Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Today I began treating the underside of my floor with CPES. It really brought out the color of wood, almost a shame it will be covered with the black evil smelling goo when I am finished.

Their web site said to give the wood as much as it would take so I immediately followed the first coat with a second. I then put a third on the plywood edges. Had to stop there so it would have a chance to dry some before I put it back in the garage.

My question is ... How long should I let it dry before I sand it and add another coat?

Anything that is covered with the black evil goo doesn't need to be coated with cpes. If you already have it coated with cpes, that's fine, but you can stop now. Let it cure overnight, and then coat with the black evil goo.

Now if you are talking about the sides and the top of your teardrop, I coated the sides and top with at least 2 coats. The end grain got at least 3 coats...

Hope that helps.

Mike...

Gene:

If you are going to put the "black evil goo" over the CPES, the CPES folks recommend you give the CPES a light sanding so the stuff will cling to your CPES'd surface better.

Neither of us answered your question, did we?!

Here it is:

With your CPES, you got some paperwork. (I hope you didn't throw it away!) At the bottom left of one of those sheets is a CPES full cure time chart that lists how long you need to wait, according to the formula you purchased (warm weather or cold weather formula) and the temperature in your area. To be safe and not waste your hard-earned money and efforts, I would wait until you have reached the full cure time, based on that chart; then, check the thickest area with your finger to be certain it is dry. After that, try giving it that light sanding (100 grit). If that goes well, you're ready to coat the bottom of your trailer with the black goo. !

If all else fails or you still aren't certain, please call or email the Rot Doc. He will be happy to give you the answers you need.

PS. I don't remember for certain but I think that if you plan to add another coat of CPES on top of the two you've already done, you can do that as soon as what you have on there is reasonably coagulated so that the new coat will stay put and not run off. However, your best bet is to check with Doc. Rot. (206) 364-2155 or [email protected]

Thanks for the comments Mike ... I used the CPES on the plywood for extra protection against water damage. Possibly overkill but right now I plan to build only one teardrop then camp, camp and camp.

Sharon ... Thanks for reminding me about the stack of papers that came with my order. I found them and it looks like I will need to wait about 3 or 4 days before sanding it. Hopefully I'll be putting the goo on next Saturday and bolt the floor down to the frame a few days after that.