Painting Express

Last night a cool front arrived, bringing with it a lovely dry line. So we're supposed to have perfect weather for about three days, then another small front comes through, and then MORE dry and cooler than usual weather. Hurray! Knowing this was on the way, Peter and I decided the time had arrived to paint Towanda.

Started out for the Tractor Supply Store to buy paint, but missed my turn and found myself driving past the Kelly-Moore store instead. I hung a quick u-ey and decided to see if THEY might have what I needed.

When I walked in and didn't immediately asked for a specific product, the young guy behind the counter was CERTAIN I didn't know anything (no tubby ol' middle-aged FEmale could know nuthin'...), but when HE didn't have the answers to any of MY questions and hadda get the manager (who "got me" the minute I used the terms "elastomeric" and "neoprene flashing sealant"), the kid did a solid 180 and we got along fine after that.

So I got some paintable rubbery goo to use as a vapor barrier (the stuff folks use on Mobile Home roofs to seal them and as radiant barriers), two gallons of primer to mix with the Magic Pixie Dust, a tube of urethane elastomeric sealant for caulking all joins in the floor, a quart of my chosen olive-green hue, and two gallons of gloss white high-test exterior latex (the current bus paint is latex). The kid was alarmed when I told him the bus was painted with latex, and wanted me to understand that using latex paint on a vehicle would "cause it to rust, 'cause it holds moisture IN," and I just smiled and nodded. Actually, I'm somewhat surprised he doesn't know any more than he does about paint products, given his place of employment. Paint has CHANGED the last decade. Oil used to be the product of choice in extreme conditions, but the new water-based alkyds have been converting even the most fierce defender of oil-based paints. And hurrah for water clean-up instead of mineral spirits!

The plan this lovely morning is to get everything masked and paint the cabin, finishing the day with a coat of floor sealer. Tomorrow we get up and do it again...(did you just hear Jackson Browne waft through...?) Anyway, tomorrow we give the inside floor another coat and start on the outside, finishing up with the base coats for the outside on Saturday. Sunday we rest. And MAYBE Monday we get back to the job.

So here's the plan for the outside:
Mask.
Paint insulating primer, dry.
Paint second coat of primer, dry.
Paint high gloss coat of final colour on roof and sides, dry.
Paint second coat of gloss, dry.
Embelish with hand painted pattern work where planned, dry.
Paint final coat of polyurethane on all surfaces, dry.
Paint second coat of polyurethane, dry.
Unmask.
Cleanup oops.
Stand back and have strong drink while admiring new paint job.

I think the thing that's most interesting and great fun about this bus conversion is the tremendous number of different ways there are to solve problems. Coming up with new ideas that are more efficient, cheaper, and just plain BETTER is half the fun of this project.

Well, writing about the painting isn't getting it done. Stay tuned...