Aw, Crap.

 Uncategorized  Comments Off on Aw, Crap.
Oct 042010
 

Between the cold night and laying on the Ospho a little thick, I ended up with a lot of the powder byproduct.  Well, that and I was applying it to galvanized metal.  In a couple of dents, the product pooled and it is not yet fully dry.  So today will not be a day of painting.

I worked a ways using a scrub brush, but I’ve decided to get a new brush attachment for the drill to clean up this mess later today.  The rust has indeed turned black, though, and galvanized parts have been etched nicely.  All in all, it has been a success.  An annoying success.

Ospho Applied

 Bus, Paint  Comments Off on Ospho Applied
Oct 032010
 

This time I was smart enough to wear gloves and rubber boots.  Yay me.

Bad News: Coolant

 Bus, Planning  Comments Off on Bad News: Coolant
Oct 022010
 

When I removed the heater coolant loop I found two very bad things:

  1. It was green.
  2. It had gunk in it, likely small amounts of settled oil.

Now.  Why is it being green bad you ask?  It is because the DT466, while a magnificent engine, is prone to various issues if one uses improper fluids or simply doesn’t change them out when scheduled.  Green antifreeze is /not/ what makes the engine happy.  Green antifreeze is what makes the sleeves eat through rapidly due to cavitation.

The second problem, the gunk?  Yeah, fairly obvious do-not-want issue. 😛

Worst case was I have to do a rebuild, looks more likely that will be the case.  Roughly $1100 and I get to basically start new on engine wear.  Not a bad deal.

TSP Stage Complete

 Bus, Cleaning, Paint, Pictures  Comments Off on TSP Stage Complete
Oct 022010
 

Started a bit late today, ground down all the rust with a 6″ course grind wheel on a drill.  An angle grinder or some such probably would have been better as while the drill was far more maneuverable, it was shaking hell out of my hands.  That matters when you are doing several hours of that crap.

I’ve also removed the radiator hoses on the loop leading to the passenger front and passenger back heaters.  Didn’t like the fluids one bit, more on that in a following post.

After sweeping and using compressed air to clean out all the debris, I used a strong solution of TSP in hot water and a scrub bush to work my way across each panel, spraying and scrubbing.  After that ordeal, I used remaining solution to spray over the entire floor and some spots I wanted to insure were clean.  This was soon followed up with hosing out the bus with a spray nozzle several times until I was satisfied.  Remaining standing water was swept out, fan was put in on high to help it all evaporate one more time.

Random Lessons I Have Learned: Part 1

 Bus  Comments Off on Random Lessons I Have Learned: Part 1
Oct 022010
 
  1. Start from the beginning with a good, full canister dust mask.
  2. Wear a decent pair of rubber gloves and rubber boots when working with TSP.

Current State

 Bus, Pictures  Comments Off on Current State
Oct 012010
 

Some quick pictures of the floor post drying.

Paint Plan

 Bus, Paint, Planning  Comments Off on Paint Plan
Oct 012010
 

So, apparently painting is a lot more difficult than I thought.  After a good amount of research, I’ve reworked the plan and bought all the appropriate products.

Physical Clean:

  • Grind to remove remaining/missed screws and nubs.
  • Wire brush all rust spots.

Chemical Clean:

  • TSP (TriSodium Phosphate) – Clean of grease/glue/etc.
  • Ospho Rust Treatment for Metal – Galvanized Metal Etch & Rust Conversion/Primer

Paint:

  • One coat Rust-Oleum Professional White Clean Metal Primer
  • One coat Rust-Oleum Professional Paint

The end color will be Smoke Grey in this case as it was the least offensive not-white color available locally.  So far as I can tell via hours of research and talking to several people, this is indeed the best route to go if not overkill.  As I have no bloody intention of having to do this again, overkill is good!

I’ve yet to decide what manner of topping will go onto this.  If I go with foam panels for the floor, I will likely end up going with a spray in truck bed liner for long term durability and sound dampening.  If I go with a high density spray in foam for the floor similar to what I intend to do for walls and ceiling, it will likely stay as it is.  The latter is a bit more expensive in the short term, but I am leaning strongly in that direction.

Grind, Sweep, and Wash.

 Uncategorized  Comments Off on Grind, Sweep, and Wash.
Sep 292010
 

Well.  Seems I was suffering from a severe lack of salt.  I’m much better now.

Today I ground off all the bolts, screws, and nubs in the floor that I was unable to remove.  Did a final sweep up of the debris and some removal of parts that needed gone.  Then came the spray down.  Not too shabby looking.

Sick.

 Bus, Cleaning  Comments Off on Sick.
Sep 282010
 

Got hit with some kind of sickness.  Managed to take the pickup of junk to the dump and sweep up the floor.  Wish I had been smart enough to wear the respirator rather than get a case of black lung. 😛

Past that, the day fell apart, including the camera eating images of the cleaned floor.  I feel like crap. x_x

Floor and Seats Removed

 Bus, Cleaning  Comments Off on Floor and Seats Removed
Sep 272010
 

The floor and seats are removed.  With minimal blood loss.  Urgh.  Got a full pickup load of debris to take to the dump in the morning.  Agenda for tomorrow is cleanup, wirebrushing, and general paint prep.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries