Avoiding the Shrinking feeling

[GPW]

Just a thought , if you launder the fabric first , you remove a Lot of the “sizing” that makes it smooth and flat ... Rough and fuzzy is harder to finish , and really we’ve not seen any trouble with shrinkage as applied to the trailer body ... I’d just iron out any wrinkles and stick it on ...
Naturally with Latex , there is a minute amount of shrinkage , but that only makes everything fit better ... and Latex does really take a week to fully harden ... used as paint or glue ...

[mikeschn]

We preshrank the stuff that we used on the inside of the trailer.

We tried to use it unsized, but it unstuck itself and came fallling down off the ceiling.

My suggestion is to cut yourself a small piece, maybe 3', and try shrinking it and ironing it and see if you like the result. Small pieces are manageable. Larger pieces are not.

Mike...

[Aligator944]

I spread out two canvas tarps (from HF) when it was going to rain over the weekend, let them get rained on then hung them in the garage to dry. Did not have any additional shrinkage upon application to inside of walls.

BTW, I really need to start a thread on my build, our old tent trailer frame (about 6'x10.5' long) with partial dropped floor and a wild goose style body. I feel a little guilty about absorbing all the info here without giving much back . I really need to take some progress pics as well. Now that the weather has warmed up a bit, I have been able to work on it without freezing!

[GPW]

The real question is has anybody had any problems due to shrinking ... ??? Haven’t read of any ... May be just one of those imagined problems that never happens ... We have had many Imaginary problems mentioned that just never happened in the real world ...

[rowerwet]

My TD is covered with cheap canvas drop cloth from home despot glued on with porch and floor paint, it didn't shrink while the paint dried and it hasn't shrunk since as the paint keeps it glued onto the wood.

[wagondude]

The only problems I have heard of with shrinkage came from being in the pool.

Bill

[GPW]

Pools ... swimming ... Water is for Fish, washing pickup trucks and mixing with alcohol...

[KCStudly]

Why would you mix alcohol with water?

Make my Scotch (or Bourbon) neat, please.

Back on topic, it is sounding to me like there are at least two different methods (with variations) going on here. 1) Smaller 4x8 campers where the canvas is soaked with glue or paint and there is enough time to get the whole skin on wet and really stretch it on, and 2) larger surfaces, 5x9 and up, where the skin is "painted" on each panel gradually by more or less just smoothing it down as you go, and not much stretching at all. Is that true? Seems to me that the paint it down method is emerging as an acceptable and preferred method(?).

Any thoughts on the difference in methods related to any real or perceived shrinkage issues? Is serious stretching important for strength, or just to get the wrinkles out (I think I can guess the answer; "both"). Method #2 doesn't seem to support serious stretching; sounds like it dries too quickly for that.

TPCE probably falls into the larger category and I intend to do the walls first wrapping onto the roof, then the roof wrapping onto the walls. I like the sounds of the "fold the canvas back, paint both surfaces, roll it out in several stages, then separate top coat" approach (as opposed to the saturate the whole canvas all at once and stretch it on approach). I would like to streamline the process by avoiding preshrinking the canvas (unless it has creases that need to be removed before application). If creases, then will the canvas fit in my decent sized washing machine, or would I need to make a trip to the laundry mat to use a big machine(I don't like the idea of hosing it down on the driveway because that sounds like it would invite pebbles/girt and other debris)?

Any additional thoughts from those with canvas laying experience?

[GPW]

KC, the glue /canvas method works fine (from my experience) ... the paint/canvas seems to work very well too (others experiences ) ... either way requires a little “technique" (easy) for application ... Any shrinkage problems were imagined by the skeptics ,much as many other imaginary issues that have popped up in these conversations ...

Next time I plan to use the paint method , used like glue .... paint applied over foam , canvas smoothed/stretched (slightly to remove wrinkles ) over that and allowed to dry , and then top coated with more paint ... For areas that promote quicker drying of the paint/adhesive , the canvas should logically be applied in smaller sections ...

Canvassing an old foam cooler First for “practice” may be a good idea for the new to these techniques...or like I did , making a model ...

[KCStudly]

The model sounds like a good idea (yours, BTW, looks fabulous). I haven't even done a scale cardboard mock-up of my side profile (gasp ), but the 3D computer modeling goes a long way toward having a true (real life) model.

I guess the distinction I was looking for in my above post was not so much the difference between glue and paint (that seems to be a non-issue from what I can gather), it was the difference in application technique between really stretching hard (which you seemed to be an early proponent of, and I believe Eagle worked at on her Mickey tear) and the later (what now seems to be accepted) method of just smoothing the canvas down as you proceed with glue or paint application, without any real serious stretching.

The later sounds easier for a single person to accomplish in perhaps a less messy fashion (both of these pluses appeal to me), but I was left wondering if there is any significant structural difference. Thinking that allowing the canvas to shrink a bit in place might make up for any tension effect lost by not doing a more concerted stretch.

I think I have already decided how I will do it, but it can't hurt to have a healthy discussion on the subject; never know what might come of it.

All right, time to go count some more sticks of lumber.

[GPW]

KC, only hard stretching around the EDGES ... Just to make them Smooth ..

[KCStudly]

And then there was an, "AH HA" moment.

[GPW]

KC, at the beginning of this Foamie adventure , a lot of comments I made were to counter the negative speculation from those who had never built a foamie , or likely anything else ... We even had people say the foamies would explode if towed at highway speeds ... Turns out , by example , all that was pure BS (excuse my French) ... Armchair engineers had their say , and then left .... without providing logical or significant contribution other than negativity ... The “Foamlings” who actually built these have now traveled thousands of miles without incident .... No exploding , blowing over by passing trucks , no frozen turkey bird strikes ... The only incident I can recall is a couple bubbles in the skin caused by cinch straps ...
It is not without some extensive experience with foam constructions and coverings that I brought this idea here in the first place ... so if I did endorse some specific technique , there WAS solid reasoning behind it ... and my example Foamie , which is considered small by some ( “toy” ) .... is the normal TD size , and still survives in it's original condition in my driveway to this day ... No rot, no turkeys , and No monthly payments ... best of all no maintenance save the occasional hosing off the dead leaves, oak pollen or bird poop ... I’m still at a loss to explain why birds like to stand atop the Foamie ... ??? Just the other evening I looked out and there were two Owls atop the Foamie and it looked like they were “doing it” ... Checked for claw/talon marks .... nada ... so write that off the negative list too ... So now I make the bold statement (and you can quote me on this ) That anybody who has a problem with a Foamie trailer (the concept) has likely Never built or owned one.... or is just a Snob !!!

Wow, what a rant .... I need more coffee... or now a drink ...

[Lancie49]

I used unbleached cotton calico on the roof of my TD.
Washed it all first and applied in two sections, Frt and Rr with two layers on each.
Did a small sample wash/shrink first and had very little change. Next time I won't bother washing it.
I didn't iron it before sticking it and as it turns out it looks great, just like Connolly Leather.
I had a mate upholsterer spray the adhesive for me and it worked well.

Gave it 6 coats of water based acrylic paint.

[GPW]

Beauty job Lance !!!