need info please on Spray Foam & Painting

[onemule]

Hello all, I have been off the air for some time now due too lack of internet service, A few questions if i may please !! I want to bring my bus back to So. Calif - Orange county area but will go any where if need be, my bus is in boulder City which is way too hot this time of year, I have finally finished gutting it , bath included, why i purchased it with one ?/ Wish someone would have advised me. where can i have the ceiling foam insulaated?? and also can one advise me on what they think of taking the bus to Mexico to get it painted , why i thought this !!! maybe much cheaper, but dont want the earl Scheib paint job. what also are the best books for how to on conversions with all info , elec, plumb, cabinets , etc.  Thank You all ---- Randalll

[JackConrad]

Randall,
    Living in Fl. (it's HOT down here too), I can't help you with a place for the bus or foam insulation.  I have seen several reports on the BB from people that had buses painted in Mexico and were pleased with the results. For books on converting, Dave Galey has several that are available through the Bus Conversions Magazine  Look in Advertisers Index Winlock Galey. George Myers also has several very good books available through Bus Conversions Magazine. Look in Advertisers Index Epic Conversions.  All of these books cover the various aspects of converting a bus, but are not step by step manuals, since every conversion is done differently.  And Welcome back to the BB.  Jack

[El-Sonador]

Hey Randall...

I don't know what kind of paint job you are looking for, But there are a lot of very, very talented Graffiti Artist around, and with a little direction and the proper paint... These guys & gals could do an amazing job at a very reasonable price.

If you are looking for something special and affordable that is...


Steve

[Busted Knuckle]

Randall,
    Living in Fl. (it's HOT down here too), I can't help you with a place for the bus or foam insulation.    And Welcome back to the BB.  Jack

???Jack I'm confused I thought I'd heard you were the one who had a connection for getting the spray foam done reasonable, am I confusing you with someone else? I don't recall who but I thought someone on here or BNO had said you got it done for 'm for like 1/2 what they could got it doen for! If not sorry my bad, sometimes my memory is as short as I am! BK 

[JackConrad]

I have a couple sorces to do sprayfoam, but Randall said he was in S. Cal.  I don't think he would want to bring his bus to FL for sprayfoam.  Sometimes what I write doesn't come out the way I thunk it.  Jack

[Busted Knuckle]

I have a couple sorces to do sprayfoam, but Randall said he was in S. Cal.  I don't think he would want to bring his bus to FL for sprayfoam.  Sometimes what I write doesn't come out the way I thunk it.  Jack

Ok Jack, I was the one not thunk'n I didn't realize he was look'n for a place in So. CA I just thought he was look'n in general, and I also thought all you guys who had the time and $ to do conversions could afford to pack up and go across country at a moments notice to get an ice cream cone from a particular ice cream stand just cause you could! LOL! Ok maybe the ice cream was a little over board! LOL! BK

[Ace]

Hey Jack, did you go to the source I mentioned to you years ago here in Lakeland? If so, I forgot all about that! I hope they did you good! Hey, now that I think about it, that makes two things I turned you on to!

By the way, still no lights yet! Sure you don't want to get rid of those ones you have!

Ace

[JackConrad]

Yes, I used the place in Lakeland, and sent several other buses to him.  Actually you have have helped me in more than 2 ways. In addition to the foam, there was the flooring and the Bussin' Rallies.  I think it might be hard to explain to the 102 owner what happened to the lights he paid for LOL.  Jack

[JohnEd]

Guys

Don't throw things at me now.  I painted a Winniebago ten years ago with the "cheapest" auto paint(NASON) I could find.  It was beige.  I painted it outside the the front doors of a friend's BARN after I went through the extreme measure of spraying the dirt with a garden hose to hold down the dust.  I elected a "no wind" time of day in the early morning before my usual wake-up.  9:30am!  Took around 25 minutes to shoot.  Took forever to sand repair and mask.  3 Days of not so hard work.  Thirty foot long coach.

I still have that 1973 Winniebago and it still shines brightly since the 1993 repaint.  The vertical sides, that is.  With no wax and washing only by rain, the horizontal surfaces are seriously dulled and have been since the paint job was 5 years old.  Lives in Oregon without all that S. Cal. uv.  Except the roof, there isn't a whole lot of horizontal surface on the average MCI-9.  I would only do that surface with an EMRON quality bright white and I wouldn't much care if it had some dust or insects in it to marr the finish.

The EMRON stripes still shine also.  As do the Sherwin williams stripes.  And, the Dupont highlite.  Thank goodness for those left over cans of paint he kept in the refridge in the shop.  The "hole" thing cost me less than $200.

It can be done.

Be happy and safe

John Ed   

[bruceknee]

I don't know if you want to take a long ride...... but you can get your bus foamed here in Delaware for $900.I might be able to find a painter also

[onemule]

deleware haa.ha, im first applying for a visa in case i decide to keep on going further on down into Mexico, not sure  what im going to do , will play it by ear , thanks for all your humor as always. Randall

[jjrbus]

For the foam, check the phone book, first for truck repair, some of the ones that do trailers do spray foam (refrigerated trailers) second would be commercial roofing companys. They spray foam  roofs. And of course insulation companys! I paid $1000 5 years ago for a MCI5C.
I had the bottom of my motorhome painted in Mexico several years ago. You have to go far into Mexico to save any money. Border towns, border prices! The estimates in AZ were about $800 in Mexico I paid $500.    With the cost of fuel it may not be economical, but coupled with a vacation it could be worthwhile.
                                                                        Work?/Play safely Jim

[TomC]

On spray foaming- After I stripped the interior, repaired a couple of cracks, and painted the entire interior with Rustoleum, I then lined the entire interior with 1x2 fir strips screwed right to the uprights and ceiling bows.  This created a thicker wall and have something to anchor the walls and ceilings to.  I then had a mobil foaming service come in (I don't think they are still in business-used to advertise in Bus Conversion Mag, but haven't seen them in a long time) and do the foaming.  They used the hot foam method where they have a two part mix that is mixed at the spray gun.  Neat to watch, comes out looking like engine oil then quickly turns off white and expands.  It is a NASTY job that is very toxic and stinky-so much so that the two guys spraying had their own resparators that they made.  Each had an old Kirby upright vacuum head outside the warehouse running with the hose on the pressure side feeding fresh air to a helmet.  Not even trying to wear a resparator.  I was wearing a resparator and could smell the spray foam through it!  They started at 9pm and finished at 7am (to work when it was coolest).  They ground the foam down to the level of the 1x2's and cleaned up everything.. Well worth the $1,600 they charged-and would do it again the same way!
As to having the bus painted in Mex, they may do a good job, but what are you going to do if you have a problem with the paint-go back down there?  I had my bus painted in L.A. area.  There was some body work to be done, revits to replace and etching bare aluminum to be painted.  Did my own graphics and they did all the work.  Wasn't cheap ($11k) but after six years still looks new.  I have a couple of boo-boos I have to get fixed and will take it back to the same shop.  Good Luck, TomC