Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Just curious, I have the plywood body built. I'm thinking about simply brushing on fiberglass resin to cover and seal the trailer. Proberly several coats. Then sand it and paint it. Is this a good idea? What are the advantages + disadvantages? What type of problems will I run into in the future with this type of exterior?

Art

Art, there is nothing wrong with that process...I would highly recommend using epoxy resin instead of "fiberglass" resin which is usually polyester based and is a lot less forgiving in regard to it's work time and is more brittle than the epoxy...put at least 3coats(a couple o'more if ya can)...if you wait more than 24hrs between coats, you will havvta sand before recoating...both epoxy and polyester resin need additional UV protection which can be accomplished with paint, spar urethane or auto clearcoat...for paint iI would highly recommend a marine topside or brightside paint...I prefer the non-blushing epoxy from www.raka.com ...others have used WestSystems, System3 or MAS...they are all good products.........
madjack

Thank you for your suggestion. Is an epoxy resin something I'd get at a boat supply store as opposed to a building supply ?

Art

Art Mini wrote:Thank you for your suggestion. Is an epoxy resin something I'd get at a boat supply store as opposed to a building supply ?

Art

...yes...shop it around quite a bit...even online... as prices can vary significantly...RAKA has some of the best prices I have found...locally or online.........
madjack

Hi All

Just getting my bearings to start building - and I've got a question on the 'glass cloth - I'm leaning to the Raka site - but what weight cloth do I use for the sides and roof???? I've seen 4oz and 6oz and do you need an extra layer on the roof /wall seam??? or would you glass the walls - and then glass the roof with an overlap or visa versa??

I'm leaning this way to get a good base and then take to a friends autoshop for a nice clearcoat spray job

thanks for the advice

Alex

Alex, I don't actually use the cloth for sides and use Aluminum for the roof...on the present TD, GatorFlageTear, I used a camo cloth and embedded it into epoxy...Doug Hodder just does epoxy and auto paint...Steve Fredrick does a cloth covering...if using cloth, the lighter weight would probably do ya...as far as technique, I would read over Steve's build journals or even better, buy his CD.........
madjack

I used the RAKA 4 oz. (actually, I think it was 3.8 oz at the time I purchased it) on the roof and tongue box, and skipped the cloth on the sides and just coated with epoxy. I'm a little skeptical about the auto clear coat for UV and longevity as compared to spar, but I'm using it anyway as an excuse to learn how to spray paint....

I got to say...I'm impressed with the quality of finish now that I'm starting to get the hang of it. I shot the tongue box last weekend. The box has 4 oz RAKA cloth w/ MAS epoxy, shot with Dupont Chromaclear, wet sanded to 1500, then finally buffed out with 3M 6062 Perfect-it compound, 3M 6064 swirl mark remover, 3M 6064 glaze and finally, a coat of Bode wax.

...uhhh...can u say obsessive...go get some counselling?

Dave,

Very nice, your trailer is going to be a real beauty.........

Perhaps some day I will get to see it with my own eyes.

Wolfgang

I don't have personal experience with this, but clearcoat over CPES is pretty standard in yachts. It looks good - like 15 coats of varnish without all the work.

In the long run, you have to watch the deterioration. Life span is supposed to be something like 10 years. The problem is if you wait too long to re-clearcoat you can have a major headache.

Epoxy has no UV protection. Once the clearcoat breaks down, the epoxy will go very quickly. Fixing that is a major headache.

Personally, I have opted for Epiphanes Wood Finish (Gloss). Seems to hold up OK except where there are tight radius curves or the edges. But the maintenance is easy. (I can also do all the brightwork on my boat in two 4-hour days.... unless I have to sand and start over. (Which I will probably have to do this year....yuck)

Most things will work good in the NE, Midwest, NW. The farther south you get the more the intense the UV. In Florida, nothing lasts forever. (Eventually, even the wood needs to be replaced.) I suppose if you spend a lot of time in the mountains, you might get more UV than you will find on the plains as well.

And whatever you choose, a cover for things when they are not in use, will make your brightwork finish last a lot longer.

