It depends on the type, size and condition of the bus. The paint shop’s schedule and materials needed are also factors. If the bus is prepped and ready for paint, it may take half a day to mask everything and move the bus into a paint booth. It may take another half a day to spray a base color or clear coat. You may also need some time to unmask certain areas in preparation for black paint. The process can vary from two days to two weeks. Joe Reed, assistant transportation dir. School Board of Palm Beach County West Palm Beach, Fla. After we do the initial body work, we send our buses to the local paint shop. We do not paint the entire bus, only the front, back and sides from the second rub rail down. Cleaning, sanding, prep work and then painting takes about four or five days. The bus sits over the weekend in a drying booth and is ready for reassembly after that. If I were painting the whole bus, I would add two days to that. The body work, prepping, painting and reassembly takes about 150 hours total, if we hustle. Actual prep and paint work is about 30 or 40 hours out of that. Brad Barker, garage manager Park City School District Park City, Utah Source: The forums at www.schoolbusfleet.com.