The Monstero Build

[nevadatear]

Doug hodder has a nice sticky under"tips and tecniques" for epoxy manuals

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=18512

I pretty much followed the instructions in the builders manual by Steve Fredrick's at camping classics. He has lots of great pictures to help. although we did not use the "cookie cutter" method of honeycombing the plywood, it helpd us enourmously for the hatch and doors and overall methodology. That was my bible.
I got all my materials mail order from Raka, who also has an online manual. They supply to marine folks.
I started with the fabric, and the built up several coats on top. Price was good from Raka with a great quality.

[nevadatear]

As for paint, i am not as familiar as i used spar varnish for the wood finish. Try a search, there was a recent thread on paint over epoxy.

[PubUltraStar]

Epoxy soaking through the fiberglass weave into the wood makes this thing bulletproof. The reason that you put varnish or paint over it is because the sun will actually break down the epoxy over time. I've built my own windsurfing board about 10 years ago, and painting over epoxy works just fine. I've also used the polyurethane over epoxy for cedar strip canoe paddles that I've built. Personally, I've had great success with West System epoxy, but it is very pricey. I dread the day when I have to buy the fiberglass and epoxy for my wooden tear.

[Oldragbaggers]

I'm with Debbie and Randy as far as Raka. I had been a true blue West fan for 25 years, but tried Raka for my teardrop due to the huge price difference. I am so happy with it I doubt I will ever spend the money for West again. Check their prices. It won't be as bad as you think if you're used to buying West.

[IslandStorm62]

You TD is beautiful. Obviously, you have skills with both wood and steel. I ma getting ready to start my build. I am planning on building woody using the generic Benroy design and could use some advice.

What did you use for your exterior skin?

Can you give me details on how to treat the wood to protect from the weather?

I am up in Washington State and we get tons of rain? Thanks.

[nevadatear]

We used 1/8" birch plywood, 2 layers for our outside skin (roof). The sides are just 3/4" ply birch. To protect, it is epoxy, 4-5 layers, then Spar varnish because epoxy needs protection from UV. There are quite a few threads, one just recently on using epoxy. Try searching for epoxy, you will find a wealth. I see you responded to a post about epoxy user's manuals. I haven't read your post yet, but those are great ways to go. I learned most of my information from Steve Fredrick build manual and trial and error. One thing that Doug H always says, is make sure you round over your edges well. A sharp edge, like at the corner of the top and the sides, will cause the epoxy to break easily. We did use fiberglass cloth over the whole thing, and I think that helped to hold the epoxy on thicker. We have not had any breaks in the epoxy yet, at 4 years!

[IslandStorm62]

Good tip on rounding edges, I didn't even think about that. Thanks. How does the fiberglass work? It the cloth does not look transparent, yet I can see the wood finish as if there was no cloth covering it?

[lfrazer98]

We used 1/8" birch plywood, 2 layers for our outside skin (roof). The sides are just 3/4" ply birch. To protect, it is epoxy, 4-5 layers, then Spar varnish because epoxy needs protection from UV. There are quite a few threads, one just recently on using epoxy. Try searching for epoxy, you will find a wealth. I see you responded to a post about epoxy user's manuals. I haven't read your post yet, but those are great ways to go. I learned most of my information from Steve Fredrick build manual and trial and error. One thing that Doug H always says, is make sure you round over your edges well. A sharp edge, like at the corner of the top and the sides, will cause the epoxy to break easily. We did use fiberglass cloth over the whole thing, and I think that helped to hold the epoxy on thicker. We have not had any breaks in the epoxy yet, at 4 years!

I have a just couple questions for you. I noticed in another build journal that you said that you had trouble with the spar varnish. What was the issue you had? I plan on doing the same thing as you for finishing my woody sides. Also, I took a look at your build photos. They were great!! 2 questions about what I saw... 1. How did you seal your door? I don't see a lot of aluminum around it so I was just curious how you sealed it to prevent water from entering. 2. Where did you get that beautiful awning for above your door? Did you make it and how is it attached to the top of the tear?

