Frosteez "Just Chillin'" (New pics - HF Axle flip)

[SIXTOTWO]

In anticipation of this long weekend we got our sides ready to go...we went back and forth about stain or not and finally decided to go with a light coat of golden oak to bring out the grain.

Next we masked off the bottom 3" of the interior (where it will set against the trailer) and applied a coat of CPES and a coat of sticky black goo.

Then, we flipped 'em over and applied a couple of coats of CPES to the exterior.



We decided to wait & apply a final coat of CPES just prior to applying the varnish because we read here: http://www.smithandcompany.org/varnishpriming.html this:

The final coat of CPES is the adhesion-promoting primer, and the first coat of varnish must be applied after the solvents have evaporated, but before the CPES resins have fully cured. If you apply that last coat of CPES in the afternoon, then apply the first coat of varnish the next day. The reason CPES works this way as an adhesion-promoting primer is that it is designed to be VERY slow-curing. It actually takes several days, so it finishes curing after the first varnish coat has cured, and thus glues down the varnish with a flexible epoxy glue.

Anyway, we were very happy with the color so far, with the stain and the CPES.

What kind of stain did you use? Oil or water based??

[cdfnchico]

We decided to wait & apply a final coat of CPES just prior to applying the varnish because we read here: http://www.smithandcompany.org/varnishpriming.html this:

The final coat of CPES is the adhesion-promoting primer, and the first coat of varnish must be applied after the solvents have evaporated, but before the CPES resins have fully cured. If you apply that last coat of CPES in the afternoon, then apply the first coat of varnish the next day. The reason CPES works this way as an adhesion-promoting primer is that it is designed to be VERY slow-curing. It actually takes several days, so it finishes curing after the first varnish coat has cured, and thus glues down the varnish with a flexible epoxy glue.

We applied the final coat of CPES to the exterior this afternoon in anticipation of applying our first coat of varnish tomorrow afternoon. We are incredibly busy...so are tag teaming...Leo came home early today to get the epoxy on...I'll start applying the varnish as soon as the kids and I get home from school tomorrow!

Terry and Sue, we used Minwax Oil based wood stain, applying it before we began applying CPES. We have been very happy with the color and the coverage of the CPES over the stain.

[cdfnchico]

We made some good progress this weekend. We wet sanded the sides, doors, & trim hoping to get another coat of varnish on, but Sat was spitting rain and Sunday was too breezy.

Leo got the rest of the wiring done. And so the great tongue box debate continues...We have a friend who can weld us a custom tongue box out of aluminum diamond plate...which has a lot of benefits...and tho he'll do it for the cost of material..that's still a whole lot more than we could buy one for already made. Guess it might have to come down to a $$ decision; but it's hard to spend a lot of money and not get what we want.

We marked and drilled the holes in the trim...looks pretty good. (There's no finish on the face yet) Above it you can see the 2" aluminum flat we'll be trimming it with.


And then we dry fitted the trim, roof, and hurricane hinge...and discovered a problem...we bought the hinge several months ago...(when we had the $$) from Grant. Our trailer is a 5' wide trailer...so we got a standard hinge, which allows for 3/8" overhang on each side...except for the 3/4" trim!!!!!!


So gang...what do you think?? We need a new hinge??

[grant whipp]

So gang...what do you think?? We need a new hinge??

Bring it back up ... I'll exchange it straight across for one that fits better ... ...!

CHEERS!

Grant

[cdfnchico]

Bring it back up ... I'll exchange it straight across for one that fits better ... ...!

CHEERS!

Grant

You da man!!

[Cliffmeister2000]

I did exactly the same thing, except it was a design change rather than trim that caused my hinge to be too short. Now I have a hinge when I get around to the second build.

[planovet]

Bring it back up ... I'll exchange it straight across for one that fits better

You can't ask for better service than that!

[Sparksalot]

Bring it back up ... I'll exchange it straight across for one that fits better

You can't ask for better service than that!

Youbetcha. My own experience with Grant is just the same.

[cdfnchico]

Life continues to throw curves!! Right after my last update, our 29 yr old son was stabbed & hospitalized with a punctured lung. In a nutshell...after chasing off some kids who were vandalizing the cars, the "gang" returned with 15-20 guys, baseball bats, 2x4's...and knives. They smashed the windshields in the cars and then started on my son and his wife and friends. Dave and one other were stabbed repeatedly and ended up in the hospital...another had his face broke by a bat and had facial reconstruction. Very scary night... but everyone will be OK. There is a real risk of continued retaliation...so...they are staying with us until they can move...next week I hope!!

Despite all this we have continued to make progress on the tear and are crossing our fingers to have it campable for the Dam Gathering.

As promised...Grant switched out the hinge for one that will extend past the wooden trim. We put 5 coats of varnish on the sides...whew!! But it looks great!



Finished the hatch this weekend...skinned with metal and then predrilled all the neccesary holes for trim, lights, license plate holder, etc. Both trailer and hatch will head off to get painted next week.



One door in...with window mounted. This week we'll get the drip moldings, weatherstripping and latches on. Finished trimming second door last night...and dropped it! ...tweaking the trim...sorry I don't even have a pic of it... might be salvageable...we gave up for the night. Sometimes feels like two steps forward...one step back!



Feeling optimistic...I reseasoned our DO and got it ready for the Dam Gathering!


A friend donated the small tonguebox you can almost see in the pic...we decided to hold off on our larger custom built...saving some $$$. And I totally stumbled on the score of a PetCool here on the forum (Thanks, Paul) saving additional $$ there.

So...this week we'll finish the doors, hopefully!!, and the wiring. We're planning on using 1/16 aluminum angle from underneath to mount the wooden trim on the hatch...so we made a template of the radius. Any suggestions on annealing??!!

[Cliffmeister2000]

Cathy, I am soooo sorry to hear about your son, his family and their neighbors. I pray they are able to find a sfe place to move, and that their wounds heal completely.

Your teardrop looks wonderful! Very impressive build!

[cdfnchico]

Thanks Cliff...everyone is on the mend... we powered through some last minute stuff; predrilled all the holes for the trim, etc ...and sent the tear off to be painted...I feel like a NERVOUS MOM. It did look rather cute tho ...headed down the road. Should be back tomorrow...when we have called for all hands on deck for final (sort of) assembly!

[S. Heisley]

Cathy:
I am so sorry that your son, family, and son's friends have had such bad times. I hope everyone heals well and no more problems arise. It's sad and scary that people in pack/mob mentality know little but evil.

On the up side, your tear is looking great!

[Miriam C.]

Cathy:
I am so sorry that your son, family, and son's friends have had such bad times. I hope everyone heals well and no more problems arise. It's sad and scary that people in pack/mob mentality know little but evil.

On the up side, your tear is looking great!

+1 OMG You must have been terrified. Where were the police! I can't imagine that happening here.....I mean I know it does at times but the police are really fast getting there. It is sad when your choices are to move or to move.

Cathy, your TD is beautiful and I sure hope you guys can use it to get out of the city. Have fun at the Dam Gathering.

[kennyrayandersen]

That's crazy!

Best wishes to everybody!

[cdfnchico]

You must have been terrified. Where were the police! I can't imagine that happening here.....I mean I know it does at times but the police are really fast getting there.

It was probably the scariest night of my life!! They called the police as a non emergency to report the vandalism...and my daughter in law was on the phone with the police immediately when they returned...the first police car arrived within 5 minutes; chasing after some of the bad guys. It just doesn't take very long to inflict some serious damage!

We thank God no one was more seriously hurt.