Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Here is what I'm thinking to do:
- Floor: Sand, Prime(enamel) and Garage Floor "paint" (polyurethane)
- Outer skin of walls : CPES + ColorCoat(Uniflex replacement)
- All outer edges / seams will also get triple coat of CPES and will get fiberglass tape.
- Interior walls: primer & "exterior" Oil based house paint.

Now I was thinking about also "waterproofing" the inner skin of the sandwich wall too ... just in case a little water drips in there - Was thinking of using a "deck" type stain, not as good as CPES but i figure better than nothing at all and CPES all over would be spendy.

Now my question:
Some people here have said to seal "everything" which makes sense, especially in rainy climate like here .... but others have expressed concerns that in doing saw you could "trap" the moisture into the walls, which would be bad (I suppose water might condensate inside the walls skins like a double pane window ?) .... so what's the deal ?

Is my plan good or bad ... probably going to start some painting this weekend.

You may want to consider epoxy versus CPES. I used CPES and it seemed to work well, but it took quite a lot to get a build up. Later in my build, I switched to epoxy. With fiberglass tape, you definitely will need to use epoxy.

As far as to seal one side or both, we live in an area that is humid but not rainy. So, I decided to seal the outside but have a "breathable" interior. This is how our house is constructed. It is almost 30 years old and, from some recent interior renovations we did, the pine framing is still in excellent shape - no rot or dry rot. I can't give experiences for my teardrop because it is still under construction.

All that said, if I lived in a rainy area, I would seal everything.

Forgot to mention it, but I do have some epoxy that I will use on the FB tape on all seams - just not planning on covering "the whole wall" in epoxy.

After hanging out here for a while now. I am not a big fan of CPS either. I think epoxy is much better. Boat builders use epoxy. After that you need a good UV barrier, paint, truck bed liner,or something else. Don't worry about trapping moisture in. My tear is all epoxied and then coated with truck bed liner. It is as water proof as you can get. It is out side all year in the weather. I just leave the roof vent open a 1/4" and a window open a 1". With no moisture problems. Hope this helps!

If the top and side are seal why cant you put Thompson water sealer ever year

This is an area where it is hard to know what is the right thing to do. Best, of course, is to keep water out of the walls. Mine are epoxy/glass exterior. Inside the wall I put on a coat of varnish, though it is impossible to get complete coverage as you need to attach the interior panels somehow. I spread varnish where I could and titebond 3 where I couldn't and glued the inside panels to the frame. And the interior walls (outside inside?) are varnished. It's probably overkill, but I wanted to build so it would last through retirement, which unfortunately is as many years away nowas it was 10 years ago.

I know youze' guys love CPES and Epoxy , but the 75% Mineral Spirits , 25% polyurethane mix .. works extremely well at waterproofing , and is Much less expensive and easier to apply ... Just slobber on several coats on your parts , before assembly (especially all end grains /voids) , and give a squirt into your drilled screw holes (old spray bottle ) ... Well tested in our most humid/rainy climate ...
The thin mixture sinks very deep into the wood and provides lasting protection , unlike a surface coating which may become damaged (leak) due to vibrations , twisting , etc...
Once dried completely , it accepts most any finish without problems ...

If anyone is in doubt with this method , they should make a test sample to prove it to themselves ... Not only works on TDs either ... I used this on my porch and house door trim to stop the wood deterioration ... Works !!! and is Cheap ... Works great on interior paneling and Masonite too ...

BTW, we noticed that screws driven into wood thusly treated tend to not want to come out so easily ... So we keep a ball of beeswax handy to coat the screw threads , just in case we have to remove them later , although I can't imagine why ...

I used and love CPES. A buildup is not what you are looking for, it's penetration. 2 thin coats of CPES does a world of good.

As far as using epoxy rather than CPES, CPES IS epoxy. Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer.

I didn't coat the inside of my walls, although that's not a bad idea. I guess i assumed the important thing was to make sure the walls didn't leak.

Thanks.

That CPES really really gets sucked into the wood, which is good, didn't expect it to be so liquid ... yet it's definitely an epoxy (It burns foam very well ) and hardens and smells like it.

If you want to see how much good it does the wood, take two scraps of plywood. Pot 2 coats of CPES on one, leave the other plain. Let it cure well, then cut both pieces with a handsaw. The one with CPES is phenomenally stronger and harder to cut!

Aggie79 is correct. You shouldn't use CPES to apply your fiberglass tape. FYI: If you wanted to stay with all the same products, you would use the Rot Doc's Layup and Laminate. That works well with fiberglass.

In your comments to Aggie79 You mentioned that you have some regular epoxy as well as CPES. While it may be okay to do that, before you use the two together, I would call or email the Rot Doc and ask, just to be certain. One never knows...they may have some tips that will help when you are using the two together.

Yes, rotdoctor laminating epoxy is what I'm using.

Can you fiberglass over this?

GPW wrote:I know youze' guys love CPES and Epoxy , but the 75% Mineral Spirits , 25% polyurethane mix .. works extremely well at waterproofing , and is Much less expensive and easier to apply ... Just slobber on several coats on your parts , before assembly (especially all end grains /voids) , and give a squirt into your drilled screw holes (old spray bottle ) ... Well tested in our most humid/rainy climate ...
The thin mixture sinks very deep into the wood and provides lasting protection , unlike a surface coating which may become damaged (leak) due to vibrations , twisting , etc...
Once dried completely , it accepts most any finish without problems ...

If anyone is in doubt with this method , they should make a test sample to prove it to themselves ... Not only works on TDs either ... I used this on my porch and house door trim to stop the wood deterioration ... Works !!! and is Cheap ... Works great on interior paneling and Masonite too ...

I did !!! Sanded it a little .. wiped down with acetone (lightly) to remove anything else ... Used West Epoxy and fiberglass tape, Painted over that ... No problems even living outside ... Save the dust, dirt, Bugs, bird droppings, leaves, and other things that seem to be attracted to white paint .

I'm doing a test now where I paint a common paper bag with the mixture , fill it with water , and see how long it takes to leak ... or if it will leak at all ...??? Results forthcoming !!
I'm sure all these other products work Super, I'm just a cheap old ba****d