paint protection

[CornishSilver]

I have been looking for a Bus for a while now and just wanted to get things clear in my head from the more experienced here. As I understand it the most important thing is to find something solid and rust free which leaves me these options
1, spend from 6-13k on something that needs restoring and get the piece of mind its been done properly with a fresh paint job
2, spend 18-24k on a finished bus and hope that the paint job is not a cover up
3, spend top dollar on a dry import with patina qualities, which leads to my question. If you choose this option but you don't want the original paint to start developing rust what can you do? And how long will it last in our climate before it finds itself in the state of the 6-13k buses? Will a lacquer spoil the look?

 

[magoo]

Option one, prepare yourself to spend more than your budget and for it to take twice as long as quoted, there's always hidden nasties.
Option two, make sure there is a detailed history of the restoration. This site is a good place to check the history and to buy.
Option three, you could try something like Renaissance Wax to protect the original paint.

 

[CornishSilver]

Option one, prepare yourself to spend more than your budget and for it to take twice as long as quoted, there's always hidden nasties.
Option two, make sure there is a detailed history of the restoration. This site is a good place to check the history and to buy.
Option three, you could try something like Renaissance Wax to protect the original paint.

Cheers Magoo

Already had lots of sound advise what to on the option's 2&3, and like you say to buy something to get restored from scratch is a minefield especially for someone with not a great knowledge of van structures. Just had a google of the renaissance wax and looks a good recommendation, so thanks. Me being lazy I was hoping a workshop could spray a permernant clear laquar on or something.

 

[davechorlton]

I have seen laquered buses, over a deliberately rusted body. IMHO it looks a bit odd as it is rusty yet shiny if that makes sense.
There must be ways of matting this a bit which would be easier than wax to maintain I would have thought.

 

[ozziedog]

In my opinion, an unrestored bus is the answer, but search for one that is unrestored but doesn't need too much in the way of restoration, the more a van has had done to it, the more it`s likely to rust quicker, not always but 95% of the time. Rust is happening all the time in this weather / country and protecting from it is a hard one if not an impossible task unless your van is extremely cossetted and kept out of the rain from day one. The more welding a bus has had, the more it obviously needed and a lot of the bus sections will be rusting from the inside to out and it`s next to impossible to treat these areas completely, there is wax oil etc. But a lot of places just can`t be got too to coat or treat a freshly welded section completely all the way around. If the van has minimal rust then you have a good chance of keeping it this way, if it`s had loads of rust chopped out and new welded in, then your chances are not as good by a long chalk :shock:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Good luck in the search bud :mrgreen:

 

[*Sam*]

I would go for a dry import with minimal patina.
To save cash I would find and import yourself.

 

[CornishSilver]

. Rust is happening all the time in this weather / country and protecting from it is a hard one if not an impossible task unless your van is extremely cossetted and kept out of the rain from day one ] Me living in the wettest county of the country not going to help then lol

 

[Campmobile70]

Look after a dry USA import and it should last you for years, original paint buses are the best buses as you are not getting any hidden problems.
Restored buses are great if you like lots of repair panels stitched together then covered with a skim of filler and a paint job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[leon]

Not all US buses are solid. Look at this californian bus I brought over from the US. I knew it would need some work, but never to the extent of this. Selective pictures can hide a lot. Just be careful if you go down the "solid" US route. There are plenty of people bringing buses over at good prices that you can view and feel and poke. Whatever route you decide, always try and get someone to view with you who knows about these buses.


inner arch and sill. Rust free actually means, 'the rust is free!'


B post after front arch removal


Doesn't look bad here.

I don't mind a bit of welding though as i can do it myself, but if you had to pay someone for this, then it wouldn't be a cheap US bus.
Also, I asked for additional pictures from the initial set that were on the advert.

 

[fozworth]

Another option if you struggle to find a OE paint bus is to possibly find a bus that has been painted many years ago so will hopefully of revealed any bad works that might of taken place or new corrosion / damage.
I bought a 69 panel originally from southern Italy and while its not OE paint it has pretty much all genuine metal and was repainted over 10 years ago ,most of that time has been spent in Spain and the U.K. so had plenty of time to show any nasties .
Mind you as the paint was looking tired and as it wasn't quite patina ,I've still ended up having a 6k bare metal repaint ,Lol .But an old good resprayed bus isn't necessarily bad and worth a consideration .