Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **atahoekid** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:05 am

I went ahead and ordered their "starter" kit. I'm gonna try their stuff out and see if it is as good as they describe. They sent a DVD along with the kit that shows them building a wall with their foam coat. Looks like a perfect application for a TD. I hope to play with it over the next couple of days. I'll report back with results and pics

by **eaglesdare** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 8:30 am

fantastic! i can't wait to hear about this stuff. please take lots of pics for us.

i watch the hgtv disneyfying your backyard. lots of the stuff is shaped out of foam. but there is a coating that makes it strong for the kids to play on it. i think they use fiberglass. but would love to beable to use something other that that.

by **GPW** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 10:15 am

How about a paper mache covering ??? Newspaper... made of the same stuff as wood and with interlocking fibers (paper making) might even be stronger than wood , pound for pound... We know how to make it waterproof ... The ultimate in cheap coverings , and very paintable ... :thinking:

Many Mardi Gras floats here are made of Paper ... used year after year after year .. with a million people beating on them , probably more wear than a Bear attack ...

by **atahoekid** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:38 am

As I stated earlier, I bought the Hotwire Foam Factory starter kit. The first thing I did was glue up some pieces.

Here's photos:

I faced glue and edge glued some trial pieces. I did not clamp either piece.

I didn't use a lot of glue to edge glue it. You might notice in the first photo that I got just a bit of squeeze out. I only glued one side.

Here's what the face glued sample looks like. A bit more liberal and applied to both sides.

After letting the samples dry for 24 hours, I tried to pull them both apart. There was some give at both joints so I didn't pull real hard and left the joints to cure longer.

This evening after getting home from a 5 day road trip, I again tried pulling them apart. No give in the joints and I could not pull apart either joint. I was able to "snap" the edge glued pieces apart. It was the glue that failed. :thinking:

So, is it poor gluing technique? Not enough glue? One side only? Or is it inferior product? I realize there is also the question of glueable surface area.

Since most of the joints are of the edge glue type, I'm thinking of trying again, this time with 2 inch foam and GG and this glue. I'm also going to try their foam coat with the mesh they provide. Hopefully I can get that done in the morning before I leave for another 2 night roadtrip. I will post pics as soon as the results are in.

Anyone have feedback with the results so far?

by **GPW** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:27 am

Like it says right on the bottle "glues to most porous surfaces" :roll:

Despite their claims , may not be the Best for foam ...the way we use it ...

by **atahoekid** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 7:06 pm

I'm thinking the same, but will wait for the test results are in before I make my decision. I didn't get a chance to glue up test pieces before I left on my business trip so I will glue them up Saturday morning

by **GPW** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 8:25 am

Mel. I'm starting to think Epoxy glue (not the thin stuff we use for finishing) may be the best adhesive for 'Structural" gluing of the foam ... Used it for years on Foam planes (RC) , no problems ... when/if you remove it the foam comes with it , the foam fails , which is the reason for the skin ...

Has anybody tried the cartridge type Foam structural adhesive ??? Loctite 5570 Clear Adhesive or similar ...???

by **atahoekid** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:05 am

GPW,

If no one else has, I will. I want to find the best glue I can without breaking the bank. I'll run it side by side with GG, TB2 and the Foam Factory stuff. I'll pick up a tube tomorrow and see what it does. I'm thinking edge gluing would be the best test for these glues?

by **atahoekid** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:11 am

GG sample is drying, as is another "Foam Fusion" sample. This time the sample is clamped and I used a lot of it. I will get a tube of the loctite 5570 adhesive tomorrow when I head into town and give that a try too. I went to the local hardware store and they wanted way too much for a tube so I'll stop into the big box store when I'm in the city tomorrow.

