Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Getting ready to add the outside surface to my camper. It will be 1/4 plywood covered with either fiberglass or PMF. Am considering PMF as I’ve not done fiberglass before and am concerned about my abilities. Any thoughts about PMF coated with Monsta Liner? Thanks!

I’m perused the skinning section but didn’t see this topic, though admit I might have missed something.

First of all, PMF and fiberglass/epoxy have the same learning curve. I'll argue that fiberglass is more forgiving since problems here and there are easily fixed after the fact. And there are a ton of videos on Youtube showing you how to do it.



PMF is generally done with PVA glue or latex paint. Monstaliner isn't going to stick to latex paint. It needs a high-quality primer and it's probably best to use the company's own primer.





Tony

Thank you, Tony, always learn lots from your posts. With that in mind, it looks like fiberglass is the route to go. I'll get some practice on a tongue box before tackling the whole thing. Hopefully this old dog can learn some new tricks.

kscmpr54 wrote:Thank you, Tony, always learn lots from your posts. With that in mind, it looks like fiberglass is the route to go. I'll get some practice on a tongue box before tackling the whole thing. Hopefully this old dog can learn some new tricks.

It's actually quite easy. Just mix small batches. You might do a Youtube search, "fiberglassing cedar strip canoe."

Tony

kscmpr54 wrote:Thank you, Tony, always learn lots from your posts. With that in mind, it looks like fiberglass is the route to go. I'll get some practice on a tongue box before tackling the whole thing. Hopefully this old dog can learn some new tricks.

kscmpr54, this sounds SOUND

the term FIBERGLASS can be confusing for some

those who shop at the big box stores see fiberglass resin and cloth available for cheap compared to the stuff boatbuilders use

the stuff sold at the big box stores is POLYESTER RESIN which is not intended for sticking to wood though some have used it and been lucky

it was developed MANY years ago and is still used in the fiberglass boat manufacturing industry

butt that's for sticking glass fibers to glass fibers when molding parts

for wood you need to use EPOXY which is quite friendly with wood and can be altered in viscosity by adding thickeners such as WOOD FLOUR to make the slurry to fill the glass cloth weave after it has been applied and thicker to use as an outcottonpickingstanding glue for wood to wood joints

when mixed even thicker it can be used as putty for filling holes and building up fillets for smoothing out corners

a very good and reasonably priced source for epoxy and fiberglass cloth / supplies is

https://duckworks.com

you can call them and tell them what you are doing and they will walk you thru the ordering process

the company was started by a home made/plywood boatbuilder and still carry's on in the same trustworthy fashion

BON CHANCE

sw

Watched several fiber glassing videos on YouTube last night. May not be as bad as I thought. Working in small areas with small batches at a time.

Thank you Swoody126. That was gonna be my next question, where to get it. I’ve heard of several, West comes to mind and I’ll need to review Tony’s book for tips too.

Karl