Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Has anyone used this Deco Metal by Formica on the outside of their tear?
http://tinyurl.com/l3szj
I can't find anything on the Formica website that says it can't be used outside. It does say that it will not bend sharper then 8" and is more dent resistant then the metal alone. The reason I ask is that one of my suppliers has damaged/reject sheets at 20.00 each.

WB, we looked at a similar product(don't remember what brand) when we started our build, since they had all these wonderful textures and colors...then we found out it costs around 9 bucks a sqft so we stuck with mill finish Al....don't know about weather resistance but that is a heck of a price....
madjack

That stuff looks pretty cool, the only problem I can see except for the possible UV thing is what do you do at the joints to make them water tight?
Otherwise it looks do-able.

Woodbutcher wrote:Has anyone used this Deco Metal by Formica on the outside of their tear?
http://tinyurl.com/l3szj
I can't find anything on the Formica website that says it can't be used outside. It does say that it will not bend sharper then 8" and is more dent resistant then the metal alone. The reason I ask is that one of my suppliers has damaged/reject sheets at 20.00 each.

Check the Data sheets on their website. Says its for horisontal or vertical interior use only.

I did not see the interior use on the site. But I did see where it says it moves less then the metal alone does. As for how to deal with the seams, I am building a woody so I wanted to do just the roof with it. I could cover the seam with a wooden rib sealed and screwed down. Any thoughts? Unless the exterior exposure delaminates the metal to their backing I can't see what else could happen to it.

At that price, whether you used it on the exterior of the tear or not...I'd get it...lots of things you can do with it in the future, and you could have a lot of fun with it while finishing out the galley.... Doug

Nitetimes wrote:That stuff looks pretty cool, the only problem I can see except for the possible UV thing is what do you do at the joints to make them water tight?
Otherwise it looks do-able.

Silicone sticks to formica pretty good, all you'd need is a cover strip of Al to prevet mechanical damage.

It says right on the top of that page that it's for interior use.

And come to think of it, do they make ANY kind of mica for exterior use?

Woodbutcher wrote:I did not see the interior use on the site. But I did see where it says it moves less then the metal alone does. As for how to deal with the seams, I am building a woody so I wanted to do just the roof with it. I could cover the seam with a wooden rib sealed and screwed down. Any thoughts? Unless the exterior exposure delaminates the metal to their backing I can't see what else could happen to it.

Woodbutcher
this would be real good inside the galley. The problem I would worry about is the sun. UV and heat might permanately warp or damage it.

Now at $20 a sheet how can you go wrong? You might have to replace your roof.

Aunti M

Ok, you convinced me not to try it for the roof. I have a sheet of Formica with the Bommerang pattern for my galley countertop. Maybe I will look at the Deco stuff for the sides in the Galley. Thanks for the help!