Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

GPW wrote:No license plate ? ... or did we miss that … Looks great ...

KCStudly wrote:Nice work as always.

For a little finishing detail that will extend the life of your wire cables, consider adding wire rope thimbles. They help maintain a minimum radius and keep the cable rope from kinking at the bend point in the eyelet loop.

For light duty applications such as yours, I sometimes prefer the crimp style sleeve instead of the cable clamps. The small ones for 1/16 dia wire can be crimped with a std set of wire crimpers intended for non-insulated terminals (the kind with a dimpling die on one side). Trim the tag end with a small cut off wheel in the Dremel and sheath with electrical shrink wrap.

Redneck Packrat wrote:Looking really sharp!

I bought a box of those screws a week or so ago. Always like the integral "washer" on the heads, figured I'd use 'em for *something* when I get to the detail work on mine. Had the 4.79 (?) at the moment, figured it wouldn't go to waste

ghcoe wrote:

OP827 wrote:That looks good! What is Coe's Foamie Smoothie Mix made of?

Coe's Foamie Smoothie Mix
I took a empty gallon paint can and marked inside from the bottom up every 2". I added Glidden Gripper to the first mark, Dap ALEX PLUS caulk to the second line (about 2 tubes) and Dap Fast'N Final Lightweight Spackling to the final mark. Made about 3/4 of a gallon all together. I mixed it with a paint mixer on a drill and it came out nice and creamy.

Before application I sanded the canvas after I applied the sizing coats to knock down high points.

I found application to work best with a 4" putty knife. It goes on basically like you are painting on the primer with a putty knife instead of with a brush.

In most cases the canvas has a higher weave going in one direction. Working with the higher weave or going 45 degrees to it hides the weave the best. Basically you want to keep the putty knife gliding over the higher weave to fill in the lower areas. I was able to hide some small wrinkles fairly easily as well as some dimples.

I did not think this mix would go vary far. I have done both sides of the body, doors (one side) and roof, and still have about half the mix left still.

For me it was easy to work with and had a long work time.

rustytoolss wrote:

ghcoe wrote:

OP827 wrote:That looks good! What is Coe's Foamie Smoothie Mix made of?

Coe's Foamie Smoothie Mix
I took a empty gallon paint can and marked inside from the bottom up every 2". I added Glidden Gripper to the first mark, Dap ALEX PLUS caulk to the second line (about 2 tubes) and Dap Fast'N Final Lightweight Spackling to the final mark. Made about 3/4 of a gallon all together. I mixed it with a paint mixer on a drill and it came out nice and creamy.

Before application I sanded the canvas after I applied the sizing coats to knock down high points.

I found application to work best with a 4" putty knife. It goes on basically like you are painting on the primer with a putty knife instead of with a brush.

In most cases the canvas has a higher weave going in one direction. Working with the higher weave or going 45 degrees to it hides the weave the best. Basically you want to keep the putty knife gliding over the higher weave to fill in the lower areas. I was able to hide some small wrinkles fairly easily as well as some dimples.

I did not think this mix would go vary far. I have done both sides of the body, doors (one side) and roof, and still have about half the mix left still.

For me it was easy to work with and had a long work time.

"Sizing coats" ? After you used the smoothie mix over the canvas. Did you paint over the body with Gripper ? Looking at what you wrote, I may be able to get by with just 1 quart of Gripper. How much Fast N Final do you think you use ? a Quart ?

rustytoolss wrote:I have yet to canvas my trailer. I will be applying the canvas with TBII (50%mix) . Then was planning to recoat that with a 25/75% mix of TBII. Then cover that with Gripper (maybe 2 coats, then exterior High gloss paint. I'm unsure of what sizing is ??? Is that my second coat of TBII (25/75) mix ????

rustytoolss wrote:You said that the "smoothie mix" was an after thought. So would have you put on the smoothie mix first, before you put on the gripper primer. Had you known you were going to use the smoothie mix ?
Second question. I got an event in about 2 1/2 weeks. I trying hard to have my trailer ready for that. But not sure it will happen. What are your thoughts about exposing a trailer to the weather( never know if it might rain) with just the bare canvas that has been glued down with a 50% mix & sized with a 50% mix of TBII. This would just be for one weekend. Then after that, cover the sizing with the smoothie mix/ then primer/ then exterior paint ???????? Would you take a chance on it being waterproof ????

rustytoolss wrote:One last (well maybe not) question. After you applied the smoothie mix,..did you re-prime the body with gripper before applying your top coat of paint ?
I ask a lot of questions. It's better to ask someone that has done this, than to learn the hard/expensive way !