The finished bus.

Clear coats
    Now it was time to mix up some clear and apply a few coats to each side of the bus. I pre-cleaned, tacked, and then gave everything a coat of Intercoat Clear. I started with the same process I used to spray
the basecoat. I overlapped a little with my strokes to help prevent dry areas and blend the whole thing together nice and even.
    There were only two coats of clear on this bus because of the size of the whole thing, so I made sure not to rush the job or apply the next coat too soon. This could cause the clear to run. If you do get a run in your clear, hopefully it’s not too big and can be fixed with a bit more color sanding before buffing.
The whirlwind week
    Basically a week after the bus had arrived, the work was complete. It was an extremely exhausting task, but that’s what I live for. As soon as the bus arrived, I hit the ground running. I started on a Friday at 8 p.m. and worked until 9 p.m. the following day. I came back at 6 a.m. on Sunday and finally left at 1 a.m. on Monday morning. Then I started again at 9 a.m. that Monday.
    I began to basecoat the bus Tuesday night and finished around 2 a.m. The airbrushing started on Wednesday morning and finished around 2 a.m. on Saturday morning. I arrived and started clearing at 6 a.m. on that same day. I finished around 9 a.m. that morning and then started piecing the bus back together at around 11 a.m.
    Believe it or not, I’ve done a few jobs that have been more involved than this project. It was an extremely daunting task and I, as well as everyone in the shop, could not help but be overwhelmed at certain points of the project. There were a few sleepless nights on this project.
    If you’re reading this and you happen to have a project of this magnitude, such as an RV or similar, hopefully these steps will help you out.
    Rich Evans, owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks in Southern California, is an award winning painter and fabricator. Currently he is offering workshops at his facility so he can share his special techniques to other industry professionals. For more information, visit www.huntingtonbeachbodyworks.com