While we loved the look of our black bus, the black color just heated up the bus way too quickly as we learned in our Glamping Trip. The black is actually a wrap not paint, so we just had to peel it off. Our cousin was visiting for the day and kindly wanted to help with the bus work so we thought this would be a good job for all. And it was! It became a real family affair (Don’s parents joined the party too) and it was quite a change of pace from working inside the bus filled with chatting, laughter, fresh air and rocking out to our favorite tunes.
We’ve seen others use heat guns first before peeling it off, but with the mid-summer sun beating down on our black bus it peeled off without too much effort. On the sides of the bus we were able to take it off in one long strip. It took two people, so 4 hands, but it was fairly easy and fast. Around the back and front end of the bus it required a little more diligence. These parts came off one tiny bit at a time.
Don and his dad got up on ladders to remove the wrap from the top. It did not cover the entire roof, just as much as could be seen from below. This was a little scary because as you pulled on the wrap it would snap and rip off. You had to really put your weight into the pull so you can imagine how hair-raising it was every time it snapped. Luckily no one fell!
The front of the bus offered a different challenge. You could see where the logo was from the buses first owner. They had removed the logo but not the adhesive, so it was extra sticky and ridiculously hard to get it off. We tried applying olive oil and baking soda onto it, even WD40 and various little tools and knives to scrape at it. Nothing really worked except for a little pocket knife. We all had a go at this area, but the sun got the better of us. We tried to stay in the shade of the bus and moved around the bus as the sun did, but that front area (of course it would be the hardest) was in the sun all day.
With sunburned faces and shoulders, we had to call it a day. We came back the next day though and finished up that tricky logo area and any spots we happened to miss. The color underneath is almost similar to a school bus color, but a little more of a pukey brown than yellow - not very attractive. We’ll definitely be painting the bus a different color in the future. The wrap did leave a sticky residue all over the bus which we will need to get off before painting. If anyone has any suggestions for removing this, please do let us know in the comments!
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We share with you the things we wish we had known before we started this bus demolition!
