Canvas on Wood Waterproofing

[Lynn Coleman]

Interesting, thanks Louella

[angib]

Paint is one traditional substance to use to apply canvas to wood as a waterproofer.

Your granddad's friend with the wooden boat would collect all his leftovers of old paints, particularly gooey ones like old undercoats, mix them together and use that to stick the canvas to the wood planking of a cabin top.

Only the final coats of paint would be in the desired shade and only really fancy guys used glue to stick the canvas down.

[Lynn Coleman]

Thanks, Angib appreciate the info. I think we'll still use the tb2. We are looking into doing some of the walls with foam only. The foamies seemed really interesting.

Lynn

[48Rob]

Paint is one traditional substance to use to apply canvas to wood as a waterproofer.

Your granddad's friend with the wooden boat would collect all his leftovers of old paints, particularly gooey ones like old undercoats, mix them together and use that to stick the canvas to the wood planking of a cabin top.

Only the final coats of paint would be in the desired shade and only really fancy guys used glue to stick the canvas down.

Andrew,

Is it safe to assume that the paint they used was an oil based paint, or to further clarify "non latex"?

Any idea how long such a protective covering would last before the canvas needed another coat?

Would the salt water exposure cause recoats more often than that say, on the side of a trailer?

Thanks!

Rob

[angib]

Is it safe to assume that the paint they used was an oil based paint, or to further clarify "non latex"?

Yes, absolutely. I was slipping into British English there, where we tend to call latex 'emulsion' rather than 'paint'.

Any idea how long such a protective covering would last before the canvas needed another coat?

On old boats with canvas-covered decks and cabin tops, the paint breakdown often seems to be the top coat peeling off the coats underneath - though I wonder if that is because the weave of the canvas stops the surface being properly keyed with sandpaper.

For durability, I guess "some years" - more than 2, less than 10 - is about the target. The canvas weave tends to make these surfaces show defects less - or maybe just that they never have a high gloss finish to lose.

[48Rob]

Thanks Andrew,

I'm trying to determine the longevity of canvas covered trailer roofs.
There is very little information available on how long they actually lasted (before they leaked).

Rob

[Blotto Bros]

Thanks Andrew,

I'm trying to determine the longevity of canvas covered trailer roofs.
There is very little information available on how long they actually lasted (before they leaked).

Rob

I have been reading up on this and discovered a number of old (1870-1920) railroad cars were roofed this way. One site that deals with train car restoration stated 3-5 years for "rolling" stock depending on cinder burns and 5-8 years for parked "museum" stock.

My Vardo has 7 months in the weather and shows no sign of breakdown or leaks. I used 1/4" ply and laminated 8oz canvas to it with tb2 thinned 50% with warm water. Then 2 coats of Henry elastomeric roof coat in bright white.

[48Rob]

I have been reading up on this and discovered a number of old (1870-1920) railroad cars were roofed this way. One site that deals with train car restoration stated 3-5 years for "rolling" stock depending on cinder burns and 5-8 years for parked "museum" stock.

My Vardo has 7 months in the weather and shows no sign of breakdown or leaks. I used 1/4" ply and laminated 8oz canvas to it with tb2 thinned 50% with warm water. Then 2 coats of Henry elastomeric roof coat in bright white.

It makes sense that train cars would have been built this way too...
3-5 years sounds about right if you think about it.
I'll bet your elastomeric coating will last longer than the lead based dope they mixed up back then

I'm not considering actually using a doped canvas for the actual waterproof roof covering, but maybe for appearance, over aluminum to replicate the look/feel.
The concern is would it peel, not the paint or dope, but the canvas itself.
That could be a mess to try to scrape off.

Thank you for responding, please keep us updated on how your roof weathers.

Rob

[Lynn Coleman]

I guess that is why we are looking at glueing the canvas with tb2 or tb3 to the wood then a 50/50 mixture of tb2 and water on top of the glued canvas, then paint.

Our thinking is the glue will adhere the canvas better and the paint when it cheap or peals will be on top of the canvas and less likely to let water in.

Lynn

[Blotto Bros]

When applying the 50/50 mix use a paint roller and really push. GO SLOWLY or you will also get covered with the glue!!

I experimented with several methods of application and this was by far the best.

[Lynn Coleman]

Thanks for that tip.

We've been reading the foamies section and finding interesting tidbits there. I'm wondering how they work with road rash?

Lynn