Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

does that fiberglass cloth that you used on yours work for a smooth finish?

i think i asked that once before, but even i can't remember nor do i feel like searching for it.

i was just thinking that if it does, then the same theory would apply. canvas first, then fiberglass cloth. but your smoother bedsheet should work also. maybe one of those satin ones, that should make a nice smooth surface.

GPW, twisted minds must think alike. As I was thinking (overthinking) this last night, I came up with the same thought. I was also thinking about dual layers of bed sheets or similar fabric. Maybe bought from a fabric store not a linen shop. Maybe time for another experimental sample

Eaglesdare,
If I took my wife's satin sheets, it would probably be the last time I ever was able to use all 10 digits. I'm not saying she's unreasonable but I think satin bedsheets would be over the line... She wasn't thrilled when she found her saran wrap in the garage laying over the epoxy I used to smooth the seam in the foam I like your thinking though

Has anybody experimented with contact cement on the foam? Do you think it would melt it?

Tim

Turtle49 wrote:Has anybody experimented with contact cement on the foam? Do you think it would melt it?

Tim

I looked at the water based I found at Home Depot and it was ok for foam. But I think it would be tough to do.

chartle wrote:

Turtle49 wrote:Has anybody experimented with contact cement on the foam? Do you think it would melt it?

Tim

I looked at the water based I found at Home Depot and it was ok for foam. But I think it would be tough to do.

I don't mean to suggest using it with canvas. I was leaning more towards a foamie with 1/8" or 1/4" plywood on the sides. Sort of a foam core panel, if you will.

Just a thought, I may have to experiment a little!

Thanks,
Tim

Turtle , the reason for eliminating the ply on the outside was issues with Rot and de-lamination ... You could cover the outside ply with a canvas/fabric and that would really help protect the ply ... The Skin is Everything and does more than just hold the trailer together ... The Old Timers knew ...

Our experience with WB contact cements were less than thrilling , solvent based Contact cements worked (some melted the foam initially ) but all eventually in the heat outgassed causing some melting inside... I had this happen to several balsa covered foam wings ... using 3M77 ...

If you plan on laminating up some panels , you might want to really investigate vacuum bagging ... It’s Not hard to do , and makes nice uniform panels that are Very securely glued together...

GPW wrote:Turtle , the reason for eliminating the ply on the outside was issues with Rot and de-lamination ...

I do appreciate that, but being a woodworker I have a pre-disposition toward the wood look. The canvas or cloth just doesn't thrill me.
Vacuum bagging is a possibility, I have a nice Fein shop vac that would work well for that. I would just need a big piece of mesh to allow for proper air removal.

I think the foamie is a great idea, just trying to get the look that I would like.

Thanks for your info and experience!
Tim

You don’t really need the mesh ... not for what we’re doing, just clamping .. If you need a pathway , just throw a piece of rope in there ..

GPW wrote:You don’t really need the mesh ... not for what we’re doing, just clamping .. If you need a pathway , just throw a piece of rope in there ..

Rope...I like that idea, thanks!

Tim

A while back, I made some samples using fiberglass cloth vs. canvas and used different "adhesives". I promised to share the results so here goes:

Here are the samples using epoxy as the "adhesive".


TB2 adhesive


Exterior Latex Enamel House Paint


Kilz 2 samples


I thought all the samples adhered to the foam reasonably well. I've tried picking at the edges of the fabric but did not succeed in pulling up any of them. I could pull the fabric off all the samples using a loose edge as a handle but since there won't be loose edges on the Road Foamie, I don't consider that a real world test.

I then looked at which one would be the easiest to finish. I tried smoothing on some Flex-All to fill in the weave. I'm not sure it makes that big a difference. I then painted on some Kilz 2 to fill in the weave and I could barely tell a difference between the two methods

I'm not totally sold on any one method but it seems like exterior latex or Kilz 2 over the fiberglass cloth does the best job. I'll rerun the sample when I get my 2 oz. fiberglass in. (This was done with 6 oz cloth).

If I had to choose today, it would be 2 oz fiberglass cloth stuck down with Kilz 2, followed by a couple layers of Kilz 2 for filling in the weave followed by a couple layers of exterior latex, high gloss paint

Hi All Foamlings/Foamanistas

Just wanted to add this to the sticky for "glue" - i.e. the coating material
used to cover the fabric [organic or fiberglass] layer to result in the "Sock
Effect" result for holding everything together and waterproofing.

So far we have TBII & TBIII, paints, epoxy. Add polyurethane truck bed liner
to the list. Here is a link to the posting bringing this to our attention:

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... 772#870772

All it takes is money, Eh?

Cheers,
norm/mezmo

Wonder if those “boxes “ will show up in the Surplus market ???
You get the idea ...

Mel, I was wondering how your experimenting has been going. And what is this Kliz 2 you mention?

Randy

Randy,

The glue up in this experiment was originally done with TB2. Though it adhered pretty well, I was able to get it to pull up by picking at a corner till I broke through. The glue held, it came apart at the foam. I've since done a sample with Foam Fusion and I think it holds even better. As far as coating with Kilz2, it is a primer, sealer, stainblocker. I use it for the tougher priming jobs since it is a bit pricer than standard primer. Zinser makes a similar product, I think they call it 1-2-3. I like the flow of the Kilz 2 better. You should be able to pick it up at most hardware stores and I know the big Orange carries it. There are several formulations of Kilz. Kilz Original is oil based, Kilz 2 is water based. Here's a pic of a can of Kilz 2.



Forgive the grey runs and drips, Kilz is white. I had this one tinted dark grey since the final paint was black.

I like the end results, especially if multiple coats fills in the grain of the canvas, I'm just not quite yet sold on it as THE solution. I think others might be quite pleased with the result and I certainly don't have any strong issues with the method.

I'm running other tests with other products to see how I want to adhere the canvas, fiberglass, mesh, material and then what to use as final coat. I hope to be able to do it all in one step. Take a look at the thread about websites, etc. I think you've been there. The HWFF seems to be getting a good amount of attention there and I am about to test their Styroplast as soon as it gets here!

Hope that answers the questions. Need more? Just Ask!