Bus-Kote?

[Mike in GA]

Met a fellow at a recent BusNuts rally in Charleston who had applied Bus-Kote to his roof, and who was very pleased with the resulting lower inside temps in summer.
     Seems that I remember the product being discussed here before, but didn't see much in the archives.
     Not cheap - $40. per gallon and you'd need about 5 for a double coat.
     Any satisfied customers out there?
Mike in GA

[Utahclaimjumper]

Many years ago my wife applied two coats of Kool Seal (Available at Home Depot) on the roof of my 06. Applied with a roller, two coats only took one gallon of sealer>>>Dan

[Iceni John]

I recently completely repainted my roof using the Hy-Tech Thermacels ceramic insulation powder (the same as in Bus-Kote) mixed into Rustoleum gloss white enamel.   While I had half the roof painted I could definitely feel the difference inside between the half that had been painted with the ceramic insulation and the half that only had plain white Rustoleum primer.   Some folk say that it gives ten degrees lower interior temperatures  - I can well believe that.   I used enough powder for two gallons, and that covered almost 400 sq.ft. with two coats.   Interestingly, Hy-Tech says that one gallon of their Bus-Kote will cover only 125-150 sq.ft.

However, I think that having a gloss white shiny paint will also help a lot by itself.   This was one reason I chose to use Rustoleum instead  -  the ready-mixed insulating paints I've seen have more of a matte appearance.   Wouldn't they reflect less sunlight than a more glossy paint surface?

John 

[lvmci]

Hi John, did you use a roller? What did you guys use to take off the old paint Lvmci...

[Iceni John]

I used short-nap 4" rollers for everything.   Taking the old paint off, well, that's another story!   I used a hot-air gun and a 2" putty knife, and countless wire wheels around the 1638 rivets (yes, I was bored one day).   Many days in the hot sun  - at least I got a good tan from it.   I couldn't use anything faster or easier because I was doing this project in the RV yard with high-dollar RVs parked a few feet from me.   When down to bare aluminum, I hand-sanded with 80-grit, wiped down with acetone-based degreaser, rolled on Mar-Hyde 5113 self-etching primer, recaulked every seam with Loctite S40, then Rustoleum clean-metal primer, then two coats of Rustoleum gloss white with Thermacels, then two additional coats of plain Rustoleum to give a smooth finish.   Lots of work!

John

[wdtjawshwdt]

Iceni John you should really make this project sound easier.   You could have said "Just used a hot air gun and putty knife, the rest is history"   

[Iceni John]

Aren't "easy" and "bus conversion" mutually-exclusive terms?   I've learnt that all my bus projects merely vary by degree of back-breaking or Sysiphustian* difficulty!   I've also learnt that no project, however small it initially seems, ever costs less than $100 in parts  -  just today I bought some DOT air brake tubing and fittings to replumb part of my accessories air system:  $180 for fifty feet of plastic tube and a handful of brass whatnots!   And we do this for fun?

* I just invented that word.   I'll license it to any other busnuts who need it.

John

[lvmci]

Nice word, whats it mean, lvmci...

[wdtjawshwdt]

I like this word "Sysiphustian".  I have started ever portion of my bus project "This should be easy"  And then it usually ends that project incomplete because i opened another pandora's box that starts another "easy" project.   Amazing how that works.   

[Iceni John]

Wikipedia talks of "consigning Sisyphus to an eternity of useless efforts and unending frustration".   Yup, that's often how I feel!   Painting the roof was more tedious than frustrating, but trying to understand the DDEC troubleshooting manual and schematics is definitely like Wikipedia says.   

There was no way I could take shortcuts with the roof project  -  some of the original paint had lifted entirely and the remainder was badly cracked, so I had to get down to clean bare aluminum.   Rolling the final top coats on was the easiest part.

John

[wg4t50]

I am wondering if the Bus Kote has been installed long enough to provide a happy out come, reason For the question, I have been told that Bus Kote is under investigation by the FTC.
So have my ears up for the out cone
Dave M

[Skykingrob]

3 years ago, I had a body shop paint strip then paint my roof using Sikkens brite white mixed with the thermocel beads that John mentions. I have nothing to base it against since I didn't do any temperature experiments before and after so it is anyone's guess if it really works but on a brite sunny day I can hold my hand on the roof rafters without getting burned-for what that is worth. BTW, I paid the body shop $2200 for the labor and paint. They used a spray guns with a nozzle size supplied by the bead company. While it is brite white, it is shinier than matte but not as shiny as gloss and it is slightly textured. I thought it might be a problem keeping clean but it easily washes with just garden hose pressure at 50 psi.

Rob
91 Prevost LeMirage 40
Missouri

[wg4t50]

Rob,
That sounds about like what was put on my roof using the glass beads was told it was for traction to keep from sliding off the roof.   So maybe there are two benefits to that stuff.
No idea of the cost, it was done to my 36' fiberglass coach when I had the full body paint done that included the slide, other things were included in the total charge of about $25,500.00  Hate to say, but I do not recall the exact cost, but was in that area. The paint used was BASF Glasuric (the German version) on the body, would assume they used some version of BASF on the snow white roof with the glass mixed in.
Painting & body work was by Xtreme Paint & Graphics in Nacodogches, Tx
Dave M

[shelled]

The glass or ceramic beads are hollow, some air filled, some vacuum 'filled.' They were developed for aerospace uses.  Aircraft builders use them as lightweight filler for bondo.

Masco, located near NASA in Houston has a lot of good information about different formulations for thermal and/or acoustic barrier coatings with advice on selection and application.

edward

[Merlin]

......
Painting & body work was by Xtreme Paint & Graphics in Nacodogches, Tx
Dave M

Had my bus painted there too.  They did the roof with the glass beads in the same color paint as the majority of the bus.  The result is a slightly rough texture which I appreciate when I'm on the roof walking around.  As to being cooler, I think it is better but have no "before" readings.  By the way, the Xtreme paint guys did a great job.  I stopped in last year to have them touch up a "driver induced flaw" (big scratch).  I figured they would buff it out and clear coat, but nooo ... they repainted the entire area, repaired the graphics, and double clear coated.  Good to go until another stop sign attacks me.