LIKE NEW


REFURBISHING OLDER BUSES CAN MEAN MORE THAN JUST A FRESH PAINT JOB


WRITTEN BY RYAN GRAY


£ An older model Peach County, Ga., school bus received a white roof and Blue Bird logo along with body paint. The appearance fooled a salesman who inquired about the brand new buses.


J


effery Flatt is a school bus driver for Atlanta Public Schools, but that just scratches the surface of his expe- rience with school buses. Literally. Over this past spring break, Flatt was visiting family


near Nashville, Tenn., so he stopped by the Franklin Special School District. When Jesse Horne, the district’s transportation supervi- sor, learned that Flatt had experience with repainting older model school buses to make them look new again, he asked Flatt if he had any suggestions for bringing new life to two faded 2002 school buses. Because the Tomas Built Buses had no visible scratches or dents, Horne told Flatt they were otherwise in great condition and had several years left in them. So Flatt walked to the trunk of his car and returned with $60 bottle of 3M Extra Cut Rubbing Compound and a $40 bottle of 3M Final Glaze. He used the product on a few spots to show Horne what could be done. Flatt added that one bottle each is enough to restore the shiny yellow coat to three 40-foot buses with a wax that should hold for a year.


56 School Transportation News June 2014


“It’s wonderful stuff,” Flatt said. “Tis is all it takes.” In 2007, after spending a year at Blue Bird Corporation’s Fort


Valley, Ga., plant, where he installed wire molding tracks and covers, Flatt moved down the street to Peach County Schools. Tere he drove buses as well as coordinated routing. In 2010, he also recondi- tioned two-dozen buses for the district. Flatt recalled working nine straight 14-hour days one spring break to refurbish two particular buses after the new superintendent admired his previous work and asked for them to look like “new” buses that were more than five years old but had recently been repainted. Tose projects entailed not only using paint deoxidizers and body wax but also replacing seat foam and torn covers. Te district charged students caught vandalizing the seats to pay for necessary repairs. Replenishing the general fund allowed for older buses with varying colors of seat covers shades to match the newer buses in the fleet. Te yellow roofs on the older buses were also repainted white to match the appearance of newer-model buses, and the faded Blue Bird logos were replaced.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68