Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I know Farmtek Polymax Board has been discussed in the past, but I don't know if anyone ever tried the stuff. I have a 4x8 sheet on order to see what I can do with it. Maybe the ceiling, the ouside walls, the outside roof, the inner walls of the galley?

Wondering about adhesives that don't set up hard. I think some are using Henrys 663 carpet adhesive? What is it's final texture?

Anyway, how about some ideas or lessons learned.

farmtek clicky

Yea, what a loooooong url!

Here's where we are right now. More new pics posted in our album.

Thanks!

hey Sid...looking great...did she break your arm for getin' sassy with her in doing some research on the poly board I could find no adhesive that is supposed to stick it...someone here had emailed 'em and they got a reply back that there was no adhesive made for it....in checking out Polyzone.com all they talked about was welding/screwing/bolting it...I know for a fact that there are a lot of members interested in this stuff so puhlezze keep us informed
madjack

Sid-

Being the knob-head that first brought it up; I've been thinking alot about what/any downfalls it may have...

The only one that I can think of is how to sucessfully apply the stuff...

I think a "Tub & Shower Surround" construction adhesive should do the trick, like this stuff available at Lowe's:

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/products ... 3&plid=685

I'm gonna check with Loctite & see what they have to say!

Cheers,

Coop

Hey Coop,

I had talked to them before and they said it was a "virgin" material...(ha, okay, here come the jokes...) and you could not use a glue with it. I'm very intrigued with this stuff and want to see the possibilties.

Jack,

That's rotator cuff surgery back in April '05. Bad stuff. Was out of work for 3 months. All the spring flowers stayed watered and me and the dog had many long walks. Good thing I didn't have a teardrop bug then, I would have never healed!

sid n side

sid wrote:I had talked to them before and they said it was a "virgin" material...(ha, okay, here come the jokes...) and you could not use a glue with it. I'm very intrigued with this stuff and want to see the possibilties.
sid n side

Sid-

You & me both brother!

This stuff offers all the things TD builders look for: UV stable, durable, waterproof, big sheets, white (but probably paintable with plastic paint) & CHEAP!

Anywho...I emailed Loctite's tech dept. I'll report back!

Cheers,

Coop

I have no idea, but hey ! c'mon guys..... DUCT TAPE doesn't that solve everything???!!!

O.K. guys guess I'll come out of the closet... I have a 5 x 10 sheet of this polymax stuff and three sheets of 4 x 8 comming. Am going to use some Marine GOOP on it to seal my trailer. The stuff is nearly industructable. Won't even burn worth a hoot. GOOP will not melt it but if you take a small wire brush and rough, well it won't rough up either, but the rotary brush in a drill will create small groves in the PolyMax that will hold a good seal. The GOOP is, well for lack of a better word, malleable so it seals and sticks without breaking when put between aluminum and the PolyMax. This you will not beleive, but hot melt glue will almost adhere to it, well it does not give what you would call a good glue up. The high temperature kind that is. Solvents have no effect on it and can be used to clean it. If you melt the stuff it retains its original properties that is, flexible and slick as you know what.
I am just about ready to apply it to the roof and sides will advise in a couple weeks how this stuff goes on. By the way it can be cut with a pair of scissors.

O.K. MadJack it's all out in the open now.
Oh - by the way Duct Tape won't even start to stick to PolyMax

Hey Ron... Great info!

Wondering what thickness you are using, and if Marine GOOP is the "official" name of the stuff you are using.

The GOOP is, well for lack of a better word, malleable so it seals and sticks without breaking when put between aluminum and the PolyMax

Does this mean you are putting it over aluminum?

Thanks again and KEEP US POSTED!!

sid

I'm starting to think that all this stuff is good for is templates.

Nope... It's not going over aluminum. However I am going to put it on over some 1/8" luan. I do plan on adding a row of stainless steel screws up the middle of the trailer with some bonded washers (either silicone, or EDPM, I think EDPM is right) also stainless steel. I just don't trust a full float of the materia. Will be using aluminum angles and stainless steel screws on the side seams just like everyone else. With the addition of the Marine GOOP as a sealant between the alumn. and the PolyMax.
Yes Marine GOOP is the official name of the stuff I will be using. Not the cheapest stuff on the market and not the most expensive either.
By the way tried a little silicone on it and it will peel off just as easily as that stuff you find on the back of a new credit card when they send you one. The Marine GOOP sticks a bit better and a little more pliable without coming loose, after putting the little grooves in the PolyMax with a small wire brush in a drill.
Oh. By the way. The large sheets only come in 1/16" thick sheets.

So have you tried welding it togeather? Use a solder tip on a propane torch or an electric woodburner.

gman wrote:So have you tried welding it togeather? Use a solder tip on a propane torch or an electric woodburner.

Gman-

Maybe something like this would work better

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=41592

Just another excuse to buy yet another tool

Cheers,

Coop

Slayer wrote:I'm starting to think that all this stuff is good for is templates.

Any idea on the weight for a 5x10 sheet of this stuff? It would make a good template if it's light enough to move around and store when not needed.

Ooops! the 5x10 sheets only come in 1/16" - not really thick enough for a router guide.

On another note - is this stuff PolyVinyl? If so, wouldn't PVC cement work to glue it together?

I think the Farmtek stuff is a medium density polyethylene. Gluing plastics involves actually melting them with solvents and getting a capilary action to join them. Some plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene are designed to be resistant to chemicals. These plastics that are not dissolved by chemicals cannot be glued and to join them they need to be hot-air welded. But you can still get them to "stay put" pretty well in large surface areas with Henry's or silicone because it creates a vacuum between the surfaces and stays flexible. Just dosen't work along the edges. Cheap hot-air welders are hard to use sucessfully, Harbor Freight has one. The good ones cost a couple of hundred dollars or more and use high frequency to weld. They work better with plastic welding rods of the same material you are welding.

Spent many years as a peon in plastic manufacturing of different sorts, and my information is kinda old like me. Technology in Plastics changes at an unblievable rate.

Steve