Here's our bus: Nice from far? Far from nice? Maybe that's a bit harsh, but it's got a few issues that I'd like to sort before they get expensive. I'm a believer in prevention is better than the cure and I'm hoping for some advice as I'm giving it a go. So here goes... Lifting up the cab carpet presented what I thought (in my eyes anyway) was a horror show. I'm a bit annoyed that I didn't take before photos, but I got busy and well here is an in progress photo from earlier today: Most of the corrosion was very much near the surface and only a few rusty scabs remain. I've cleaned the whole floor thoroughly and given it a good scratch with some abrasive paper. The steps up close are probably the worst bits My plan is to coat the brown rusty bits with Hammerite Kurust and then top coat with their Red oxide primer. The kurust instructions say that it has to be top coated in 3 hours, so I thought primer would be best. Good idea or not? I've had a local paint shop mix me up a litre of ICI 2K Sage Green(L63H) which I plan to paint over the top with a fine brush. Q1: Am I mad doing this? I feel like I'm a bit in over my head am I am seriously starting to doubt myself. I don't want to make it worse. I've given the existing paint a good key, is it ok to paint this primer over the whole lot? i.e. the Kurust treated areas and the keyed existing paint? Will the 2k be ok on top of the primer? Do I need to scratch the primer before I paint on top or is that the whole point of primer? I just don't know, sorry. My next battle is the centre - I have taken before photos here: When I saw that I almost decided to call it a day and go to the pub. I didn't and I reckon I should be able to fix it. It looks very near the surface. A bit of rust treatment and a coat of paint will see it good. Fingers crossed anyway! Sorry for all the stupid questions. I'm a rookie, but game and willing to give it a go! Any tips would be most welcome.
I wouldn’t worry about any of that, most of the restorations on here (mine included) are the thing of nightmares by comparison. If possible use a flap wheel or a moly disc on a grinder on that walkthrough area to get all the rust out. I’m not a fan of hammerite these days so I’d say vactan on the bare metal (after cleaning it up) to stop the rust then epoxy primer and top coat. But there’s plenty of ways to skin a cat
I would say it's not to bad at all . i was expecting to see more rust jacob creamcracker style and garage floor
You're more than capable of sorting this out, don't worry! Try not to let it turn into a big stress hole, as it takes the joy out of fixing stuff. If you want to relieve your stress levels tale a look at some of the crust buckets on the other resto threads. My cab steps currently looks like burnt toast sandwiched between a sprinkling of burnt porridge. I know some people have had issues on here with Hammerite paint causing weird reactions when painted over, as they're paints are incompatible with nearly all other paint manufacturers. I've not got any direct experience of this myself, just have seen a lot of people mention it on here. Might be worth asking the person who you got the green top coat from whether your hammerite primer would be compatible. Also, a question for the painters on here... is it safe to use 2k paint brushed without an air fed mask? I know sprayed you need one, but not sure about brushed... definitely worth investigating as you don't want to give yourself lung problems! Might be worth having a read through of this thread talking about paint!
I should still ware a mask the fumes will get you high possibly ..but no paint particles . But i f you are into solvent abuse , just go giggling into the house after painting . And just tell the wife I just love working on old busses .
Thanks for the encouragement. I'd really like to sort this myself and don't want it to turn in to a complete stress hole. I suppose part of my hesitation is not having done it before and no experience of using these paints. There seems to be a fair amount of positive things to say about kurust when I asked Google that came up on various classic car forums. I then have to decide which primer to paint on top. Red oxide primer seems to be a fairly common option. Do you have to key primers before you top coat or is it ok to paint straight on top when it has dried?
Red oxide used to be good when it was lead based.. I would go for something more modern that doesnt act as a porous sponge.. there are zinc loaded primers for instance, epoxy based primers.. The key is to remove rust.. if the surface is pitted, Kurust and similar tend to just coat over active rust bubbles, as it cures before completing the conversion to black iron phosphate. Look at rust converters often sold as gels . Things you apply then wash off leaving a dull steel surface which you then dry, prime and paint. These converters stay wet as thats when the good chemistry happens. Then its getting enough coats of paint to keep water out .. The scary bits are usually when a bubble appears in intact paint as it means usually the metal has become thin and rotted from behind. Rusty patches round damaged paint are more often surface problems if you keep on at them.
Bilt Hamber rust converter is very good imo, the liquid is better than the gel, but that is still OK. Like others have said, I'd avoid hammerite. May I ask if the paint mixed up for you is a proper 2k? If it is you should have a separate tin of thinner/ hardener that will probably have isocyanates in it. Nasty stuff and if so a proper air fed mask and protective clothering are recommended as it is not good for you. Others have used it but may i suggest you look into how to do it safely. If however your '2k' is ready mixed and ready to use out of the can, then it is not 2k even though they call it that. That is OK to use as normal paint with a good mask, as far as I know, but it won't ever dry hard enough. I've used it in areas and am now thinking how to go forward without using the 1k stuff that I've spent hours doing PS those pictures don't look to bad
This is the label from the paint tin. I plan to paint it on with a brush. I'll have a look at the other rust converters mentioned. Is the consensus that I could paint straight over the rust treated area with a top coat or is an intermediate primer definitely required/recommended? If so, any links to a better primer (that I can brush on) would be really helpful. I just seem to be going round in endless circles when I search online. It feels a bit like asking Google what is the best vacuum cleaner? (Thankfully that one is above my pay grade!)
Sorry, I'm no paint expert so I can't help with the specifics, but afaik proper 2k paint needs to be mixed with a hardener at the time of spraying. You can get non isocyanate hardeners, but I don't know much about them. Maybe ask the paint shop that sold you the paint.
I use bilt hamber elctrox as a primer. Fab stuff that is like a zinc coating to help keep the rust away.
The plus side is it`s all hidden so hopefully any learning mistakes won`t be obvious and there`s really nothing to worry about as things are at the moment very do-able with a few hours messing around , in other words you won`t need a welder ! Personally i`d just Bilt Hammer it , prime with whatever people suggest , a quick rub over and top coat with a basic cellulose rattle can . No drama really , it`s a 40 year old van and looks good , there`ll be worse to come ... EDIT ... Just realised they`ve sold you 2k (2 pack) which is wrong for what you as it needs mixing with hardener and is better suited to spraying . Just basic celluslose is all you`ll need for now ...
Welcome to the forum, good to see another Superviking. Looks a whole lot better than mine did when I peeled back the floor - at least you can’t see any tarmac!
The bilt hamber electrox blurb sounds compelling. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll order a litre and report back. Now just got to hope for some dry weather and get on with it.
One thing I'm still unsure about, is it ok to paint this stuff over existing paint? i. e. It doesn't have to be bare metal. Will it stick like hell to anything?
As long as it doesn't react but you must always key paint or bare metal. If you are in time (read the paint spec) you can usually apply subsequent coats and get a chemical bond without keying.
Some progress made today. I bought some of these little dremel pads. They don't last very long but work pretty well in my cordless drill. A good vacuum and wipe down presented this Kurust time. (Applied with a brush) After about an hour After 2 hours Now for part 2...
Fedex dropped off some Bilt Hamber Electrox this afternoon. Nice tin and the lid has a rubber seal Contents are light grey It needed a good mix. This was the result of the first coat. It went on quite thin. The second coat went on a few hours later and gave a much better coating Sadly I ran out of daylight, but it dries a lot lighter than the images show. I was pleasantly surprised by the result. The Bilt Hamber blurb says to leave it for 96 hours before applying a final top coat. Tick tock.
