An excellent paint job definitely makes a big first impression, so we wanted to do it right. In this blog, I detail how to paint a skoolie exterior, including preparation and priming tips. I go step-by-step and describe how we created a smooth, durable finish by hand and what products we used for our budget.

In 2021, I set to work prepping the exterior of our school bus conversion for priming and painting after weeks of researching the forums. It was a massive job for one person to accomplish (though I did have some helping hands along the way thanks to my husband and neighbor Joe).

I’m so happy it’s done and the end result is nice. Additionally, the products and preparation paid off because the finish is still intact today, even in hot Florida weather.

Are you going deep into the rabbit hole on skoolie paint? Check out these blogs.

• How to paint your skoolie roof
• Best Exterior Skoolie Paint
• Skoolie supply list to build a rig like ours
• 6 Charming Exterior Skoolie Paint Schemes

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to me at no cost to you if you decide to purchase a paid plan. Thank you, if you do. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This site is not intended to provide financial advice and is for entertainment only. Read our affiliate disclosure in our privacy policy.

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How to Paint a Skoolie Exterior

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Prepare the Skoolie Exterior Body for Primer and Paint

We have a 37-foot skoolie RV with an all-metal body and frame. Your paint supply and products will vary based on the body construction of your vehicle. 

Find our entire supply list in this blog.

Remove and Delete Any Items that Won’t Remain on the Bus

Preparing the bus for primer is, by far, one of the most timely projects we took on during our bus conversion. We purchased our retired school bus directly from a school board in Tennessee, and we had to remove all the reflective tape and vinyl decals on the bus, flashers on top, and the extendable stop sign on the driver’s side of the bus. 

We did not remove the flashers on our roof, since we took out the electrical that powered them. 

If you’re planning to delete any windows in your rig, then complete this project before moving on to exterior prep for paint, unless you’re willing to touch up some areas after that work is done.

Remove the Vinyl Decals

To remove the vinyl decals, we purchased a rubber wheel on a drill bit that we attached to our drill. That made fast work of any vinyl decals and left a smooth finish. The rubber smelled slightly of vanilla, so it was one of the better smelling projects.

I recommend wearing a mask and protective eye gear during this process because the rubber shreds away into fine particles.

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Remove the Reflective Tape

To remove the reflective tape, I used a heat gun and heavy duty scraper on the initial pass. Wear gloves because the melted tape gets very hot and sticky and the heat gun gets hot, of course. 

The melted tape and its adhesive don’t smell great, so you may want to wear a mask too, especially if you’re working indoors. 

Once the reflective tape has been removed, then you will want to remove any remaining adhesive. I found the best product was 100% pure acetone and a razor blade scraper. I recommend purchasing the acetone in a 1 gallon container that you can get from the paint section of your home improvement store, rather than the small containers you would find at the supermarket. You’re going to need a lot of the stuff. Goo Gone was not effective for me, even after letting it soak into the adhesive. 

Once the thick chunks or goo balls are gone, then you can do a final pass with acetone. Your goal is to get rid of all the big sticky areas so you can sand the surface without gumming up the sanding pad. 

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Caulk the Body Exterior

Once all the adhesive residue is off the bus, go around the entire bus and do preventative treatment on the windows and seams, and any areas where holes have been cut. The goal here is to prevent water intrusion.

We removed all the old filler and caulk around the windows and replaced it with a new paintable product specific for automotive use. We added the same automotive caulk on the seams of the newly installed sheets of metal for the windows that we had deleted.

This wasn’t my favorite product because it dried very quickly and didn’t smooth the same way that a caulk would; however, it is a well-rated automotive product made for use on metal surfaces. It did sand down to a smoother finish. We had to special order this product from an automotive store since our local branch didn’t carry it in stock (during the pandemic).

Sand the Exterior 

Next, we sanded the entire body of the bus. I primarily used a hand-held orbital sander with 80 to 120 grit sandpaper. In the hard-to-reach places, I would use a sanding block.

For the previously painted areas, the sanding goal was too lightly scuff up the existing body coat so when we applied primer, it would stick a little better.

If there were any areas of rust, we sanded and treated it with a Rust-Oleum product. 

Treat the Body for Rust 

On the areas where we had unpainted stainless steel, like where we had replaced or deleted windows, these metal sheets began to rust within days of installation. We lightly sanded the unpainted metal and sprayed a rust-preventative paint so the rust would not progress during the time it took me to prep the rest of the bus for paint. 

On the areas of our bus that had been previously painted, like the body and rails, we did not experience any rusting in these areas. 

Wash, Scrub, and Rinse a Few Times

Finally, we gave the bus a good bath and scrub with Evergreen cleaning solution. I highly recommend using a scrubby with an extendable pole so you don’t have to get up and down the ladder. 

Rinse the bus a few times, especially the pockets around the window frames, to remove any dust and residue. You’ll want as clean of a surface as possible when you go to prime and paint the exterior of your rig.

Remove light fixture covers and tape off decorative elements

There is usually a cover or frame that trims out your headlamps, specifically. I recommend removing those completely since they come off with screws. For other fixed elements, tape those off and wrap with plastic.

How Long Does it Take to Prepare a Skoolie Exterior for Paint?

For a bus of our size, it took about 25 hours to prep the bus for exterior paint. The removal of the vinyl decal, reflective tape, and adhesive residue took 10 hours. Removing the old caulk and re-caulking the windows and deleted window sockets took about 5 hours. Sanding the bus took about 5 hours. Scrubbing and rinsing the bus took about 3 hours. 

Cost to Paint a Skoolie Exterior

In total, we spent approximately $400 to paint our 37-foot skoolie exterior. We painted the exterior ourselves. One gallon of body paint costs about $45. We purchased a 5-gallon paint bucket and that cost about $170-$200. The primer cost about $11/quart, and we used 10 quarts. The spray paint cost about $6-9/can, and we used 3. We had the rolling supplies already but had to buy special naps and prep materials (tape, paper, etc), costing $100.

Paint Roll vs. Paint Spray a Skoolie Body

Many in the skoolie community choose to spray finish their exterior, and it would go a lot faster with a smoother finish, but it also requires more taping off and protection of the surrounding surfaces and buildings. I don’t know how to work a paint sprayer, but I can use a roller and brush, so this is what we did.

Conclusion

What products did you use on your rig? Let me know in the comments.