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I bought a bus that someone had sprayed grey primer ontop of the yellow paint. Obviously not done perfectly because some of the paint is chipping off. The bus sat for four years, I want to paint it Red. What kind of primer, and paint should I use? Where should I get it, and how much it costs. This is a 32 passenger school bus, how many gallons?
Thank you for your help.
Rustoleum in the 1 gallon pail is all you need. It will take around 2-3 gallons of paint not including the primer. Rustoleum can be bought at walmart or homedepot for around $29 per gallon. It looks just like "automotive" paint but its $75 per gallon cheaper.
I used rustoleum gloss oil base on mine. The finish is very satisfactory. I purchased quarts as I needed them. Two tone. Almond & Teal. Surface prep is very important. You need to 'de-gloss' the underlying surface. Sanding, Sanding, Sanding. You don'tneed to remove all the paint, just the gloss surface finish. I used a 4" foam brush. This sounds crude, but this paint has a very good leveling property that levels out the brush marks. Two coats required. I used a thermal paint on the roof. Very satisfied. It has been 10 days since it hasn't gotten below zero here. I can easily heat the bus to mid 60's to work inside and still maintain the 6 - 8" snow cap on the roof. Snow melting only over the plastic roof vents.
Yes, I know that the 'brush painting' sounds terrible. I wish I could show you, the results are quite execptable.
I think that you will need a primer over any bare metal. If the original paint is adhered good, deglossed, and smooth, I think you can paint over it with out a primer. My thoughts only. I have no painting credentials other than personal experience.
I have a compressor and spray gun too. My problem with using them to paint the bus were:
I have no enclosure (garage) for the bus. To spray paint outdoors would require very rare weather in Minnesota. IE; no wind, not too hot, not too cold, not bright sun, not too many insects, no emminant rain, not too humid.
Also, the prep work is more intense for spray. Surface prep needs to be better, not as much 'leveling' of the paint. Taping & papering off area not to be painted would be large job. And, being outdoors, would require no rain or wind storms for many days in order to finish the job.
No matter how you do it, it is a huge job. There are places that will paint it for you. I only got one estimate to know that that was not going to be an option for me. To repaint my bus 'school bus' yellow....$4,000 - $5,000.
Good luck.
Remember, it is all fun!
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