Post by Jonathan Smith on Jan 21, 2005 10:51:14 GMT
I was a merchant navy deck officer (still am but trying not to be) I started my career at sea painting ships.
In order to train to become a ships captain you have to start from the bottom and do all the nice jobs around the ship
So I know a bit about painting big metal things.
In the past vehicles were painted using a brush and roller, bus companies still employ this method. Lothian buses actually hand paint their buses to this day.
If you apply the paint thinly in layers you can get a smooth mirror like finish.
I hand painted my bus, it's not the best job in the world as I did it in a dusty yard, plagued by rain showers. But it's reasonable.
I used trade Gloss
Yes I am mad I bought a couple of large tins of Exterior Gloss and painted my bus.
I did an experiment, I sanded down the entire bus with an electric sander. Retaining the old paint as much as possible. I then used an Aluminium primer on the bare metal. I then painted half the bus with grey primer.
I left the other side with no primer. I then painted the whole bus with gloss black.
The bus has been outside for 2 years and has been driven all over the country in all sorts of weather conditions and the paint is still in good condition.
I bought paint from Wickes, B+Q and a trade paint shop.
I used normal off the shelf exterior gloss.
I did use an aluminium primer on all bare metal surfaces to ensure the paint would key onto the metal. Aluminium is an oily metal and paint does not like sticking to it.
The finish is not amazing but the bus is definitely more presentable than she was before.
Whilst I would recommend using the best quality paint you can afford if you are on a budget then exterior gloss does work.
In order to train to become a ships captain you have to start from the bottom and do all the nice jobs around the ship
So I know a bit about painting big metal things.
In the past vehicles were painted using a brush and roller, bus companies still employ this method. Lothian buses actually hand paint their buses to this day.
If you apply the paint thinly in layers you can get a smooth mirror like finish.
I hand painted my bus, it's not the best job in the world as I did it in a dusty yard, plagued by rain showers. But it's reasonable.
I used trade Gloss
Yes I am mad I bought a couple of large tins of Exterior Gloss and painted my bus.
I did an experiment, I sanded down the entire bus with an electric sander. Retaining the old paint as much as possible. I then used an Aluminium primer on the bare metal. I then painted half the bus with grey primer.
I left the other side with no primer. I then painted the whole bus with gloss black.
The bus has been outside for 2 years and has been driven all over the country in all sorts of weather conditions and the paint is still in good condition.
I bought paint from Wickes, B+Q and a trade paint shop.
I used normal off the shelf exterior gloss.
I did use an aluminium primer on all bare metal surfaces to ensure the paint would key onto the metal. Aluminium is an oily metal and paint does not like sticking to it.
The finish is not amazing but the bus is definitely more presentable than she was before.
Whilst I would recommend using the best quality paint you can afford if you are on a budget then exterior gloss does work.