The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[dales133]

Looking good mate i to have been keeping up with it and youd have to be pretty happy with how the fg is turning out.
I saw on the news this morning actualy about the record high temps youve been getting.
Keep up the good work

[KCStudly]

Thanks Dale. Yeah I am happy about how the glass is coming. It's probably not for everyone, but if I can do it as well as it would appear things are going, with minimal prior experience, then perhaps it might help others decide if it is something they might want to consider. Not an easy choice for a novice.

I had a pretty strenuous day at work today and was just teetering on whether to bail out tonight... plus there is rain coming... , but with your encouragement I think I'll go push on. Stay tuned later this evening for an update on glassing the street side door header that I laid up last night, and perhaps more.

[dales133]

Had a week of rain here,im over it

[tony.latham]

SUPER.

Tony

[KCStudly]

We had a little sprinkle as I left the shop tonight, but not too bad.

Hey Tony, how ya' been?

[KCStudly]

Let’s get caught up.

Yesterday it was 68 deg F when I left work. With solar gain it was 74 in the loft and I had the windows open!

I decided to modify the door header and sill glass slightly. In the sketches I had the lap seams staggered from the front running past the forward door jamb, then again on the header and sill running past the rear jamb. I had the first plies ending flush with the edge of the door and the second plies extending 1-1/2 inches past; but then I realized that would potentially leave odd lumps in the rear portion of the wall layup. So I trimmed the header and sill cloth so that the first plies stop short of the rear jamb and the second plies land flush with the edge of the door. The next section (the large rear portion of the side wall) will have the first ply just overlapping the door opening slightly. The second ply will overlap the jamb by 1-1/2 inches into the door opening, overlapping the header and sill top plies, and I’ll trim the excess out of the jamb opening like I did at the front. The seams will be more symmetrical this way.

Anyway, here is the first ply of cloth taped into position over the header.


Wet that out; drape the second ply; brush that out flat with the palms of my gloved hands; squeegee to bring up any excess wet; daub on more wet as needed; trim most of the excess along the flox edge so that the weight doesn’t bend the fibers away; trim any stray strands around the perimeter that are easy picking; go back around to make sure everything is still laid down properly; and check for goobers/large drips on the surrounding foam. Getting into a routine now.





Tonight was 72 when I left work. I stopped by the big orange box to get some more acetone, and I couldn’t help but notice the juxtaposition of the large pile of snow ice as I drove by with the windows down.


Second part of the routine: trim the bulk of the excess cured glass with the steak knife; scrape the standing edge with the scrapper; touch off the little strands with the small sanding block; sand the prickly bits off the perimeter so that the greenie pad doesn’t get hung up; wash amine with the greenie pad and paper towels; scuff the perimeter well to deglaze; and clean up sanding dust.





I did spend a little time with the block fairing the forward lap seam down a bit, down to the point where some fairing filler should be able to smooth out the rest.

I wanted to get the sill laid up tonight, too, but I had dripped some water from the amine cleanup down onto the cedar sill and could feel that it was still damp. Hmm, let’s try drying that with the hair dryer. Worked a treat! Onward!

Draped the first ply of sill glass over the sill and taped it into position.


Used the cut down chip brush to press wet into the cloth, which went surprising well with few drips to start. Things changed a bit when I started to wrap the flap under. As the wet epoxy started to run down the brush, down my glove and started dripping onto the cardboard drop cloth… making it tricky to avoid laying in the drips or worse, getting it on me… I started to wonder why I had not done this smaller piece wet on wet using the PMPP technique. Next time.

I managed to get through it w/o too much drama and in the end I think this may have been my best layup to date.



Tomorrow I’ll clean this work up so that I will be ready for the next big layup on the weekend; the larger rear section of the street side wall.

If I have time, I may also do the lower portion of the front wall on the street side. Since I can’t easily tip the front of the camper up I will use the PMPP method for that.

Karl did some rough progress analysis and forecasting, and predicted that TPCE will be campable by July.

[GPW]

July ??? and best don’t tell him about the paint process ... You going to shoot a “filler” ?
Looking Very Good KC .... moving along ...

[Wolffarmer]

July you say. Brought this song to mind. Well mostly the title as the lyrics do get rather..........

July You're a Woman

Had not thought about that song in years. Need a road trip now. With passenger.

Randy

[KCStudly]

GPW, Thanks for the humorous skepticism.

I will use the West System 410 fairing filler to blend any rough areas first, like where the overlap seams come together. Karl, Atomic/Michael and others have suggested that I use a high build spray on primer to fill the weave before block sanding. I wanna look into the stuff Michael suggested in a little more detail, as well as the Interlux products that Becky used on the Sagwagon; but have still not ruled out simple latex. Don't expect show quality paint and body work.

WF, I had not heard that one. You must be getting excited about your Mordor trip, huh?

[GPW]

" Don't expect show quality paint and body work. “ ... And why not ??? Deserves a Cool paint job ... It really does !!! Ever since you said you weren’t in a rush , we’re OK with that ... On the other hand , Karl may have other uses for the space in August ...

[Wolffarmer]

Yes, getting excited. Might even have some people join me. About to announce when and where we will meet up to jump off the map of the known world.

Randy

[Ned B]

July he says? Ahh yes, but which one?

[dales133]

Nice glass work on those jams its coming up a treat.
And yes,yes it deserves a great paint job.
Theres no rush... i purchased the steel for my trailer a year ago last December i think it was and wanted it finished in a year but didnt realise how much time and money id be up for.
You going white finish on yours KC? (I seem to remember you saying at some stage)

[KCStudly]

Thanks Dale. I had wanted to do fine black scallops on a silver background, but the more I looked into it the more concerned I got about heat absorption and what that could do to the foam and/or foam to glass adhesion.

It turns out that even low levels of tint can have a dramatic increase in heat absorption. So, yes, at least the roof will likely be predominately white. The scallops will likely be the same gray as the locker liner vinyl, or perhaps a few shades lighter. Maybe a darker color for a pinstripe border on the scallops and for some logo stuff. Unless I throw caution to the wind and go with gray allover and a slightly darker scallop.

Stay tuned for today's adventures.

[OP827]

KC, you are doing great job with FG. I bet it feels good