roam with a view first camping trip done

[jbyrd]

I like that big fold out area. Your window protector. You can go camping at some of the craft and arts fairs.
The Cloggers can use that as a clogging stage.

hahaha Sorry just had to say that.
It would make a really nice sturdy assemble table for working on my RC planes when I got to the all weekend long Air shows.

LOL yeah it is rather large ended up about 5'x5', and works great for "assembly" as both of those canopies said POP UP on the front of the box but came in a hundred little pieces. so it worked great for that

[TJinPgh]

Given that Deck Restore is a water-based product (?), I wonder if it could be thinned out a bit and put on with a foam roller for a smoother finish.

Out of curiosity, did you do anything to your ply before using it? Like, perhaps, seal it with anything?

I know some people have had issues with ply delaminating with regular latex paint. Just wondering if that was a concern with this as well, since it's intended use is on solid wood rather than ply.

[jbyrd]

Given that Deck Restore is a water-based product (?), I wonder if it could be thinned out a bit and put on with a foam roller for a smoother finish.

Out of curiosity, did you do anything to your ply before using it? Like, perhaps, seal it with anything?

I know some people have had issues with ply delaminating with regular latex paint. Just wondering if that was a concern with this as well, since it's intended use is on solid wood rather than ply.

the problem with the deck restore is it has a sand type additive so you can only go so thin or smooth with it.
As far as the ply goes the outside skin is all luan and I did sand back down to bare wood about six inches out from every seem and edge and then epoxy and glassed, the rest of the surface was just scuffed but still all of the enamel paint was left since that was'nt the problem (just the seams busted open) mainly due to leaks around a window that allowed water in.
The deck restore actually never ended up on any bare wood surface so I can't say about issues with the wood yet. I do know that the entire 2 hour trip home It rained like cats and dogs, and after inspection no visible issues or leaks were found.

[eaglesdare]

congrats on your build and first outing!

[TJinPgh]

Jeremy,
Thanks for the info.

One of the Home Depot stores in my area has a 2 board display where they did one board with the 2 coat using the roller. The other was 2 coat with the second coat smoothed with a brush immediately after applying. It was a lot smoother than the other similar display I'd seen elsewhere and would certainly be acceptable if it couldn't be smoothed any further.

I had read a review of Deck Restore on Amazon where the poster had thinned it out substantially with water. They liked it as it was a lot more smooth than the straight product, but admitted that the sand texture was somewhat patchy. My thought was that they probably thinned it out too much. I also suspect that thinning it out that much might limit it's over-all protection benefit.

My thinking was to maybe do the typical two coat process, like they direct. Using their roller and straight product for the first coat. Then using a wet foam brush or roller after the first coat (instead of waiting until the 2nd) to do a little initial smoothing. Then perhaps try thinning the Deck Restore out by maybe 10% or maybe 25% at most. Just to make it flow a bit easier and put the second coat on with a smooth foam roller instead of the roller they provide.

I wish they made it in quarts so different techniques could be tried without buying two gallons of it if you don't like it.

Although, I do see that Lowes now carries it in single gallon cans for $20, rather than the $50 2 gallon kit that Home Depot sells. So, I may pick up a can and play around with it a bit.

Your response about the luan was pretty much the info I was looking for. I was thinking about maybe just painting the wood with some thinned TB2 first. Let that completely seal the wood. Then use the Deck Restore on top. I had planned to tape the seams anyway, so, that's good.

Did you buy any particular type of luan? Was it regular box store grade stuff or did you buy something specific?

[TJinPgh]

BTW,
I know that they say that Deck Restore is only for horizontal surfaces. As such, some had thought about using it on this forum in the past and chose against it without ever trying it.

Did you have any problem doing the sides? Was there anything you did in particular to make it work?

[jbyrd]

congrats on your build and first outing!

Thank you very much, we really enjoyed it! now I find myself trying to come up with every excuse, I can to go camping!

[jbyrd]

Ok here is an update on the test piece for the deck restore.
One coat using a regular paint brush

later that day I did a second coat still using the same regular paint brush(but forgot to get a pic )
this is after two weeks (12 days is that close enough to call 2 weeks lol) It has been sitting in the elements the entire time, rain, heat, bugs lol


Is holding up very well didn't bust along the seams.
this is how smooth I was able to get it with the brush on both coats


And here is how it looks on my ttt


TJinPgh,
To answer your question about "their technique" I personally would not use that roller again,
1. to get the product to transfer from roller to surface takes a lot of pressure, It wanted to slide across the surface.
2. uses a tremendous amount of product
3. very hard to get into tight places (have to end up using a brush) and doesn't look the same.
As far as I can see with the foam roller Idea as long as it was the second coat It would probably work good, the problem with rolling is if the roller slides the least little bit, It wants to push the sand around and leave you with "flat spots"
Now with that being said, the product itself seems to be great with a brush. I don't really see that much reason to thin it out, At least in my case because I wanted a thick coat of "armor" so to speak. But thinning could maybe get a slightly smoother finish but would need more coats. (think the benefits would be very minimal )
Another bonus of it, is that it seems to be an added conversation topic for people. Everybody wanted to know If I stuccoed it LOL I told them Yes It is built out of cinder blocks and stuccoed They all looked at me with this bewildered look on their faces and my grin gave me up everytime!

The luan I used was just the el cheapy stuff from lowes.
The sides went as easily as the top surface! It's not so thick you cant move it and not so thin it runs.

[TJinPgh]

Thanks for the info and the tests. Looks fairly smooth with the brush. Would take a while to do the whole thing by brush I think. Might buy a can and play around with it a bit. See if it can be done and not get brush strokes.

May look at some similar products as well. Maybe garage floor coating.

[jbyrd]

Yeah, I used this product because of circumstances. Would I use it again? maybe, but probably only for a quick, cheap and dirty build, you know cheapest ply I could find, luan roof,no filler or sanding, no frills kind of build. The next one will be done right from the get go.