Has anyone used this on the top of their bus? I came across their site, and it seems to be highly recommeded, but I am always leary unless I hear an unbiased review. I know the top of the one we have now lets a lot of heat in, but, our new one will be much better insulated. It is quite expensive, just wondering if it is worth the cost. We want to make every effort to insulate the new one, in any way we can. We are going to have the inside done with the blown in insulation. Anyhow, if anyone knows anything about it, info is appreciated. Any extra tips on doing the new one right is apprec. too. ;D I know I have been full of questions lately, but I know you all have lots of experience doing this, so, what better place to ask for help?
I have the ceramic bead powder from these guys in the clear Kote on mine. If i do it again, i will get the white paint with it in it and then clear coat.
http://www.hytechsales.com/prod2150.html (http://www.hytechsales.com/prod2150.html)
My bus does not get too terribly hot sitting(90's) in the sun (not scientific). White has biggest factor by essentially taking radiant heat out of the equation. My bus is not spray foamed either. So I need all the help I can get. It did not cost much to add it to the paint, about 60 bucks for a bag with shipping and all.
I talked to them about a year ago. Dont really remember what all they said now. They recommeded we spray the ceramic coating on the top. But, I remember it being very expensive. Does adding some to the paint do as well? We already planned on painting the top white anyway, and as i said it will be well insulated. Just wondering if the expense is worth it. I know they recommend it be spayed on with certain kind of airless sprayers. Since we are in the bus so much, making it comfortable is important. If it is insulated really well, we were also wondering if 2- 14 or 16,000 btu airs would be enough to keep it cool. We are mainly in the SE region, so mid 90s are about the hottest temps we are in. The bus we are in now, doesnt have any insulation, and it has 3 units, but we most of the time we only run 2 units. Thanks for the info.
Ruthi,
I was very skeptical of the claims made by hawkers of ceramic ball infuse paint. However, I took a chance used HyTech Bus Cote and was quite astounded. I swore it was noticeably cooler part way through the process. A couple days after applying the second coat, my wife came out to the bus and commented on how much nicer it felt inside. She didn't know the paint on the roof was suposed to insulate, so I felt it was my independent conformation.
I can say there is quite a difference in temperature when feeling the roof frame opposed to the wall frame. The roof would fell slightly above ambient and the wall frame was almost too hot to touch. I don't have a high-tech inferred gadget so it's all subjective.
I've been told there are several people marketing roof coats with similar results. I choose these guys 'cuz of their NASA connection and yes price.
*yes i'm a geek*
Matt
I too use Bus-Kote. It is great stuff. I also have 2 coats on my ceiling.
Jerry
Well, i guess that confirms it that it is worth it. I will ck them out. TC ceramics was the first place I cked out.
I guess this is something that you put in your paint, rather than a substance that is sprayed on? Is it in all of the paint, or just the white you put on the top?
The hytech folks have both. I was in a pinch because of misunderstanding(painters and credit issues :o) so I had to opt for the bag of beads to put in the paint. I originally wanted the Buskote with the bead and then the Elastomeric Clearkote. You can add more bead to the clearKote.
We just did some research on tc ceramics, and talked to someone there to. It seems to be the best. It is used in the idustrial field a lot, but they said it is perfect for bus conversions too. It holds up the heat to 500F. Of course we dont need to worry about that much heat, but, it sounds good. They say if you spray the top of bus, the interior,etc. you dont need to insulate any further. Also,it works good in the gen department,and insulation in the engine compartment. It works against moisture, heat, and sound. They said it will be about 2000.00 for it all. Also, they recommeded putting on the top of the windsheild, where we will be building compartments.