The Astroliner

[Atomic77]

This is looking nice. What kind of adhesive are you using for this?

I debated for awhile what I should use and I finally landed on an adhesive made by Loctite. My thinking is, regular mastic dries very brittle, which is fine in a house but probably not so good in camper bouncing down the road. The Loctite adhesive dries firm but maintains a reasonable amount of flex, which should work good. I've decided on a non-sanded grout and currently looking for possibly something latex based. (Short question long answer lol)

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[OP827]

This is looking nice. What kind of adhesive are you using for this?

I debated for awhile what I should use and I finally landed on an adhesive made by Loctite. My thinking is, regular mastic dries very brittle, which is fine in a house but probably not so good in camper bouncing down the road. The Loctite adhesive dries firm but maintains a reasonable amount of flex, which should work good. I've decided on a non-sanded grout and currently looking for possibly something latex based. (Short question long answer lol)

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When I asked you, I thought the same about adhesive should be flexible and a house type would not work in a trailer. I recall a designer I think it was hofarc.com who did Airstream restorations and used caulking for fixing the bathroom tiles and it looked like this:

I cannot find the article about that bathroom again...

[Atomic77]

This is looking nice. What kind of adhesive are you using for this?

I debated for awhile what I should use and I finally landed on an adhesive made by Loctite. My thinking is, regular mastic dries very brittle, which is fine in a house but probably not so good in camper bouncing down the road. The Loctite adhesive dries firm but maintains a reasonable amount of flex, which should work good. I've decided on a non-sanded grout and currently looking for possibly something latex based. (Short question long answer lol)

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When I asked you, I thought the same about adhesive should be flexible and a house type would not work in a trailer. I recall a designer I think it was hofarc.com who did Airstream restorations and used caulking for fixing the bathroom tiles and it looked like this:

I cannot find the article about that bathroom again...

Yes, same theory I had

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[Atomic77]

After doing some research, I found a Urethane based grout that is advertised to be flexible. There is also a latex grout as well. The colors are limited but I found one I think will work. I'm not sure that a flexible grout is even necessary but it can't hurt anything.

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[Atomic77]

One last shot of the camping season

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[KCStudly]

That glass tile fits right in to your theme perfectly!

[Atomic77]

That glass tile fits right in to your theme perfectly!

Glad you agree. Thank you KC. Finding the right thing is way easier said than done! So many residential choices. Few for a Space-Age-
Atomic-Era-Mid-Century-Retro-Futuristic Camper!

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[aggie79]

Hi Michael,

I haven't posted for some time, but have been lurking your build continuously. I think all the superlatives have been used up so I'll keep it simple - fantastic design and execution! It's good to see that y'all have made good use of the Astroliner.

On my build, similar to your method, I used PL 400 construction adhesive to adhere the mosaic glass tile to the plywood counter in the galley. To spread the thick adhesive, I used a throw-way plastic v-notch trowel. For grout, I used a two-part epoxy grout. Like all epoxies, the epoxy grout doesn't give a lot of working time and will flash-set on you, but it is really durable and stain-proof. I would highly recommend it.

Take care and keep the pictures coming,
Tom

[Atomic77]

Hi Michael,

I haven't posted for some time, but have been lurking your build continuously. I think all the superlatives have been used up so I'll keep it simple - fantastic design and execution! It's good to see that y'all have made good use of the Astroliner.

On my build, similar to your method, I used PL 400 construction adhesive to adhere the mosaic glass tile to the plywood counter in the galley. To spread the thick adhesive, I used a throw-way plastic v-notch trowel. For grout, I used a two-part epoxy grout. Like all epoxies, the epoxy grout doesn't give a lot of working time and will flash-set on you, but it is really durable and stain-proof. I would highly recommend it.

Take care and keep the pictures coming,
Tom

Thank you Tom. Good to hear from you. And thanks for the tips. I actually glued each piece individually, which is the hard way I know. I just didn't want the potential mess of spreading it around. I like the epoxy grout idea.

And no worries, I'll take all the superlatives I can get!

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[Atomic77]

On my build, similar to your method, I used PL 400 construction adhesive to adhere the mosaic glass tile to the plywood counter in the galley. To spread the thick adhesive, I used a throw-way plastic v-notch trowel. For grout, I used a two-part epoxy grout.

Tom, could you tell me where your got the epoxy grout please?

Thanks

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[aggie79]

Michael,
I can’t recall exactly where I bought the epoxy grout. I used Laticrete Spectralock. Be sure your order parts A, B & C. A&B are the epoxy grout base. C is the color “powder”. I looked on Amazon and you can get it there. I forgot to mention that it is $$$. I think it is worth it. I’ve spilled coffee, red wine, etc in it and it does stain. It has also held together without cracking even with the glass tile installed on 1/2” plywood. Take care, Tom


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[Atomic77]

Michael

Thank you!

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[aggie79]

Michael,
I just realized that I made a crazy typo. I should have said that epoxy grout does not stain.

I don't want to derail your thread, but in case anyone is wondering how I attached the tile, here's the sequence:

Squirt on some PL Premium:


Trowel adhesive with throw-away v-notch trowel and apply tile:


Wait a few days to grout. "Squeegee" grout in with rubber grout float/trowel:


Wait till grout sets and remove haze. On epoxy grout, you have to remove haze before the full cure or it will never come off:


Now back to Michael's stunning build!

[Atomic77]

I just realized that I made a crazy typo. I should have said that epoxy grout does not stain.

Ha. I knew what you meant. You wouldn't recommend it if it stained I'm sure lol. I found it on Amazon. Not really concerned much about staining as its vertical and I'm going to go with black. I originally wanted silver but opted for black when I realized I couldn't get the grout lines perfect. The reason is, I was unable to source the tile I wanted. But, I was able to get several samples from a supplier. Therefore, many samples later I have pieced it together in a sort of mosaic. Because I had to glue the pieces on individually, getting exact grout lines was very difficult even with spacers. Don't get me wrong, it looks pretty good, I'm just concerned that silver will only accentuate the imperfections whereas black, I believe, will help hide any minor issues. Here's a couple pictures before the grout.





Michael

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[KCStudly]

Stunning.

How many "extra" details does it take to create a master piece? (vision of the tootsie pop owl going back to the beginning of this thread and starting to count)