To fiberglass or not to fiberglass, that is the question????

[stu_stumble]

Hello everyone. I hope you all are having a nice fall and I hope everyone is looking forward to Thanksgiving.
So, Here is my predicament ....

I have completed the build of my micro camper as far as the body goes. All I have left to do is some type of coating for the exterior. My question for you all is what should I do? I used 3/4" plywood for the build. It is a solid wall construction, no insulation. The plywood came from a big box store (Menards). It is just Birch wood Veneer core plywood with 11 plys. Below are a list of ways I have thought to complete this. Please chime in and let me know which ones you have done or which you think would be the best. Remember that I do live in Nebraska and our weather is crazy here at times. When not using the camper if not in a garage it will for sure always have a cover on it. Thanks for your help folks. I am at a stand still until the spring when it is warm enough to do the finish work but I just want to have a battle plan so I can hit the ground running.

#1. Fiberglass tape all seams and joints, two coats of epoxy, then paint (Not sure on what type of paint to use over the epoxy)
#2. Fiberglass tape all seams and joints, then fiberglass using 4 oz cloth over the entire camper, use spray on bed liner like Raptor liner or Speedokote.
#3. Fiberglass tape all seams and joints, two coats of epoxy, then use spray on bed liner like Raptor liner or Speedokote.
#4. Just put on two coats of epoxy to seal the wood and then either use some type of paint or spray on bedliner.

I just don't know what to do and I also don't want to over engineer it if possible. Thanks for any help with this.

[tony.latham]

I glassed my walls (while on the bench) with 2 oz cloth and the roof with 4 oz. I used the heavier stuff on the roof because it was the lightest stuff I found that was 60" wide. It was then primed and topped off with Monstaliner.

I chose to glass to make sure the wood didn't check under the paint.



I had planned on applying bias tape on the side seams but in the end, I passed. It would have created a fairing issue and I didn't feel it was necessary. Those joints aren't going to move and they are saturated with epoxy.

Monstaliner is great stuff but it's expensive (you need two gallons). If you are trying to save a bit of money, I'd suggest a quality enamel but it will require more fairing.





Tony

[stu_stumble]

Tony thanks so much for sharing. I can see your point about taping the seams and fairing. I have been thinking about this as well. Helps reassure me that since the seams are soaked in epoxy that they probably won't go anywhere.

Thanks again.

[Pmullen503]

I'd opt for glass cloth over the entire thing. That will give protection against the plywood splitting over the years. Wood, even plywood, is going to move a little due to changes in temperature and humidity. And you don't know how your big box store will hold up outside. It's probably meant for furniture, not exterior use. I've built 11 wooden boats, some almost 30 years old now with just marine varnish over epoxy/glass and they've held up well. I like MAS low viscosity resin.

Pay particular attention to any exposed edges.

If you are going to tape the seams, do it after you glass the sides and top. That way you can blend the seams into the body without sanding through the glass on the sides.

[stu_stumble]

Thanks Pmullen503. I didn't think about glassing the seams last, but now that I think of it. That makes sense. Thanks a bunch.

[KTM_Guy]

When I built my teardrop I did two coats of epoxy and then skinned with aluminum then Raptorliner . But when I build the tongue box I used Baltic birch and two coats of epoxy and was going to Raptorliner over the epoxy. About three weeks after the epoxy I was getting ready to spray the Raptor and noticed cracks at glue joints because the wood was swelling. This was on the lid only, the box looked fine. I glassed the top, the following weekend I was going to spray the Raptor and noticed cracks starting on the box. Ended up glassing that too. Lesson learned, glass everything. If my next build is with wood I’ll tape all high stress joints and glass over everything. Then spray Raptor.

Good luck,

Todd

[swoody126]

protecting plywood edges w/ glass cloth set in epoxy is in your best interest

moisture intrusion into the edge grain is plywood's Achilles Heel

don't forget the bottom edges of the sides n ends

biaxial cloth tape actually doubles the strength/protection as it is folded over the edges/corners since EVERY fiber will cross the corner

biaxial tape is also the easiest to fair once the pox has cured

DuckWorks sells the stuff by the yard or roll

https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/fib-biax-parent.htm

epoxy/glassing your surfaces will insure no checking

unless you have sliced veneer surface plywood(VERY EXPENSIVE stuff) it WILL CHECK

it is just a matter of WHEN due to how you store your creation

once glassed the finish of choice will work fine AFTER the pox has cured(most say/agree 2+ weeks for complete cure)

BON CHANCE

sw

[stu_stumble]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. I just love this forum. There is always such a wealth of information and so many willing to share their wisdom.