I also played with the Foam Coat, boost and mesh from Hotwire Factory. It seemed a lot like a newer version of glue and canvas. It's drying now, but seems to be pretty heavy. I put an 1/8" coat of this stuff on to hide the weave of the mesh and was planning on 1 more coat but I don't know.... We'll see if it gets lighter after drying. :thinking:

On the plus side, it looks like it will dry very smooth, except where I stuck my finger in it after about half an hour. Guess what happens!!! :duh:

Any way, pics when it's dry

by **eaglesdare** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:21 am

isn't it fun to just play with this stuff. hehehehe
i am sure we all have those oops moments. but you could get the whole palm print in there and use it like the hand in cement. then just add a date.

by **atahoekid** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:34 am

Well I'm pretty impressed with this foam coat stuff. I looked at it after I got home from work tonight and am pretty happy with how the sample turned out. Just as a recap, I took a piece of 1" pink foam board, put on the mesh that they (Hot Wire Foam Factory) sell and covered it with their Foam Coat with the Boost additive. I'm hoping for this coating to make the foam structurally stronger.

My concern last night was that it was going to be heavy. After letting it dry overnight, I discovered that it didn't add too much weight. IMO

Here's a couple pics

This is how it looked after it dried. With the exception of the spot I stuck my finger in while it was drying and some pin holes, it dried pretty smooth and very hard. I tried denting it with my knuckle and just ended up hurting my knuckle. My son thought I put tile on the foam. Can't put a finger nail mark in it. I may try to stick a nail in it after another coat or two. I put on about a 1/4" layer of the stuff. I'll need to figure out how to keep it from running down the sides. Maybe some painters tape? The company says it's almost bullet proof... maybe with enough layers it'll be bear resistant? LOL!

I also tried pulling the mesh off and after pulling REALLY hard, I did manage to pull it off one edge. I used the spare mesh to pull on it. Can't get underneath the coating to pull at the mesh otherwise. I barely covered the mesh along the side (it was more like stuff that spilled over that I spread out) and still had to give it a real good pull. I'm sure now that I got it off, it would be easier to pull it all the way off, but I don't see that as a real world test. Nobody is going to be pulling on any loose mesh (there won't be any) Here's the pic:

I'm going to give it another coat. The company says you can put this stuff on in multiple 3/8" layers, but in a weight saving effort, I think I will try to stay under 3/8" total for multiple layers.

So far so good. The product so far stands up to the company claims. Pretty rare now days. :thumbsup:

The tests will continue! If this stuff continues to test well, I'll be using it on my Road Foamie

by **eaglesdare** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:53 am

its hard to tell from the pic, but is that a smooth finish? can you paint on top of that now?

wonder just how much of that stuff you would need to cover a foamie and how much will it eventually cost.

by **atahoekid** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 12:32 am

Yes that is a smooth finish although it is a bit irregular (some random hi and lo spots) I'm thinking that if I made the mixture a little more "runny" it might smooth out even better. Yes it can be painted. It can also be sanded first. I am also putting on their rubberizer which they call Bounce. I will paint over that.

The foam coat costs 29.95 for a 25 lb box. For the 2 thin coats I put on 6" x 3" piece, I've not even used 1 cup of it. The company claims that you can make each layer 3/8" thick and put on multiple layers if you wish for greater strength. I'm guessing that I will probably order 50# of it.

The boost additive is $27.95 per 32 oz bottle. They say you can use from 12-50 pounds of foam coat with it.

So not the thriftiest way to go but for me it wasn't about thrifty or even weight for that matter but I didn't want to deal with rot issues nor did I want to be lifting heavy plywood sheets by myself. The other reality is I've always done things a bit out of the ordinary so foam was real appealing to me. :running man:

I always seem to be a bit out of step with the mainstream :lol:

by **eaglesdare** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 7:40 am

i am going to add this site here also. but it appears expensive for what we want.

http://www.industrialpolymers.com/produ ... tyrospray/

by **atahoekid** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:52 am

Did you get a price quote?

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Web Sites w/ Foam Info For Tools, Techniques, Sources Etc..

Who is online