Looking for a good Imron paintjob, any idea who I should use?

[lv2rescue]

HI,
I'm located in South. California. I want to get a good paint job on my MC8. Years ago Imron was some pretty amazing stuff. Anyone have an idea of somewhere, possibly outside California due to the restrictions, I can get and Imron job done or equally high quality paint ? Thanks in advance

[Busted Knuckle]

HI,
I'm located in South. California. I want to get a good paint job on my MC8. Years ago Imron was some pretty amazing stuff. Anyone have an idea of somewhere, possibly outside California due to the restrictions, I can get and Imron job done or equally high quality paint ? Thanks in advance

From what I know you are luckyier than most of us! Being in South California you can go due south and get a good Imron job done cheap! If any of us want one bad enough we got's to travel all the way to where you are then go south! Or find someone who has a stash stock hidden somewhere and is willing to bend the laws for you (not usually too cheap!)
  BK 

[Paladin]

Many, many things have changed since the hey days of Imron although it' still really good. I've heard tell that there was someone in Colorado who would spray a bus or rv for cheap. Waiting line is long though.

I plan to do my own using a booth that my local paint store owner can line me up with, says he knows a guy who has a large truck booth with an oven who would let me use it for next to nothing..........that is if he is still alive in the next century when I need it.

I'm going to use mis mixed paint, the stuff where it gets sold at 50%  because it doesn't spec out perfectly or is unclaimed. I gotta tell the guy what colors and type I want and he'll 'mis mix' them for me. 

[luvrbus]

If you are looking for a real good paint job call Mike Wilson @541-343-8411 he will do it anyway you what like you prep and he will paint or he will do the complete job 1 color or 10 He painted for Marathon and John Starr for years.i have seen some good jobs come out of Algodones but  the ones lately are not that great and he wants his money up front and in Mexico that means you get what you get.Mike is located in Eugene OR

[Songman]

Where in SoCal are you? I don't know about Imron, but I would suggest you contact Art Wales about paint in SoCal. He had his Eagle painted not all that long ago. He could probably point you in the right direction. art at webcove dot com

[JohnEd]

I have had Imron paint jobs in the past and they were spectacular.  Silver was my fav and I got rave reviews on the road and lots of thumbs-up.  OK, it was a sports car.  Imron degassed some particularly nasty stuff and Ca. abolished it for the safty of the painters but the air quality is always a driving factor there.  The two stage paint I see today has all the asthetic beauty of the old Imron.  I don't think the new stuff is as durable as Imron as it was developed for painting comercial aircraft.  I am though pretty sure it will outlast me.

I said this before, paint it yourself. Shoot it early in the morning when there is no wind.  The real pain is masking it off and the sanding prep.  It costs more to paint a bus than raise the roof of a 9...go figure.  There is no prob with the sides as they don't collect dust.  I think the degassing actually flushes the sides while it is setting up as I don't have a speck anywhere.  The roof will collect dust but it is white and nobody can see that anyway.  Nason single stage and monochrome(no metal) was the absolute cheapest junk I could buy in 1993 when I painted my S&S.  It still shines and I have waxed it maybe twice.  I think I had $150 into that job and that didn't include
the $36 cheap(but good) paint gun.  No one told me that it was possible to get a good job, that was my budget as I took care of my Dad for 4 years and that depleted my reserves, but I did it anyway on spec.  You have the edge in that regard.  Read a book on autobody.  Note: if you are painting any aluminum...use all of that prep/sealer/etcher / whatever they say you should regardless of how unnecessary it might seem.  Galvanized, also. Read up and talk to painters.  I wouldn't suggest this if it hadn't worked out so well for me and I shot mine outside a barn in the dirt...I kid you not.  Sprayed the dirt down with a hose prior to shooting as instructed by the painter....no problem and the "booth" did not fill up with fumes or need a filter change.

Best wishes on your project,

John

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi luv2rescue,

luvrbus mentions Mike Wilson. A very well known name in the coach and entertainment sector for great paint jobs.

2 years ago, I was in the same boat as you looking for an emron paint job. After being better informed, turns out that emron

is the paint of the past. Base coat- clear coat- urathatne is the top notch coating today. That's what I choose. I'm amazed

on how hard of a coating it is. And very short cureing time.

After interviewing many companys, even on the west coast, I contracted with Dick Cahill at Star Jet Paint Columbus OH.

Dick and Ken Starr were parteners in Star Jet for many years until Ken went to Marathon.

Star Jet by Dick Cahill
3235 McKinley Ave.
Columbus, Ohio 43204
614-488-6764 phone
614-488-6784 fax
www.starjetbuspainting.com/index.shtml

Good Luck with this endever
Nick-

[luvrbus]

you may also try the Paint Dept in Chino Ca @800-544-5033

[lv2rescue]

Great info everybody, thanks for your time on this topic. I'll call the folks you have suggested and see what I can come up with.

[RTS/Daytona]

had my RTS painted by the inmates of the Volusia County Tomoka Correction Facility (Near Daytona Florida)

They have 2 HUGE $$$$$$ State of the Art paint booths

PRIDE - Heavy Vehicle maintenance shop

http://www.pride-enterprises.org/wel_heavy_vehicle.aspx

My RTS is only 35' - I estimated the surface area to be preped and painted to be 750 sg ft.

They would have done the surface prep - But I wanted to do it - I should have let them do it - They do a better job - When I dropped off the bus - the prep was not up to there standard - they re-did many areas to there satisfaction - they are really good

The RTS was painted with PPG Ommi paint (color/ clear coat)

1 gal MP170 epoxy primer
1 qts MP175 epoxy primer hardener

5 qts MD180 2k sealer
1 qts MH166 sealer slow hardener

4 gal MBC 33766a Acrylic Basecoat (light Pewter)
1 gal MBC 33764B Acrylic Basecoat (dark Pewter)
5 gal MR187 slow reducer

5 gal MC161 High Solids clear uretance Clear
5 qts mh168 slow topcoat hardener

1 pnt MX193 Flex additive
1 pnt MX194 Fisheye remover


Yeild --> Approx 3 coats color - 4-5 coats clear


The paint cost approx $1200
The labor $2150 

They also reblacked all my window trim and painted the low gloss black sloping design

ask for Sam Funicello or Dave Lasizza 386 254-3916

They will also do conversion work - shell out - interiors - etc

[JohnEd]

RTS,

Great post!

Thank you,

John

[uncle ned]

for a star jet paint job   look at huggy bear's picture at kyle's non-rally

uncle ned

[Gary W]

Try  Manuel Amador in Algodones Mexico, When I got my bus painted there in February they were painting 4 other buses. I think he works with Imron. Great work I met a fellow from Seattle area that had a Flixable painted there 7 years  ago and it looked great. Manuel   speaks very good English this his Arizona cell number.928 503 0400 .


Gary