I use 3.? ounce cloth from RAKA. I would only use cloth over panels that are assembled from sections of ply, with seams.
If you are not splicing sheets, and just want moisture protection, just coat with epoxy alone.
As Jack said, 3 or more coats, each done within 24-hrs of each other, will give good protection. Don't forget the edges!!!If you are 'glassing the roof (exposed wood), go with 4-oz cloth. Do a seal coat, then a lay-up, then a couple more coats.
If you are covering in metal, I'd do epoxy coats under the metal.
Someone here just posted about moisture damage to his roof. 'Glassing the seams (even under paint or metal)might have prevented the severe damage he experienced.
Just my 2-cents.

Steve Frederick wrote:Someone here just posted about moisture damage to his roof. 'Glassing the seams (even under paint or metal)might have prevented the severe damage he experienced.
Just my 2-cents.

I believe I am the person you are speaking of. I would agree 100% about the the glass on the seam. I wish I would have done it the first time around. Even thou the roof was sealed with epoxy before I painted it, I did not put glass on the seam & I wish I had.

Jeremy

Steve Frederick wrote:I use 3.? ounce cloth from RAKA. I would only use cloth over panels that are assembled from sections of ply, with seams.
If you are not splicing sheets, and just want moisture protection, just coat with epoxy alone.
As Jack said, 3 or more coats, each done within 24-hrs of each other, will give good protection. Don't forget the edges!!!If you are 'glassing the roof (exposed wood), go with 4-oz cloth. Do a seal coat, then a lay-up, then a couple more coats.
If you are covering in metal, I'd do epoxy coats under the metal.
Someone here just posted about moisture damage to his roof. 'Glassing the seams (even under paint or metal)might have prevented the severe damage he experienced.
Just my 2-cents.

Hey Steve,

I've been looking at Raka's website and it has 4oz Plain Weave listed and when you click n the link it lists it as 3.64oz. Is this the stuff for the roof? They also have a 3.25oz clth showing, is this the stuff for the sides? Or can I just order the 4oz cloth and do BOTH the roof & sides w/ it?

I have anther question as to width..... the 60" cloth will only cover my roof from wall frame edge to wall frame edge ( my width will be 60 & 1/2" wide to take in the outside wall skins on both sides...1/4" skin both sides)

Do they give ya a cloth that has a fudge factor of and inch or two or is the cloth EXACTLY 60" wide and I'll have to overlap the cloth running width wise? Or when I Glass the sides can I leave a inch or two overlap on the top to tie into the roof when I glass that?

Decisions..... Decisions

Bruce

I used Raka's 3.2 oz cloth on my sides. It's such a tight weave cloth that it tends to restrict the removal of air bubbles. Because my base layer of epoxy didn't set up hard, even after 6-9 months, I removed all of it from one side. I probably used too much hardener which makes epoxy soft. I redid that side with 4 oz plain weave cloth from Raka. Using plain weave cloth made it considerably easier to get the air bubbles out. It would matter more if you want a clear woodie look than if you paint.

I first used a very light weight cloth because I was (wrongly) concerned that fiberglass would be heavy. When I removed it with a heat gun and a drywall taping spatula it was almost paper thin and very light. If you use either 4 or 6 oz cloth there's no need to worry heaviness. It'll be a considerably lighter skin than a traditional aluminum.

I have not built the roof yet on my 5'3" wide trailer. I plan to use 60" wide 4 oz cloth going side to side on the roof.

I used 4oz glass tape, 4" wide on all of my seams. Wall to roof, roof splices, wall splices. Epoxy coated the rest of the exterior surfaces. I ended up with four coats. I was not trying for that many it just ended up that way.

After I laided down the glass tape, I sanded the edges and blended in to the surface with Bondo. Then epoxy coating over the Bondo.

At first I was very scared of using the epoxy and worrying about messing it up. I was worried about nothing. If you mix it right and work steady it will go on just fine.

madjack wrote:Art, there is nothing wrong with that process...I would highly recommend using epoxy resin instead of "fiberglass" resin which is usually polyester based and is a lot less forgiving in regard to it's work time and is more brittle than the epoxy...put at least 3coats(a couple o'more if ya can)...if you wait more than 24hrs between coats, you will havvta sand before recoating...both epoxy and polyester resin need additional UV protection which can be accomplished with paint, spar urethane or auto clearcoat...for paint iI would highly recommend a marine topside or brightside paint...I prefer the non-blushing epoxy from www.raka.com ...others have used WestSystems, System3 or MAS...they are all good products.........
madjack

the epoxy, is this sprayed on, or brushed on, does it matter?