All of this input really gives me better terra firma to stand on in regards to my decision about how to approach the skinning of my project. Funny thing is I added up all of the supplies I will need to glass and epoxy and bed line the entire camper. It is going to cost me more for this than the wood I used to build it. Is this normal? I really only used 4 sheets of 3/4" ply and one 1/2" sheet of plywood to build the shell. The sheets were only about $53 a piece. When I add up all the fiberglass and resin and bed liner it is going to cost around $700. I plan on using 4 oz cloth. I measured the camper and I have approximately 120.405 Sq Feet to cover. I am thinking that 14 yards of 50" wide fabric from duck works and a 1.5 gallon kit of their epoxy will work. I have never done fiberglass work before. Does anyone know if this will be enough epoxy or should I get a 3 gallon kit of RAKA epoxy from duck works which will again increase the cost? Thanks for all the help folks.

[tony.latham]

...and a 1.5 gallon kit of their epoxy will work. ...Does anyone know if this will be enough epoxy...

It took 1.5 gallons to fiberglass my 5 x 10' but I used 2 oz cloth on my walls and 4 oz cloth on the roof (because I needed it 60" wide).

The thicker the cloth, the more epoxy you'll need. When you buy the epoxy, buy their pumps. I would suggest keeping the batches to no more than about a half-cup. Otherwise, the epoxy will produce heat and "go-off" in the container.

I have never done fiberglass work before.

That's where we all started. I would suggest you watch Youtube videos on fiberglassing cedar strip canoes.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fiberglassing+cedar+strip+canoe

Easy-peasy.

Tony

[stu_stumble]

Here is a picture of my build in progress. As you all may see I am building a clone of a Runaway camper. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I have always loved their design. it is simple and compact. I know that it is not an actual tear drop with a back hatch galley but I am making a chuck box for it. I am far past this part of my build and it is on the trailer and bolted down but I can't get any other pictures to upload for it for some reason.

Thank you again for all of the help and advice everyone. I will try to post more pics when I can figure this darn thing out.

[stu_stumble]

Think I finally figured out how to add photos. Here are some more. I know this is not near as fancy as some of the amazing builds I see on this forum, but I feel proud of the progress.

[stu_stumble]

Where it all began. Like most; on a sheet of paper.

[Sparksalot]

Hello everyone. I hope you all are having a nice fall and I hope everyone is looking forward to Thanksgiving.
So, Here is my predicament ....

I have completed the build of my micro camper as far as the body goes. All I have left to do is some type of coating for the exterior. My question for you all is what should I do? I used 3/4" plywood for the build. It is a solid wall construction, no insulation. The plywood came from a big box store (Menards). It is just Birch wood Veneer core plywood with 11 plys.

Why paint it if you have nice looking veneer? You can still fiberglass and resin the entire body then finish off with spar varnish to get the UV protection.

[working on it]

...Here is my predicament ....

I have completed the build of my micro camper as far as the body goes. All I have left to do is some type of coating for the exterior. My question for you all is what should I do? I used 3/4" plywood for the build. It is a solid wall construction, no insulation. The plywood came from a big box store (Menards). It is just Birch wood Veneer core plywood with 11 plys.

Why paint it if you have nice looking veneer? You can still fiberglass and resin the entire body then finish off with spar varnish to get the UV protection.

* I also used 3/4" plywood from a big box store (HD), and chose not to install insulation, either. When it came to exterior coatings, I chose to go simple, and use polyurethane and acrylic exterior enamels (both of which I had used several times before, with success) instead of trying a bedliner-type coating (it was my first choice, but I wasn't sure enough of it's efficacy on wood to try it), or attempting again to use epoxy or fiberglass (both of which had given me trouble, before).

* Once I learned of the fabulous "mix" (polyurethane mixed with paint thinner), and its' ability to soak into and "plasticize" wood, making it pretty well waterproof, then I decided on using it as a base coat for any topcoat to follow, by bedliner, or by spar urethane. When I researched UV problems with those coatings, I arrived at the choice of tractor enamel and silo paint, instead. Of course, having a ready supply of those at the nearby Tractor Supply Co. made that choice easy.

spar urethane limitations.JPG (61.49 KiB) Viewed 8206 times

* By the time I started to coat the exterior, I had already bought several gallons of each type & color, so even though I momentarily wavered between leaving the woodgrain un-covered (the shiny clear polyurethane made it look great), I wa already committed to the enamel plan. It did look very nice, and if I had used a more premium wood choice for the cabin, then I might've tried epoxy after all??

covering the pretty polyurethane with durable coatings.jpg (211.89 KiB) Viewed 8206 times

* I have no regrets following the course I took, since the paint over poly has lasted so well after 7 years (my trailer resides 90%+ of the time in the garage). I've only had to retouch a couple of spots that received incidental contact damage in the crowded garage bay, but that repair work might've been more costly/difficult to ameliorate, if I had used epoxy, fiberglass, bedliner. or PMF instead.

[rkanz]

I also used 4 ounce cloth and West System epoxy. I used a 3/4” radius round over bit on the side top corner, this allowed me to wrap the cloth over the corner. You can use light weight filler mixed with epoxy to fill the weave. I then used a high build marine primer and boat paint.


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