Wood Sealer

[john curtis]

Hi everybody.
Am getting very close to putting the aluminum on my TD. My question to everybody is do I need to use a water sealer on all of the wood befor I glue down the sheet and will it cause a problem with the glue sticking to the sealer.Was also wondering what type of glue to use or will consruction adhesive work.
Thanks John

[wannabefree]

YES!!! CPES is the stuff to use to seal it. Water will get under the aluminum no matter what you do.

[john curtis]

Thanks for the info.Can you buy this CPES at Home Depot.
John

[doug hodder]

It can't hurt to seal it. I've done 2 with aluminum roofs and no sealer. I also used Roberts swimming pool carpet adhesive to glue it down. Some people don't bother to glue it. I was extra careful to seal the edges with 3m 5200 marine sealant (good for underwater applications) and some aluminum flat stock.

Thing is...there are lots of ways to do it. It kinda depends on how you plan on storing it and the environment that you camp in. If it's going to sit outside 24/7/365 with no cover I'd go out of control to seal it. Mine get at least 1 winter outdoors with a cheap blue tarp on them, snow rain etc... No problems yet. Doug

[john curtis]

Hi Doug
My TD will be in the rain snow and just about any weather you can imagine so I will take everybodys advice and seal until I cant seal anymore.I like the idea of the marine sealant and it sounds like it wont interup with the adhesion of the two products.

John

[doug hodder]

If'n it were me and you do seal the ply and then glue...I'd scuff up the cpes a bit and then apply the glue. The extra "tooth" that you get can only help as there won't be any chemical bond between the glue and the epoxy. I also scuffed the back side on the aluminum with 80 grit. Just what I did...other opinions may vary. Doug

[john curtis]

I think I finally understand.If I use a good wood sealer I wont have to glue and seal the sheet down.