Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I apologize if this has already been covered. I am a newbe to TTT but not to wood construction. I have built several wooden boats.

I have read about various methods for skinning my TTT and all seem iffy or too expensive.

What about fiberglass fabric with epoxy? This is done all the time with with wooden boats. Looks good, UV/weather protected, etc.

If you want to cover bad wood working, you can tint the epoxy, or even go with marine grade paint.

Am I missing something obvious here? Is there a thread I missed that covers this?

Thanx in advance,

~M

Fibergalss fabric with epoxy is an excellent way to go...just be sure to provide some UV protection with spar varnish, poly, or auto clear finish coats. There are a bunch of threads, so spend some time searching!!!

The Paskett Case is 6 oz fiberglass and 3 coats of epoxy. 3 coats is about the minimum if you use 6 oz cloth. Cost for the material was near $400. I'm not sure that's much cheaper than aluminum and I think the time factor is much greater. If I were to do it again I would go with aluminum. Time is $.

You can cover up almost everything with epoxy if you're willing to sand.

I didn't have many imperfections to cover but I'm very impressed with how it looks.

Read my process on my website here:

http://www.overlandtrailer.com/body-external/

I hope it helps.

wannabefree wrote:The Paskett Case is 6 oz fiberglass and 3 coats of epoxy. 3 coats is about the minimum if you use 6 oz cloth. Cost for the material was near $400. I'm not sure that's much cheaper than aluminum and I think the time factor is much greater. If I were to do it again I would go with aluminum. Time is $.

Can anyone tell where to buy aluminum in Phoenix? Also, can you direct me to a thread on this forum on the steps for applying the aluminum sheets? Thanks

I think that if you want to tint epoxy....it will cover up the grain in the wood. If it's crappy wood or you are wanting to hide stuff (woodworking issues) fine.....but if you have a nice mahogany or similar wood....you want the grain to show. Dye it, then apply the epoxy. A tinted top coat will hide the grain flash and make it look flat, and if you choose to use cloth on the sides...make sure you get it laid down nice and straight. While it may wet out well, any funky crooked lines in it will show (up close). Just my opinion. Doug

Can anyone tell where to buy aluminum in Phoenix? Thanks

That is a good question and also the answer to why I did fiberglass/epoxy.
After extensive web searching I found an outfit that will roll and ship .036 aluminum anywhere. Problem is that link is on my office pc. But knowing what I know now, I would go over to Falcon Field to the CAF where they rebuild those old planes and ask those guys where they get their stuff.

I used 6mil Fabric and epoxy resin on my build -
The best price Ive found for the resin was at http://www.jgreer.com/ - only $170/incl shipping for 3 gallons and pumps (PUMPS ARE A MUST) and 3 gallons does the job. The owner answers the phone and gives great advice( he says he gets a call a week about Tears). The product works great ! Just a tip , the less seams , the less sanding. Oh but your going to sand.

paperdoor wrote:I used 6mil Fabric and epoxy resin on my build -
The best price Ive found for the resin was at http://www.jgreer.com/ - only $170/incl shipping for 3 gallons and pumps (PUMPS ARE A MUST) and 3 gallons does the job. The owner answers the phone and gives great advice( he says he gets a call a week about Tears). The product works great ! Just a tip , the less seams , the less sanding. Oh but your going to sand.

Thanks, I will go the same route. I just priced filon and it is out of the question based on the price.

I'm assuming your trailer is made with 3/8" or better plywood. in that case fibreglass matt is just as good as cloth as you don't need the strength of cloth as you do building a strip canoe/kayak. all you need is "filler" to build up a reasonable thickness. using multiple coats of epoxy alone is not a good idea. the thicker, the weaker and the more brittle, plus there is the cost factor.

either way, if you're looking for a clear finish to see the wood through you need to get the right cloth. fibreglass cloth and matt has a binder in it that helps keep the strands in place. most of it has a binder that will not be dissolved by epoxy as it is designed for polyester resin which has styrene in it. the styrene dissolves the binder and makes the glass go clear. if you use this cloth or matt with epoxy the finished panel will have a cloudy/milky appearance to it as the binder will not dissolve. the heavier the cloth or matt the more pronounced this effect will be. make sure the glass product you buy has an epoxy compatible binder!!!

4oz cloth is more than enough, 6 oz is a bit overkill for nonstructural use on plywood and you'll need a LOT more epoxy to wet-out and later fill the weave for sanding. I've used both on my kayaks and 6oz takes almost twice the epoxy as 4oz does.

if you choose to go with matt, wait till the epoxy has set up a bit (tacky but firm) and lay light plastic vapour barrier on it and smooth it down with a squeegy laid almost flat. go very very lightly as all you are trying to do is hold down the fuzz. do not pull the plastic till the resin has cured.. if you applied the resin carefully and smoothened out the plastic carefully too, the surface will be nice and smooth when you pull the plastic off. this will save you a ton of sanding. if you are going for a clear finish you will still need to apply another coat of resin because like cloth, you will see some of the glass through the finish if you sand into it.

matt has two sides, a tight side and a loose side, put the loose side down. it will make life a lot easier.

for areas small enough to manage, I use the wet layup. lay the matt into the resin rather than laying the resin on the matt.

Hi, I like the idea to use 4 vs 6 size fiberglass cloth. Can anyone tell me the usual finished thickness and if I can get adequate smoothness with the base coat and two more gel coats? I need to know because I plan to wrap the fiberglass coating over the back sidewall edge and terminate the fiberglass on the inside of the hatch gasket cutout. I still have time to cut out more if needed. Right now I have about a 1/8 to 3/16 inch cutout to utilize Grant's hatch gasket. Thanks, Steve

Probably not the answer you want to hear, but I think how many coats you put on depends largely on how well you wet out/laid down the cloth initially and what you want your final finish to look like. There's no magic number on coats of material unless it starts getting like way too many. When it's as smooth as you think it should be for the finish you want, it's done. Paint won't hide any issues. Just my opinion. Doug

doug hodder wrote:Probably not the answer you want to hear, but I think how many coats you put on depends largely on how well you wet out/laid down the cloth initially and what you want your final finish to look like. There's no magic number on coats of material unless it starts getting like way too many. When it's as smooth as you think it should be for the finish you want, it's done. Paint won't hide any issues. Just my opinion. Doug

right! paint will not hide any issues, it will magnify them..

doug hodder wrote:Probably not the answer you want to hear, but I think how many coats you put on depends largely on how well you wet out/laid down the cloth initially and what you want your final finish to look like. There's no magic number on coats of material unless it starts getting like way too many. When it's as smooth as you think it should be for the finish you want, it's done. Paint won't hide any issues. Just my opinion. Doug

This is a real problem for me, as I also have a door and window frame that will be wrapped with fiberglass. Will someone give me a SWAG ( sophisticated wild a** guess) on how thick their fiberglass coataing is? Thanks again. Steve

doug hodder wrote:Probably not the answer you want to hear, but I think how many coats you put on depends largely on how well you wet out/laid down the cloth initially and what you want your final finish to look like. There's no magic number on coats of material unless it starts getting like way too many. When it's as smooth as you think it should be for the finish you want, it's done. Paint won't hide any issues. Just my opinion. Doug

This is a real problem for me, as I also have a door and window frame that will be wrapped with fiberglass. Will someone give me a SWAG ( sophisticated wild a** guess) on how thick their fiberglass coataing is? Thanks again. Steve