Construction techniques - wood

[jrjr]

Holding my hand under the material, I can see my hand through the material in good light. Seems like it should wet out ok. If I use TBII should I roll more on the outside after adhering the material to the wood while still wet to make sure its saturated with glue? Will paint stick to TBII ok?

[Mary C]

In building my foamie, 2 inch foam, TBII, Canvas and Glidden Gripper (paint) it all sticks together very well. As we foamies say " try it first" We are into experimenting , take a piece of wood put some TBII on and then put the material on, paint it after it dries then wait ( I would wait a week) then see if that is what you are trying to achieve. I was impressed with Gripper Paint because it filled in the little holes in the weave of the material and with two coats and sanding it will be very smooth like a table top, glass, a babies ...........you get the picture. OH, welcome to the forum.....you are welcome to visit the foamie section too for more ideas!!!

Mary C.

edit: I am hoping that you will use a wood sealer such as the "Mix" first. check out the stickies in the foamie section. Use a UV protection type varnish, even under the material. You cant be too careful!

[jrjr]

I conducted some tests on scrap luan. Glue by itself and with 7oz canvas, 10oz canvas, and the nylon material. Also the same coverings with interior latex (all I had) and with the now illegal oil based paint. Results are after 1 1/2 day of drying.....

Wood Glue (I used Elmers Max... all I had)
7oz canvas - stuck great!
10oz canvas - stuck Great!
nylon material - Didn't stick well, peeled up way too easily

Interior Latex -
7oz canvas - stuck a little but not dry yet
10oz canvas - stuck a little but not dry yet
nylon material - Didn't stick well, peeled up way too easily

Oil -
7oz canvas - stuck a little but not dry yet
10oz canvas - stuck a little but not dry yet
nylon material - Didn't stick well, peeled up way too easily

It seems that the glue and paint stuck well to the wood but not to the nylon. No trace of glue on the nylon after peeling it up.

The verdict?
Going to use TBII to glue down canvas then top coat with Exterior latex. Might as well stick with what is known to work.
Too bad the nylon didn't work out since its very tough and FREE!
But it is what it is. Resin would most likely work but I don't really want to go there.

[S. Heisley]

That sounds like a good choice. Titebond is good stuff. Not only does it have good gluing properties but also decent water-proofing properties.

[jrjr]

Ok I am real close to gluing on the canvas. I obtained a 20 yard roll of 7.8oz for free
What nap of roller are you all using to apply Titebond? Coarse, fine, foam, or what?

[Mary C]

I used a 6 inch foam roller , because I was gluing the canvas on the top and sides and just couldn't glue it all in one day I just filled a zip lock (a very big one 2 gallon size) with water then put the roller down in the water making sure it was covered then zipped it. The next day I slung out the excess water. I had 20 to 30 % water with the glue to thin the viscosity of the glue so having the roller a little wet didn't hurt a thing.

Mary C.

[jrjr]

The foam roller worked well. The canvas is all on the trailer except for the back door which I haven't built yet. Getting to that in a couple days. I plan to let the glue dry for at least a week. Testing showed that the strength of bond keeps increasing with time and it gets more and more difficult to pull the canvas off until at some point the laminate tears loose from the wood. It took a good week or more for that to happen.
Then it's paint time.... Got several gallons from Sherwin Williams for $5 a gallon for mistints. FYI they are supposed to be having a 50% off sale for 4 days starting soon. I plan to top coat with their Duration line.

[jrjr]

A couple pics of canvas job - sorry for the quality, took them with my phone

[jrjr]

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[GPW]

NICE canvas job !!! We see you have some previous covering experience ( RC planes )

[jrjr]

Thanks!
The rear door is built and almost covered. Finishing up today so paint will be coming soon.

[jrjr]

So far I have 5 coats of paint.... almost 2 gallons. I noticed several bubbles. Long thin bubbles one about a foot long. I swear they weren't there before painting but maybe due to the color of the canvas they weren't evident, don't' know for sure. I did the pin prick/iron trick and they seemed to flatten down pretty well. After ironing I rubbed the crap out of them with a piece of scrap canvas. The rubbed area turned dark... like maybe glue had worked out of the pin pricks. Anyway, will check close tomorrow and see how it is.

The canvas is filling in pretty good, maybe another 4 or 5 coats to complete. Sherwin Williams is having a 40% off sale this weekend. Friday Sat Sun and Monday so if you need good paint, there's a chance to get some good stuff at a reduced cost. I will be getting my final colors during the sale.

Here's a pic of my intended color scheme....just a Photoshopped image. The gray will match my car color.......

[GPW]

Paint scheme looks real Good !!! Sometimes those bubbles go away as the paint cures and shrinks ...

[jrjr]

Here it is ready for the first trip to the flying field -

[jrjr]

So far the trailer has been working well. I used Sherwin Williams exterior latex - the Duration line for the final coats. Well, all over the top and front it has become stained with something reddish. It ran down and made reddish streaks. Must be birds? It wasn't under trees. These stains won't wash off so it's looking like a repaint.

Any ideas on how to keep the paint from staining? Wax? Automotive urethane paint? Other clear coats?