[tcb] Re: My bus ain't ready yet, but it's close

  • From: Dennnis Dosdon <dld@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 14:21:21 -0700 (PDT)

I thought of this after I sent the last letter. If you are  thinking about 
taking your bus down to bare metal, DON'T. 

The bare steel will rust amazingly fast. If it does rust it will pit the steel 
and you will have to sand more steel off and that is tiring so you will go to 
your machines and will wear the steel too thin and heat it too much and it will 
get wavy. Also as you do remove all the paint you will find spots that you will 
need to repair before you can move on. If you go to bare metal you have to 
clean it incredibly well using acids and lots of clean water,and then you need 
to prime it almost immediately. If you are set up with your compressor and 
paints and gun to prime, then you are really ready to shoot it with color. Of 
course after you shoot the first color then you will need to color/wet sand it 
and shoot on the second color and then you will be ready for the clear coat. 

But by then you will be unemployed because you didn't go to work for a month, 
divorced because you spent all your time in the garage so your kids call you 
"Uncle Daddy" and you look like hell, and broke because you have spent all the 
money that you have and maxed your credit cards to buy tools and materials you 
may never use again.

So, unless you have buckets of cash, an unbelievably understanding wife (I do) 
and all the time in the world, don't even start.

If you do go through the whole experience and survive it you will have 
incredible pride as people admire it and you can say that you did it all 
yourself. If you do it right and spend even more money and time than me it will 
not start to come apart after four years as mine did. 

No matter how careful you are, you will get a stone chip in the front or a 
small dent in the rear corner and it will tear your heart out.

Save your pennies and put your bus in the hands of a good shop.

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