Ready to paint...Questions

[Danny]

I am getting ready to paint the bus.  Don't know whether to prime and paint over old paint or strip old paint and start fresh.  What pros/cons with striping the paint to the metal?  Any particular concerns?  What brand striper works best?  Is there a problem with new paint sticking to metal after striping?

Thanks - as always!

Danny

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Danny,

First, what paint is on the bus now?  If you sand or strip to baer metal, be sure to use self etching primer on the stainless and aluminum

or you will be painting it again in a few months. Then overcoat with a quality sealer/primer.

If you decide to leave the orriginal paint on, I would sand/feather it very smooth and still use the self etching primer because, you will still have some

bear spots that need etching anyway. Then overcoat with the sealer.

Good Luck
Nick-

[Jerry32]

If you have the original paint on the bus it was painted with imron which is a two part paint and high quality so trying to remove it might be a job. just make sure you clean it well getting all the wax or silicones off and as nick  says use a sealer which does a jobe of adhering to the old paint so the new will stick too.   Jerry

[HighTechRedneck]

This is something that I have been starting to think about too.  As the current (original) paint is still well bonded, I am planning to paint over it, stripping paint only in a couple spots that need repair.  It is an RTS so most of the external exposure is fiberglass/composite.  What products do you recommend for stripping wax and sealing.

On a related note, parts of the striping and logo were decals that have been on many years and are very well bonded to the underlying paint.  Any thoughts on best way to remove them to prepare for painting?

[82 MCI-9]

I' am getting ready to do the same thing and i went to these forums very helpful and a lot of profesionals kind of like this board.

Autobodystore.com     or Autobody101.com.

[skipn]

HightechRedneck

    A 1500 watt hairdryer has worked fairly well for me. A paint heat gone works faster but can get too hot for the underlying paint.
3M makes a hand grinder (or drill) wheel that is designed for removing decals.

Skip

[Danny]

Thanks guys for the ideas.....  The original is still in tack.  However, it has been painted over since new.  This is the layer of paint that looks the worse.  What I can see of the original looks good and solid.

I used a hair dryer and a steamer to get off the decals....

Danny

[zimtok]

I have already talked to several people I know that paint cars about removing the paint on my bus. Everyone I talked to said to have it soda blasted.

Stippers are messy and are not easy to clean up for a big job like a bus. The chemicals can also cause damage to other parts.


.

[Ross]

The soda blaster quoted me $900 to blast the bottom of my boat.  At those prices a bus could cost a few thousand.  There's nothing wrong with going over the old paint as long as the old paint is in good shape.  If it's chipping and peeling, it probably does not have a good base and should be stripped to the metal...Otherwise, sand it and paint it.  You could seal it, but you don't really need to.

Ross