Beautiful build!

[bdosborn]

I thought that purple cooler cozy looked familiar:





Bruce

[nevadatear]

We used 1/8" birch plywood, 2 layers for our outside skin (roof). The sides are just 3/4" ply birch. To protect, it is epoxy, 4-5 layers, then Spar varnish because epoxy needs protection from UV. There are quite a few threads, one just recently on using epoxy. Try searching for epoxy, you will find a wealth. I see you responded to a post about epoxy user's manuals. I haven't read your post yet, but those are great ways to go. I learned most of my information from Steve Fredrick build manual and trial and error. One thing that Doug H always says, is make sure you round over your edges well. A sharp edge, like at the corner of the top and the sides, will cause the epoxy to break easily. We did use fiberglass cloth over the whole thing, and I think that helped to hold the epoxy on thicker. We have not had any breaks in the epoxy yet, at 4 years!

I have a just couple questions for you. I noticed in another build journal that you said that you had trouble with the spar varnish. What was the issue you had? I plan on doing the same thing as you for finishing my woody sides. Also, I took a look at your build photos. They were great!! 2 questions about what I saw... 1. How did you seal your door? I don't see a lot of aluminum around it so I was just curious how you sealed it to prevent water from entering. 2. Where did you get that beautiful awning for above your door? Did you make it and how is it attached to the top of the tear?

Beautiful build!

Hi! good luck with your build. I will try to answer best as I can.

The trouble we had with varnish is "orange peeling" and drips. I am a perfectionist and couldn't get the look I wanted. It is still fine, and you have to look closely to see the problem, but I still don't like it. I have tried roller, foam brush and expensive brush, as well as expensive varnish. I was most unhappy with Helmsman (el cheapo) spar. It orange peeled the worst. Next time, which will be this year, I will spray it. I was hesitant to spray, as I have only sprayed poly, and that was with my dad (a finishing expert), but I think I will be happier with the spray results. I like the outcome, as it is protecting the epoxy, but not happy with a nice, smooth finish I want.

As for sealing the doors, no you do not see any aluminum as there is none. We finished our doors according to Steve Fredrick's method in his build instruction book. There is a moulding on the inside, which has a lip cut out, then the weatherstripping is in the lip for a pretty tight finish. Ply always warps, so it is a little warped at the bottom, so if we are driving on a wet highway, we shove a towel between the bed and the door, backed by a trashbag, and that seems to keep the water from coming in. A small price to pay for a true wood build. If you can't find some inside pictures of my doors (I don't know what is in my build journal anymore), let me know, I will try to find one. Oh, and the wood "eyebrows" help a lot with the water diversion!

The awning is the only thing we did not make. It is a custom awning from Marti's Awnings. She has a facebook page. She has made MANY teardrop awnings! If you search here for Marti, you will get some other good pics. Well worth the price, one of my favorite parts of our trailer.

And yes, Bruce, you have seen that cooler cozy!

[Mike46]

Debbie and Randy, I think it was in another thread you mentioned applying epoxy resin to your panels while horizontal. I read somewhere that if you re coat epoxy quickly it makes a chemical bond but if you wait you need to sand before the next coat to make a mechanical bond. Did you observe these rules or if not did you have any problems when you overlapped epoxy when finishing over the joints. I'm thinking about pre-finishing my panels for a new build I'm planning.

Thanks, Mike

[nevadatear]

I did follow those rules, primarily because we wanted to get it DONE, so i recoated as soon as the previous coat was done. And no, we had no problems over joints.

[Mike46]

Debbie and Randy, so how long was it between coating the horizontal panels, then gluing up the box, then coating the joints.

Thanks, Mike

[nevadatear]

Quite a while, actually. Cause we did the sides in january and got them up right away, then the build was slow in the cold winter. It wasn't until april that we got the roof on and dod the roof and seams to the sides

[Mike46]

Debbie and Randy, did you sand where the new epoxy on the seams overlapped the older epoxy on the flat panels.

Thanks, Mike