Itty Bitty Foamie Teardrop Test Build Thread

[amandacreiglow]

I can see a pink panther on my build, but I think with some time in the sun these areas will fade out.

Oh, that's a shame. I was hoping it was just the lowe's kind. Oh well, fingers crossed the sun helps us out.


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[amandacreiglow]

Hey Amanda- Thanks for your nice comment on my build- yours is looking good as well! Just an idea, maybe you could order some of the mastic from Home Depot I am using to fair out any rough areas, just get bondo brand plastic squeegees, they come in a pack of 3 sizes, I use the medium. You can put it on really smooth that way, it will sand when dry....I got interested in the stuff when I saw a video on youtube of someone using it on a canvas covered canoe...Speedi something from HD is what I have,it comes really fast to my home because it comes from Kalama? Washington, very near me....I just primed one wall and the front of my trailer and it's verry smooth, pretty easy for low tech stuff....Again, just a thought...Nodrog

Oh, thanks for reminding me, I'd meant to play with that stuff you've been using. Luckily, I still have the doors to fill/smooth/cover, so I'll get the chance. It's the same price on amazon as on the Home Depot site and I live 8 minutes from an amazon distribution center, so I'll have it tomorrow to experiment with. :-)


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[amandacreiglow]

Beautiful new photo of you, Amanda.

thanks! :-) my brother's dog broke my old glasses, so it's my "new glasses came!" selfie.


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[Nodrog]

Hey Amanda! Well, Ithink it's great that folks are getting interested in the materials/methods I am using, I had to join and share because it is working so well for us, my wife is super into this project, too! I am going to post a little more on my Foam Project thread, so look it up, ok? Later....Nodrog

[Don L.]

Great to see your progress Amanda! It looks good! I hope you get it camp-able in time!

FYI, I took my foamie out several times with just primer on the canvas with no problems. I coated the canvas with 2 full strength coats of gripper.

"How long did people leave the undercoat to dry before they primed it? I'd really like to put the primer on today, but don't want to end up bubbling my trailer up..."

Just until it felt pretty dry, which was several days, that was on the interior.

On the exterior of mine I did an experimental thing, I sprayed a light coat of borax and water on the unprimed canvas exterior - borax is a very good mildew-cide. Only do this if the glue is well cured! If anyone here tries that be sure the Titebond glue is cured! You don't ever want to mix wet PVA glues or primers with borax/water solution- it is a good recipe for making slime!

Funny how that lowes lettering raised through the canvas? I had lots of little knits and seams that I wanted to try to flatten out so I went around with a hot clothes iron and pressed things in as hard as I could. It helped some. I dunno if it would help the letters there.
I had a few stubborn non-drying seams so I would either iron them really good or peel it back a bit and brush in more TBII. Everything is staying put after a year and a half.
I did what you are saying, made peace with the imperfections and went for a lively paint job. It was/is important for me to get out of town and camp.

[GPW]

Just a suggestion we’ve mentioned many times … If you find too many surface “Imperfections” to deal with , you can always disguise them with a snappy paint job or some decorative trim paint … A nice painted stripe here and there , or a two-tone paintjob makes a Huge difference in the appearance. The Eye attracted to the “icing on the cake” …

[amandacreiglow]

Just a suggestion we’ve mentioned many times … If you find too many surface “Imperfections” to deal with , you can always disguise them with a snappy paint job or some decorative trim paint … A nice painted stripe here and there , or a two-tone paintjob makes a Huge difference in the appearance. The Eye attracted to the “icing on the cake” …

Oh that is VERY MUCH the plan. :-)

Didn't get a ton done last night, which is not great because it means I'm falling behind schedule. But I did manage to get the first coat of primer on there. Though I was prepared for how much primer the canvas would soak up, but I was still a bit amazed. Will get the second coat of primer on today, then a coat of exterior white, and will call that good for the weekend at least, with a more elaborate "distraction coat" to come afterwards.



On a side note, it's going to be almost $400 to install the hitch in my car, because everything is just crazy expensive with a 16-year-old Saab 9-5. Don't get me wrong, I love my car and its absurd 3,500# tow rating, but Lordy I wish parts were cheaper for it...


