Witch wrote:If paint wouldn't work, are there any other options to adhereing canvas to wood?
As this message had rung a bell when I read it, coming across the 1950 Mechanix Illustrated boat plans book (bought by my father, I hasten to add) in the chaos of my study, I've looked up what they call for. A couple of plans say:
- "6oz canvas bedded in canvas cement, turned over the edges and fastened with copper tacks" - this is a boat with a small cabin, so about teardrop-sized.
- "Cover with 10oz canvas bedded in marine glue" - from a bigger 'cabin cruiser'.
So that's not a big help, but they do all talk of fixing the canvas down with glue (and then painting it), not with paint.
And is it worth mentioning for anyone confused that this thread has been talking, simultaneously, about two entirely different ideas?
1) Using canvas (or other fabric) as a waterproofing layer over a solid (typically wood) base.
2) Using fabric* stretched over an open framework. The fabric is then stiffened and made waterprooof by coating it. Traditionally this was done by doping it (which had the major advantage that the dope shrank the material, pulling it drum-tight) and then paiting it with enamel paint. The modern equivalent is to coat/impregnate the fabric with epoxy resin to make it stiff.
*For aircraft this was always 'Egyptian Cotton' - I don't think the nationality of the cotton mattered much to how the plane flew, it was just that they produced the best in the world.
Andrew
CEO, Old Farts 'R' Us