Day 10 – Our Tiffin Allegro Bus 45LP Build

Day 10 finds us in the clear coating stations. This is where the coach colors really start to come alive and vibrant.

Before the first application of clear goes on, the coach has a matte, almost chalkboard like look to it.

David was all set. He donned the protective gear and wanted to jump right in there to help, but alas, the supervisor would not allow it.

Darn it OSHA…

Foiled again!

Once the team started spraying the clear coat things got real exciting. The colors just jumped out at us. You can really see the difference between the area that has been clear coated and the area that has not. Night and Day.

Simply amazing.

Once David saw the way the coach looked with just the first coat of clear on, he wanted to keep it nice and shiny and clean. So he found the supply of micro fiber clothes nearby and took what he needed. I think he has enough.

Just kidding! But boy, do they ever go through a lot of micro fiber clothes.

We had a lot of fun with the paint team. They even posed for the time lapse video while they were waiting for the first coat of clear to dry.

After it’s done with the first set of clear coats it goes into an oven to bake on.

When it’s done there it goes to get all that nice clear coat sanded down.

Yup, it just got pretty and shiny and they take sand paper and make it look ugly again.

They do have a method to their madness however. When you sand down the first layer of clear coat it makes a rougher surface for the second layer of clear coat to adhere to. It makes for a smoother and deeper shine. It also takes out any imperfections that may have occurred.

Once they are done sanding and wiping it down from all the dust it is time for another inspection and touch-up.

A few touch-ups were needed which is not unusual.

We noticed that when the coach came out of sanding it looked like it had the matte finish again before it went into clear at the beginning of the day.

Once all the touch-ups were complete it was time for our final paint booth and more clear.

Let the foggy mist of clear coating begin.

It’s difficult to shoot any decent pictures during any of the painting process as you are stuck outside the booth looking through a tiny and very dirty (because of paint) window. But what we saw in this last phase of clear is the most mist we’ve seen. The guys really get lost in there. (well, not “lost” as in running into each other lost.) It takes a lot of talent to be able to see through those helmets in all that mistiness to actually see what you are spraying. But they did do a great job and it kind of looks like a perfected dance.

After all the coats of clear are applied the coach is like glass. At least that is how we describe it. So shiny and smooth looking. I’d hate to drive it outside and get it dirty.

After all the clear is applied it’s time to bake it again. This time it will sit in the oven for 1.5 hours or so.

Since it’s the end of the day, it will just stay in there overnight.

Here is the time lapse video of todays paint process.

And here are the images taken today.  Please on Show PicLens for best viewing.