Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm ready to skin trailer with aluminum. Should plywood be spar varnished before applying aluminum? Will henry's 663 adhere to varnish, if it is to be applied first?

seahorse, I varathaned my tear with three coats and applied the aluminum using Henrys 663, and I had two friend help me. As for varnish I don't have a clue. There are those that build boats canoes and such that can answer your question.

Jim,

Thanks Rooster, I didn't know for sure if sealing was nessessary if aluminum is being used........ but evidently it is. I'll try varathane instead since I don"t know about the spar varnish either.......Thanks again!........Rob

I didn't seal my plywood before installing the aluminum on my first teardrop. I suspect it's just a matter of time before the water gets in and it starts to rot.

If I were ever to do another aluminum teardrop, I would fully waterproof before floating the aluminum over it. I would probably uses CPES. There's some info about CPES here: http://www.mikenchell.com/weekender/skinning.html

Mike...

Thanks Mike, CPES sounds like a great product, BUT....... the price is more than my budget will allow .........Rob

seahorse wrote:Thanks Mike, CPES sounds like a great product, BUT....... the price is more than my budget will allow .........Rob

Only one question for you... How long do you want your teardrop to last?

Mike...

Mike , your TWISTING my arm.......... My question for you is........How much CPES to cover 125 sq. feet?

Not to contradict anyone and no offense meant to anyone. But, you really should not need to seal the plywood under the AL if all is dry first and you seal all the seams properly. Yes, some water or condensation may get in, but to do any real damage will take a long, long time. Years!

Just my opinion! Obviously sealing the plywood will not harm anything.

seahorse wrote:Mike , your TWISTING my arm.......... My question for you is........How much CPES to cover 125 sq. feet?

Seahorse,

I don't mean to twist your arm...

For a different perspective, let go over to Camp-Inn and see what they do..
Ah, here's the link... http://home.centurytel.net/edevold/faq.htm#q3aaa

I don't have a photo of the campinn in the spray booth. Maybe Pateardropper or someone else does...

But the point is, leaks do happen. Insurance is cheap...

Mike....

P.S. To answer your question about CPES... probably 1 or 2 quarts...

I guess some sort of sealing is recomended. I will purchase 1/2 gal CPES and seal edges first........ then use remaining to cover what I can.....thanks I didn't know which way to turn .

That sounds like a plan to me...

If you are not comfortable with the cost of CPES, maybe you need to look at varnish...

Steve F... or anyone else familar with epoxy... your thoughts?

Mike...

Thanks, I thought 2 gallons were needed but I see thats not the case........ $50.00 of insurance is not much in the long haul.......Thanks all for your input.

I'm currently building a custom project for a customer. She wants an aluminum roof. I intend to apply a sealing coat of epoxy. Most will agree that the adhesive under the aluminum will fail in the heat of the sun, so the application is not to help adhesion, rather,I'll apply the epoxy just as an insurance policy!
I always have the stuff around the shop..So I'll do it. I'm sure that if moisture gets under the skin, it won't rot the wood.
I don't know about the cost comparerd to CPES, Raka marine epoxy is about $50 for plenty to do a roof!

I'm getting ready to skin mine, thinking about doing it this weekend. I was thinking the adhesive applied would be seal the plywood and there would not be a need to coat it with anything else . But from what I've been reading here I may be off track.
Let me know your thoughts.

And any other tips on skinning this teardrop woul be of great help.