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[amandacreiglow]

Great to see your progress Amanda! It looks good! I hope you get it camp-able in time!

FYI, I took my foamie out several times with just primer on the canvas with no problems. I coated the canvas with 2 full strength coats of gripper.

"How long did people leave the undercoat to dry before they primed it? I'd really like to put the primer on today, but don't want to end up bubbling my trailer up..."

Just until it felt pretty dry, which was several days, that was on the interior.

On the exterior of mine I did an experimental thing, I sprayed a light coat of borax and water on the unprimed canvas exterior - borax is a very good mildew-cide. Only do this if the glue is well cured! If anyone here tries that be sure the Titebond glue is cured! You don't ever want to mix wet PVA glues or primers with borax/water solution- it is a good recipe for making slime!

Funny how that lowes lettering raised through the canvas? I had lots of little knits and seams that I wanted to try to flatten out so I went around with a hot clothes iron and pressed things in as hard as I could. It helped some. I dunno if it would help the letters there.
I had a few stubborn non-drying seams so I would either iron them really good or peel it back a bit and brush in more TBII. Everything is staying put after a year and a half.
I did what you are saying, made peace with the imperfections and went for a lively paint job. It was/is important for me to get out of town and camp.

Just checked out your paint job and it's definitely lively! Love the uniqueness of it. I don't have access to the same sort of freehand artistic talent, but will do the best I can with tape and a carefully planned geometric design. :-)

I didn't go with tb2, largely because it do so badly on my burn tests and it was my least favorite of the available options to actually work with. So I'm not sure how the iron would affect it differently or the same. In any case, I think I'm more or less fine with the imperfections such as they are. Interesting idea with the borax, though a bit more hassle than I think I'm going to go for, for sure.


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[S. Heisley]

The primer already looks good. You're getting closer to done!

[Don L.]

Yours is looking good!

Thank you for the compliment on my camper. All the credit goes to my artistic wife for the lovely painting design. I could not have dreamed that up. I did help with the painting after she drew it on. We still need to a few more things to call it done.

[pchast]

On a side note, it's going to be almost $400 to install the hitch in my car, because everything is just crazy expensive with a 16-year-old Saab 9-5. Don't get me wrong, I love my car and its absurd 3,500# tow rating, but Lordy I wish parts were cheaper for it...

That seems excessive. Did you call someone like Etrailer to buy it and install yourself. I'm not that capable any more and I've installed 2 (on the last cars we had). It wasn't real difficult.

[John61CT]

> absurd 3,500# tow rating

Sorry is that absurdly high or absurdly low?

[amandacreiglow]

> absurd 3,500# tow rating

Sorry is that absurdly high or absurdly low?

For a small to mid-sized sedan? Seems pretty high from what I can tell.


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[amandacreiglow]

On a side note, it's going to be almost $400 to install the hitch in my car, because everything is just crazy expensive with a 16-year-old Saab 9-5. Don't get me wrong, I love my car and its absurd 3,500# tow rating, but Lordy I wish parts were cheaper for it...

That seems excessive. Did you call someone like Etrailer to buy it and install yourself. I'm not that capable any more and I've installed 2 (on the last cars we had). It wasn't real difficult.

So, the part itself is $200. I could go with a non oem one, and looked up what part the people on the Saab forums recommend, but for my year and model of car that would still cost around $175, and I'd need to order it myself, etc, and I don't know how long it would take to come in.

I'm super not comfortable installing the hitch myself, so I'd need to find someone to do it anyway. I ran their cost breakdown past my grandfather who is a lot more knowledgeable about these kinds of things, and he said a few things did seem high. I might get another quote from another shop, but it's going to be $300-400 however I slice it, I think, when you factor in electrical... here's the cost breakdown they gave me if anyone has input on it specifically, I'd be happy to hear it. Keep in mind as well that this is northern Virginia, and everything is just automatically a little more expensive here, too.




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[GPW]

That does seem a bit pricy … Maybe get some other estimates ...