How much paint does it take to paint a 45 foot bus ? What kind of paint ?

[someguy]

How much paint does it take to paint a 45 foot bus ?  Assume the bus is a white J4500 or H3-45 and properly prepped.   

What kind of paint are people using these days ?   Any thoughts on Eastwood single stage urethane ?  Spray a clear coat over it for some UV protection ?

Thanks

[silversport]

on my 35 coach it took 1 gallon each Elastomeric White Roof Coating & clearcoat for the roof. Went with three color so bought three gallons each maybe a quart left in each, 1 1/4 gallon of clearcoat. Use PPG auto acrylic urethane

[chessie4905]

If you apply a clear coat, be sure to do recommended pre prep. Common to have clearcoat peeling if done wrong. Imron was the best several years ago. Our 04 was painted with it, looked just as nice 20 yers later. Don't know if it is around anymore.

[lostagain]

Chewy is an auto body/painter in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. We talked about painting my bus a couple of years ago. He goes to San Diego, CA to buy Imron paint (you just can't use it in CA, but you can buy it). He quoted me $5000 to do my bus. Oh and he is good. I have seen his work.

[Glennman]

on my 35 coach it took 1 gallon each Elastomeric White Roof Coating & clearcoat for the roof. Went with three color so bought three gallons each maybe a quart left in each, 1 1/4 gallon of clearcoat. Use PPG auto acrylic urethane

I've see pictures of your bus before. I absolutely love the silver and charcoal colors. If I ever paint mine, that's what I'm going with.

[someguy]

Thanks for the replies.

$5000 is pretty reasonable.  Is that a single color or ?

[Bubbiebus]

I'm in the auto collision repair industry. I don't do complete bus paint jobs but can answer any technical questions if you decide to tackle it yourself.

[Jim Blackwood]

So... 8 or 9 gallons plus roof paint plus clear coat? Is that what we're looking at? No wonder red isn't used much.

Jim

[luvrbus]

I'm in the auto collision repair industry. I don't do complete bus paint jobs but can answer any technical questions if you decide to tackle it yourself.

I bet a cold one you would not paint a 45ft x 13ft tall for 5000 bucks you cannot buy the base coat and clear coat for 5000 bucks lol I had a key mark painted on a bay door and I took the door to the guy and paid $790.00 good paint jobs are not cheap   

[mqbus767]

I'm in the auto collision repair industry. I don't do complete bus paint jobs but can answer any technical questions if you decide to tackle it yourself.

Thanks for offering your time and expertise! I  have lots of questions. (Hope you're not sorry you asked)

I'm planning on painting our bus. The local shops have quoted starting points of $10,000. With all the work involved in a professional paint job, I'm not surprised. I've painted cars before, but with mixed results, so hoping you can steer in a good direction. First, I'll be painting outside, so keep that in mind. Our bus is a 45' MCI 102 DL3. I have access to a large air compressor, air line dryer, paint sprayer and other various bits and pieces for automotive body work and painting.

* Any tips for making sanding easier? I have an old pnuematic, but given that I'll hopefully have several people helping should I obtain something else? Orbital DA?
* The bus has some stickers on it from it's metro life. It also has some house paint that was slopped on it just before going to auction to hide the stickers. (Guess they didn't want anyone to mistake me for Houston Metro ) Any tips for removing the stickers and the gloppy house paint?
* What sort of sanding schedule do you recommend? What grit should I be targeting for my final pass?
* Do you recommend a certain wash before sanding/painting? Degreasers?
* What type of paint should I be using to paint outdoors? (I'll probably go with a blue, or white with some sort of accent color. I'm unlikely to go with black or dark earth tones)
* I've seen some people use airless sprayers. Is that recommended for outdoor paint jobs? It seems they can use the paint more efficiently.
* I have aluminum skinned sides that have only a single coat of etching primer on them to prevent water staining. What prep work should I do on the Al to make sure paint sticks well?
* Considering that prep and body work will take several days, how long can I get away with between final sanding and first primer? If it rains in between what do I need to do?
* I've seen some owners use a textured paint (almost like a bed liner or Rhino coat). Can you advise on the pros/cons of something like that?
* I'm sure each paint has specific environmental tolerances, but can you give me parameters on temperature/humidity?
* When I go to paint, would it be best to paint early in the day and let the sun bake the paint or is there a better time of day?
* Should I attempt to prime/paint the bus in an entire day or break it up over several days?
* Do you have an opinion on vinyl wrapping a vehicle as big as a bus? Would there be any advantage/danger to painting the bus a basic paint and then covering it or accenting it with vinyl?

Thanks Bubbie!

[buswarrior]

Painting outside, the field of fire downwind can bankrupt you...

Painting the neighbour's property, or HER car...

Be careful!!

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[luvrbus]

Airless spray is not good for painting automotive type paints they are ok for 35 bucks a gal implement paint from Tractor Supply.A bus is a lot of work to paint to get paint job that looks good from 200 ft.
I couldn't tackle the job myself so I had Mike Wilson paint my Eagle>The DYI paint jobs do not need the high dollar paint guns the Pro's use it blows you away the thousands of dollars they pay for a paint gun

[Jim Blackwood]

I have a cousin who regularly painted cars outdoors. His secret was to paint in the morning before the bugs woke up. The trick of course is to keep the dew from falling on the bus the night before. Can't exactly just pull it out of the garage.

HF sells some decent guns. I think they also have a paint pot. If it's like the ones I've seen it'll take a 1 gallon paint can or hold 3 gallons or so without the can. I might consider loaning you mine. I think it's a Binks but it's old.

I got a Milwaulkee 18v orbital that I like rather well With the big battery it goes just about as long as you would want to without a break. Switch batteries and go again. HF has discs for it.

Overspray is not a joke. Distance and dead air are your friends.

Those swoopy patterns still seem popular, I just wonder what could be done with red as a base... With a well thought out design you might be able to cover all the bad spots using the existing color as a base and then shoot the whole thing in clearcoat.

Jim

[windtrader]

Based on the questions, it seems you have a big learning curve and not sure a big bus is the place to start. What I suggest you do is check Yvan LaCroix cruiser. He painted with that bedliner type stuff and its been a couple years. I thgink he's still happy with it.
If that suits you, it is by far the quickest and most acceptable looking finish. I would NOT do base/clear as this will show nearly every imperfection, meaning a huge amount of prep = time and labor.

The bedlinger is matte so most all slight imperfections won't be noticable and I am pretty sure the prep will  be less too. Good luck

[Jim Blackwood]

Don's right about the base/clear. But, that nice glossy finish does make just about anything look better. Sorta depends on how much of a perfectionist you are I guess. No question a single stage paint is the easiest. I was just thinking if you wanted to avoid a complete base coat respray that would bring the gloss back to the existing color and you could just concentrate on the accents. A very light pass with fine grit would be all you need to make the clear stick.

Jim