Preparing for my first Foamie

[MatBirch]

Greetings all! New guy here, new to Foamies, but not trailers. I come with lots of skills, as my day job is actually building custom aluminum trailers, truck bodies, and generator enclosures. Trouble is, I can’t afford what we build! Lol
A few years ago, I built this gem for my wife and her cupcake business-



I just picked up my frame and am preparing to start a large Foamie. My intention is PMF but I have questions and ideas to run by you.
First off, I certainly don’t want to offend!, but I have strong opinions about not wanting to see the roughness, seams, laps, threads, etc. I’ve seen some that are better than others, but most still have it. I don’t need yacht finish, but want more than workboat. It seems that there isn’t a good way to fair out those problem areas? No viable options for sandable fillers? I could cap the upper corners with a rubrail, but then I’d need to have backer for fasteners.

One idea I had that may improve things, is squeegeeing the TB2 or Gripper out of the fabric on the initial layup. It’s commonly done with glasswork, but I don’t find any mention of it. My thought is that it may help with wet out, smooth out wrinkles and help seams lay flatter??

Thanks listening!

[me&z]

Disclaimer:. I have not built a foamie. I just lurk, read, and dream.

ghcoe has some of the nicest looking corners and edges on his builds. In addition he has made a few videos showing his build technique. Check out his #2 build if you haven't already. http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=65033

There is a sticky thread about using flashing. Several builders have had success using corner bead to get a good looking edge. The Big Pink is one that comes to mind but there are others.

GPW will tell you that a good paint job can distract the eye from many imperfections. And the weave of the cloth also impacts the final surface texture. Bedsheets are smoother than Harbor Feight drop cloth.




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[Pmullen503]

If you need a smooth finish you are better off starting with a hard surface and fiberglassing. It's very hard to block sand even fiberglass on top of a soft surface.

Foamie are cheap, light, fast to build and rot proof. But you won't get surface good enough for a glossy paint job without way too much work.

Make some test pieces and see what it would take to get a satisfactory finish and then decide.

[tony.latham]

You might take a gander at this six-year build in reference to a smooth foamie finish.

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=48630&hilit=soap+creek



T

[pchast]

Watch https://www.bigduckcanvas.com/ for a sale and get better canvas for a reasonable price.

[GPW]

Guys we’ve been making canvas smooth for years , to paint on … the trick is Artists Acrylic Gesso … It comes in several thicknesses , and applied with a plastic Bondo spreader , you can really push it into the weave… and couple coats with a light sanding in between really does help smooth out the weave … Somerthing to try …. gesso is pricy but with the spreader goes a Long way …
For the ultimate weave filling , Acrylic "modeling paste" can be added to thicken it up to a Bondo consistency …Something else to try out … You can get smaller , less expensive containers of it for testing …

Example : we use the rough side of Masonite to paint on now , smoothed with the Gesso … works Great , and it stays Flexible … see example below …

[MatBirch]

Thanks guys!
I thought I had spent a lot of time reading before! I’ve now pretty much been through every page of George’s builds and videos. Lots of others too. His work is nice enough that the wife is fully on board! I’m going to look into GPW’s idea on gesso. When I first started looking into Foamies, I was reminded of a project my ex wife did years ago making a canvas floor mat. I was super skeptical when she started, but it not only turned out really neat, but it withstood YEARS of everyday use on the floor of our kitchen. We’re not a shoes-off household either. It was really quite smooth with a nice semi gloss finish, that kinda polished up to a higher sheen. Still looked great when I was invited to leave the premises.
I was also reminded of some boat building sites I used to be a part of, where there is wealth of info. Most is with glass, but the seems to be growing following in both foam and PMF in that works too.

[ghcoe]

Thanks, You might find that the canvas texture grows on you. A smooth finish will show every blemish of the surface. The texture hides it well. Welcome to the madness....