Great Writeup on Fiberglass over Foam

[mikeschn]

Mike , I can see where a perforating tool and epoxy would make one STRONG skin ... canvas or fiberglass ... thousands of little epoxy "nails" deep into the Foam holding the skin on... Just something else to try on scraps ...

Show me what this perforating tool looks like. I think it's time to investigate it.

Mike...

[Conedodger]

I'm playing with epoxy this morning!

I've used epoxy on fiberglass and canvas!

I have to let the resin harden overnight, so I should have some preliminary results tomorrow morning!



Mike...

Hi Mike.

Pods8: who is a member on this forum did several tests



http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/58926-POD-Homebuilt-foam-core-fiberglass-skin-pop-up-camper-build-thread?p=860140#post860140

Thought you might be interested, i would be interested in similar tests of TB2 and cloth if you fancy doing some. So far no one had bashed a TB2/cloth panel to see how it compares.

Also i have been talking to a UK company who make a 2 part epoxy paint system for recoating swimming pools and he thinks it would be suitable, maybe they do the same in the USA.

http://www.poolcoat.co.uk

Its simply mixed and painted on and has a 1.5 hour working window, the advantage is its pre-coloured.

[GPW]

Here's the one I was thinking of ... http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... ps-sellers Just a simple wall covering tool ... should punch Foam like crazy ... Probably anybody that sells wallpaper would have one ...

I have a sample cut from the roof .... let's give it a good whack eh ...

[GPW]

Here ya' go ... 16oz. hammer Gave it my best shot ...






Surprisingly the hammer only dented the foam about 1/4" No cracking ,splitting ... damage was localized to the immediate impact area... Would be an easy fix ... Heavier weight canvas would have probably only dented...

[stomperxj]

Here ya' go ... 16oz. hammer Gave it my best shot ...
Surprisingly the hammer only dented the foam about 1/4" No cracking ,splitting ... damage was localized to the immediate impact area... Would be an easy fix ... Heavier weight canvas would have probably only dented...

Thanks for doing that GPW... That's what i was wanting to see in the other thread i started about the outer finish material. That's a real world test and result of the canvas method.... and it looks plenty strong to me. Now don't forget your hammer for the next gathering

Jess

[GPW]

I guess now I'll have to beat on my trailer everywhere I go ... Maybe just bring the hammer and a test piece so everyone can have a bit of Fun ... New teardrop gathering activity ... hammering on each others trailers ...

Guess we should have warned Eagle before she left ...

[Conedodger]

Thanks GPW, from your test and the pods8's image:

I think on the epoxy one the strength comes from the glass fiber cloth and as the covering is like a sheet of glass it has no give at all, it bends in over a large area and you get cracks. I can imagine in an accident there being a large area of damage as the damage stress would be absorbed over a large area.

In your TB2/Cloth one the stress point is contained in a far more local area with the skin giving way and the foam absorbing the hit. Its as if the cloth gave away rather easily but the hit recovered better so leaving less damage.

I must say i am rather impressed by the TB2 / cloth one.

I wonder what the result would be with TB2 and Glassfiber cloth?

[GPW]

Figuring a little hammer isn't enough , thought I'd have a go at it with a sledge Hammer , see what happens ...
Cone , I agree about the resin being brittle ....

[GPW]

OK, Now Here's a TEST !!!





I took my best Carnival , ring the bell swing ... Frankly I expected MORE damage ... This Foam /canvas is AMAZINGLY Strong !!!! Even surprised me !!!
The more I do this destructive "testing" , the more comfortable I become with the idea of Foam as a trailer building material ...

note: This was in the area that already had the original hammer blow... unintentional , just the way it landed...

[sandblaster]

i have used a moisture hardened modified epoxy (por15) over fiberglass cloth with metal before. it worked great, so last week i thought i would try it over foam. my canvass is real thick, so i thinned it with naptha. melted the foam some. i will try the por15 straight, over some thinner canvass or fiberglass next.

[Wobbly Wheels]

You know sandblaster, I'm trying to think of a solvent that will thin epoxy AND not eat the foam..

Isopropyl, maybe ?
Lacquer thinner ?

I'm glassing my door today and I have the window cutout that I was going to use as a hatch somewhere...

[Conedodger]

OK, Now Here's a TEST !!!





I took my best Carnival , ring the bell swing ... Frankly I expected MORE damage ... This Foam /canvas is AMAZINGLY Strong !!!! Even surprised me !!!
The more I do this destructive "testing" , the more comfortable I become with the idea of Foam as a trailer building material ...

note: This was in the area that already had the original hammer blow... unintentional , just the way it landed...

Now from that test I am far less sure.

In your test I think you may be missing that point that most of the blow has been taken up by compressing the foam onto the floor and i expect that doing the same on plain foam would have been similar.

In fact what you have tested is how its used in housing where it trapped between two parts of the floor.

However having something solid directly the other side of the foam wall or roof in a camper is just never going to happen.

From what i can see the canvas held very little and the foam acted like a crumple zone and simply disipated the blow through to the floor but it was the floor that stopped and absorbed the hit and the foam simply acted like a buffer.

Pods8 test with epoxy was done the same but just did not make a hole.

I think if you put your piece across two bricks so there is a void below the area where you are hitting the results will be rather different.

Saying all that, how many times have you seen a mad man growling like a bear hitting a camper wall with a sledge hammer?

And would your car stood up to it much better?

[GPW]

QUOTE: "how many times have you seen a mad man growling like a bear hitting a camper wall with a sledge hammer? "... Quite a scary notion , Cone'....

Well, I'm Happy with the results , and everyone else can form their own opinions ...


Ps. I wasn't growling at the time , but I'm sure that would have enhanced the effect ... It would make a great You Tube video !!!

The things we do to amuse ourselves...

[sandblaster]

i have tried lacquer thinner. it melts the foam instantly.

[eaglesdare]

a few people at this last gathering was giving the foamie a good touch here and there. i was even pounding on it just to show. but no one was going to find the hammer i hid!