I've finally started

[Ragonk]

It has been a while since I have posted any progress updates and photos, so here ya go! I have the interior side walls covered with 1/8" Baltic birch plywood, cabin shelf frames completed and temporarily in place, and several spars attached.
[imghttp://www.tnttt.com/gallery/image.php?album_id=4143&image_id=140546][/img]

[Ragonk]

[Ragonk]

[Ragonk]

I haven't posted in quite a while! It has been a busy spring to say the least. I have made some progress on the teardrop build and have learned some painful lessons about stain and wood filler... I have most of the wiring roughed in, spars set (waiting to permanently attach them), walls and interior shelves built. I plan to build some cabinet faces for the inner shelves. The least learned was not to trust Home Depot staff recommendations. I need to do the research on my own or ask the forum. Dap Plastic Wood X wood filler was recommended (the new Dry Dex dry time indicator that turns from pink to tan). I was told it takes stain great! It did not... The stain did not take where the wood filler was used even after I re-sanded the area. This is my error, I should have asked on this forum. Everyone is always so helpful but I was at the store and well... The stain also ended up looking much darker, blotchy, and more purple than the samples at the store. I ended up sandi g and covering with Kilz primer and painting the walls Cajun Red. The rest of the cabin and will be just be covered with indoor/outdoor Helmsman Spar Urethane. Any suggestions on wood filler that won't discolor with this oil based finish?

[Ragonk]

[Ragonk]

[Ragonk]

[Ragonk]

[KCStudly]

The paint looks good.

They make pre-stain treatments that can help prevent large contrasts between the hard and soft grains of the wood, and also help with blotching. I think the biggest factor is the species of wood, and perhaps, to a lesser degree, technique (wiping the stain on with the grain, consistency with hold times, and blending the color as you wipe it off).

I had very little wood finishing experience and managed to get fairly even results with the Okoume I'm using, but it is very uniform. The biggest problem I had with my relatively dark red chestnut color was the fact that towards the end of a can some of the darker pigments would settle and clump at the bottom of the can, then they didn't want to stir back in again; so I ended up with some panels that appear slightly lighter than others with a hint of pink.

I think it was Aggie79/Tom who suggested that you can tint oil based poly with oil based stain to mute down the blotches some.

Regardless, that is water over the dam. Like I said, your paint looks good.

[Ragonk]

Well it been a while since I've posted. I've been helping a friend remodel his grandfather's home in East Texas and we are close to being done so I can now focus on completing my teardrop so I can camp this winter! My wife and I were lucky enough to meet Aggy79 and get a look at his teardrop! Wow, the craftsmanship was unparalleled! He really helped me get my mind around building the hatch and gave me many great tips. I ordered and received my hinge, t molding, windows, fan and door handles from Vintage Technologies. They were great and I would recommend them to anyone. I bought the rest of the aluminum trim at Home Depot. Got a roll of .040 aluminum from a tractor trailer repair service in Arlington. 102 inches wide by 24 ft long. Only problem is that they were not carefull with it and the roll has a lot of scratches on it on the inside of the roll where they picked it up with a fork lift! Plan to get real busy next weekend and cover this trailer already!

[Ragonk]

Here ya go!