Slipstream

[dales133]

Outstanding

[KCStudly]

You're making it look easy.

[rebapuck]

I can't believe you did that canvas yourself. Looks really great.

[Fred Trout]

Very impressive canvas job. Shows every little ding & bump doesn't it ?

Did you join two pieces of canvas to make that 'seam-thing' running about halfway up all the way along both sides or did it come from supplier like that ?

[KCStudly]

I assumed that that was some sort of tracer thread or pencil mark indicating the center of the fabric.

[azgreg]

I can't imagine trying to do that by myself.

[Robot]

Yea that's a guide line I drew on both the trailer and the canvas to try to keep it straight as I went. It was mostly successful, there were definitely some spots where I got off track a little, but nothing disastrous. Definitely shows every bump! Hopefully the silver paint will hide them a little. If not that's fine. From reading the other foamie threads I knew I would have a handcrafted organic structure full of small flaws. I'm ok with that. I just want to be done setting up the giant family tent!

[Wolffarmer]

I was thinking ( ha ) on the big sides like that when working alone might it be easier to do the lower half first. Then the top half over lapping a bit to later be hidden with accent stripes?

[Fred Trout]

Thanks for explaining the line.

I would not expect shiny paint to hide much but could be pleasantly surprised. Perhaps more prep work sanding and faring like they do with automotive paint jobs is the best way to remedy the bumps & dings since it removes all of them but it is time consuming. The TB II pulls out the vinyl spackle if you have to pull the canvas up to remove bubbles, so there goes the neighborhood, and welcome bumpy

What did you end up using for fairing out the joints & such ?

[Robot]

Well I had help scheduled today for the roof, but got rained out right at go time, so no progress today at all. Spotty showers predicted for the rest of the week, so I need to be opportunistic with my work. Sleep when it rains, work when it's not.

[Robot]

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement. This is the biggest project I've ever taken on and sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all there is to do. Sometimes I feel a little crazy...that the existence of this thing is proof to the world that I'm not right in the head. Normal people don't build these things. Normal people drop 60k on a 5th wheel and 40k on a truck. Heck even among foamie builders this is uncharted territory. 1/2 inch foam over a pvc frame? 17 feet long? Its crazy.

I'm building in my driveway and I live on the primary artery for my neighborhood. I feel like I'm in a fish bowl when I'm working as people slow down and stare when they drive by. But every comment has been positive, everyone seems very impressed and keeps telling me what a great job I'm doing. It definitely keeps me going when I went to quit. Thank you all so much for your support.

[Robot]

Fred, I initially used your pva primer & drywall mud combo but found it difficult to sand. I ended up doing the majority of the fairing with straight drywall mud. "Setting type joint compound".
However, for my base coat to fill in the weave I plan to mix some joint compound into the pva primer, since you said it worked so well filling in the weave on the burlap. I'm using 7oz canvas, so the weave is not deep. I figure pva primer should be very compatible with pva glue. I already have the rustolium aluminum paint. I know the rustolium oil based paints take a long time to dry. (I did a rustolium roller paint job on my car 7 years ago) I might be hitting the road with wet paint & have the first camper with horizontal paint drips.

[Fred Trout]

Wasn't me who came up with that potentially good idea with "Fast-Set", PVA Paint & burlap - that was the Post by RRJR » Tue Jun 16, 2015 1:56 am.

I am doing my first build and have yet to put on exterior canvas. Sounds like it would work decently. Will be spending serious time on getting everything smooth before I even apply canvas. I am planning on using foundation & block primer to fill the weave & used HF canvas tarp material which is about the same weight as yours. Will be sanding after coats as needed after the primer coat since I am going for a smooth finish if possible. Will be using $5 mis-tint latex coats after the primer and a good quality exterior paint for final.

[Robot]

Ah, my mistake. Credit where credit is due!

I yet again changed plans based on what I had available and my sense of panic over my looming deadline. The city recycling center announced a big re-blended paint giveaway, so I went down and picked up a 5 gallon bucket to help fill the weave. While I tried mixing some joint compound into one tray of paint, it just made it lumpy and didn't roll on well. So after the glue saturation coat, I went with 5 coats of reblend grey and then put on the first coat of aluminum

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[Robot]

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I also glued all my scrap canvas to the panels on the inside. There will be an interior wall of coroplast so this area wont be seen, but I'm hoping it will add some strength to the walls.

I'm painting the door on a stand so it gets the same coats of paint at the same time at the trailer.