#1

[ghcoe]

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

License plate will be on the bumper once installed. Thanks.

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.

Thanks KC, I looked at those, but was not sure if this was even going to work yet or not. Might redo it this way. Probably would look better for sure.

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

Thanks. I use those screws for a lot of applications. I have them in 3 different lengths.

 

[rustytoolss]

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 ?

 

[ghcoe]

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 ?

Not for sizing. Sizing needs to be thin to absorb into the canvas. You could probably apply directly over sizing though. I painted over my sizing with Gripper first and then applied the Fomie Smoothie after that. Just worked out that way because it was a after thought. Probably was about a quart of each. Been a while since I applied that so my memory is not the best on that. Just made nearly a gallon so sounds about right.

 

[rustytoolss]

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 ????

 

[ghcoe]

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 ????

Yes. Sizing is to fill the canvas fibers with a solid so it does not absorb water. thinned TBII and paint will work. It is also used to make the canvas easier to cut. I used 50/50 for all my canvasing needs except for when I fold and attach the edges, I use full strength TBII then.

 

[rustytoolss]

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 ????

 

[ghcoe]

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 ????

I think that I would still have applied the Gripper before the smoothie mix still.

I think you should be fine without the paint for the trip. Even if it does rain the canvas would still dry out if it soaked any water into it.

 

[rustytoolss]

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 !

 

[ghcoe]

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 !

No problem. I just painted of the smoothie.

 

[ghcoe]

Been a very busy last few weeks. I have not even had time to post up some pictures so figured since I have a little time now I'll post some up.

I finished painting the battery box. Next was hinges and reinstalling the vents.

Next was mounting it back onto the trailer tongue. I was able to get most of the wiring redone too.

 

[ghcoe]

Next it was back to the galley. I got a great price on this granite counter top. It had a small chip in it and they were letting it go for a fraction of the cost..... It is going to add about 50lbs to the trailer, but I figured I had some weight to spare and it's Granite!

Just kidding!

It is not granite, it is a paper bag floor technique applied to my wood counter. I also applied the same technique to the shelves and back splash of my galley.

Here is my test piece with the different colors I had laying around. We liked the middle color the best.

 

[ghcoe]

Here is a close up of the pattern.

The shelves and back splash. There is no color applied here.

The top shelf with stain applied.

I still have to apply stain to the rest of the galley and counter. Once the stain is applied and dry I will apply 3 coats of floor polyurethane. The usual method of application is White Elmer's Glue diluted 50/50. I could not find gallon sized Elmer's Glue around town so I used TBII. I usually use TBII diluted to 50/50 anyway so I figured why not? Worked great, now for the long test.....

 

[depatty]

Looks GREAT!!!

 

[amandacreiglow]

Oooh pretty! Well done!

 

[GPW]

Very Nice !!!

 

[KCStudly]

Had me going there for a second.

Looks really good!

 

[GPW]

Think how strong all that overlapped paper is … Paper is made from Wood …

 

[ghcoe]

Think how strong all that overlapped paper is … Paper is made from Wood …

One of the reasons I chose this technique. I tried just paint.... . Granite I did not want to add a lot of weight so I though I would give this a try. Looks great now , but not sure how well it will hold up to expansion/contraction of the foam in weather extremes. This is a test...

 

[ghcoe]

Well I have been procrastinating the updates. Seems everything is going way too fast now. I get a chance here and there to work on the trailer, but not much time to update the thread.

I stumbled upon a great deal on some cushions. I pass a rv furniture store everyday and on a whim I stopped in to see what they had. Lucky me they just received some odd and ends that they purchase from time to time. I was lucky enough to find a 48" wide x 72" long set in a acceptable color. Just a $190.00 out the door, which was a steal for what I was planning to pay.

Fit perfect between the wheel wells. This is the cushions set up as a day couch.

And laid out as a bed.

The cushion material is great. Better than what our old travel trailer had.

 

[ghcoe]

So since I purchased cushions I really did not have a need for the foam floor mats that I purchased at HF. My original intent was to use the mats for a bed, but I wanted to be able to make a couch for the day if needed and they would be a bit awkward for that. So I decided to use them as a floor mat ! Well I guess that is what they were intended for anyway. Looks great and a bit of extra cushion for getting in and out with the cushions set up as a couch.

Oh, forgot to mention that the extra cushion stores up front under the shelves when the couch is made up. This is where the beading will probably also be stored during the day.