL HAS NOT BEEN PRIMED!!! And better yet, the Henry Roof Coating is water based!
So yeah, here we are with the issue. I got surface rust spots coming out from underneath the paint pretty much everywhere on the sheet metal.
I panicked a bit, and tried to stop the rust by covering it with Rustoleum Protective Enamel, but the rust is bleeding through that as well.
Here is what I am thinking my options are:
1. I completely start over again. Remove the sheet metal. Sand off all of the paint. Sand off all the surface rust. Use some sort of rust inhibitor, neutralizer, or encapsulator on the rust spots. PROPERLY PRIME SHEET METAL. Re-install sheets.
2. Spot Check. Keep sheet metal on bus, sand off areas with surface rust, use inhibitor, neutralizer, or encapsulator as best I can. Sand the whole thing down and cover the whole thing with a nice oil based paint and primer.(I will not be able to reach underneath the screws or the rain guard)
Some questions:
Will the surface rust continue to grow and eventually become a major issue?
Is there any other way for me to stop this surface rust from growing without having to completely strip the paint?
Does anyone think I will have an issue with using screws instead of rivets? I used the screws that were holding the ceiling up on the inside of the bus.
Does the parts of the sheet metal that are not rusting need to be primed?
Do I need to prime the sheets from the inside of the bus even though they will be covered with insulation?
Am I overthinking this? The surface rust seems to not be spreading as much anymore even though it has been raining.
Thank you all for any help and advice.
I joined this forum awhile back when I purchased our school bus and haven't updated our progress on here since. It's been going good and we haven't ran into much issues. Until recently.
We bought some 20 Gauge sheet metal from a local metal shop and had it cut to size before we went and picked it up. We took it home and immediately began installing them onto our bus. We removed all the original bus windows and completely covered every window space. We then cut out holes to fit in our used RV windows that we got from an old RV.
Then we were ready to paint... and this is where the issue begins. We decided to paint the whole bus a flat white, then in the future we were planning on adding some color to it. For the roof we bought a 5 gallon bucket of Henry Solar-Flex White Elastomeric Roof Coating. We put 3 coats on the roof using a roller until I felt it was a nice thick coverage. Then I had an idea that maybe wasn't the best. I thought that since we still have over half of the 5 gallon of Henry left, lets just cover the whole bus with it! Then it'll be really cool in there right?
So maybe some of you have realized from my description and the pictures.. THE SHEET METAL HAS NOT BEEN PRIMED!!! And better yet, the Henry Roof Coating is water based!
So yeah, here we are with the issue. I got surface rust spots coming out from underneath the paint pretty much everywhere on the sheet metal.
I panicked a bit, and tried to stop the rust by covering it with Rustoleum Protective Enamel, but the rust is bleeding through that as well.
Here is what I am thinking my options are:
1. I completely start over again. Remove the sheet metal. Sand off all of the paint. Sand off all the surface rust. Use some sort of rust inhibitor, neutralizer, or encapsulator on the rust spots. PROPERLY PRIME SHEET METAL. Re-install sheets.
2. Spot Check. Keep sheet metal on bus, sand off areas with surface rust, use inhibitor, neutralizer, or encapsulator as best I can. Sand the whole thing down and cover the whole thing with a nice oil based paint and primer.(I will not be able to reach underneath the screws or the rain guard)
Some questions:
Will the surface rust continue to grow and eventually become a major issue?
Is there any other way for me to stop this surface rust from growing without having to completely strip the paint?
Does anyone think I will have an issue with using screws instead of rivets? I used the screws that were holding the ceiling up on the inside of the bus.
Does the parts of the sheet metal that are not rusting need to be primed?
Do I need to prime the sheets from the inside of the bus even though they will be covered with insulation?
Am I overthinking this? The surface rust seems to not be spreading as much anymore even though it has been raining.
Thank you all for any help and advice.
