Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[KCStudly]

Congratulations on the epic read and welcome to the foamie fun!

What I have found is that you really have to look very carefully at a broken test joint to see. Sometimes it looks like it broke at the glue bond, but if you look very closely with good light you might actually find a very thin "fuzz" of foam adhered to the glue. Sometimes it is not as obvious as others, but if this fuzz exists, IMO, that is still a foam failure and not a bonding failure.

Okay, now where do I collect that beer?

[GPW]

Wood, little Django finally croaked’ ... It was a very light summer for crickets , so there were not as many Toads ... but seems to be a good year for the green anoles.
Yes you are an official Foamie' now !!!

[Mary C]

Welcome to the foamies!!!! what an accomplishment not only read the big thread but did an experiment. I am so impressed. banana dance!!!! Now we all expect some magnificent foam creation. you will be surprized at some that have been built and are in the process of building like KCs his build is very detailed and the Foam Stream is very different and boats and other magnificent builds are here just waiting to be read by you!!! Good Luck and were waiting for your build!!!

just remember Lots of pictures!!!!

Mary C.

Thanks I am sleeping better!!

[lthomas987]

Congratulations to everyone who's made it through this thread recently. It is a very educational act of madness to try and read it. Once you come out the other side you're clearly a foamling!

So I have a question that I haven't found the answer to in the big thread. I have some parts of my trailer (internal) where I woud like to cover the fabric clear not with opaque paint. I want my AWESOME FLOWERS to show.


Has anybody tried covering things with either clear untinted base paint or with varnish? I can't find it in the thread. I can't figure why it wouldn't work I just am wondering where my best odds are for getting a good look without having to buy ALL the possible clear finishes first.

[Mary C]

I remember somewhere in this foamie section about experimenting ......something like that


Really i suggest going and seeing what is available that will not yellow after drying I know that when I was varnishing my pine floors I used a non yellowing polyurethane, it cleaned up with water and I put it on a counter 5 coats, and it is perfect, has held up great next to a little sink. I did sand it between coats with a very fine sand paper, I made 20 years ago. It did not yellow at all!

Mary C

[WoodSmith]

Has anybody tried covering things with either clear untinted base paint or with varnish? I can't find it in the thread. I can't figure why it wouldn't work I just am wondering where my best odds are for getting a good look without having to buy ALL the possible clear finishes first.

I̶ ̶a̶i̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶g̶o̶n̶n̶a̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶e̶x̶i̶s̶t̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ I have never seen CLEAR untinted base paint. PAINT starts white and is tinted from there - I may be arguing semantics on that regard though. Varnish or polyurethane should work - when adhering the cloth down you will probably not want to use TB2, due to the yellow tint it can cause. I've never tried adhering cloth with poly or varnish, so - as Mary said, I think you are going to have to do a test.

WoodSmith

[edit]Well I learned something else new! Thanks for the link and some valuable info! [/edit]

[lthomas987]

I didn't buy the clearance clear base porch paint at my farm supply store last winter.

Clear poly is a great thought. My working theory is that if it looks bad I can always paint.

I used little enough glue that the fabric didn't discolor.

[KCStudly]

Woodbutcher used clear base on his Slowmobile. It is not colorless, but does have a little milkiness to it over darker colors, according to WB.

That was over his exterior wood, but I don't see why it wouldn't work the same as paint on canvas.

[eaglesdare]

I used quilter squares on some of mine foamie and used poly to glue and seal it.



Now I don't want anyone to have a heart attack, but the Foamie is out and getting ready to go camping! This will be the first and probably the last for this year.

[Mary C]

Mary C.

[bonnie]

#4 Base Exterior paint is supposed to dry pretty clear. I cannot remember who used it on wood, but it's in my list of things to try.

[wagondude]

Has anybody tried covering things with either clear untinted base paint or with varnish? I can't find it in the thread. I can't figure why it wouldn't work I just am wondering where my best odds are for getting a good look without having to buy ALL the possible clear finishes first.

After Steve did the "Slow Mobile", I decided to give it a try on my front door to my house. It looks good so far. The one I got was an exterior acrylic from Sherwin Williams. I hope it lasts longer than the varnish did. Even if it starts to fail earlier than expected, It will be way easier to re coat than the varnish was. Give it a shot, The flowers will look so cool. BTW, have the person at the counter dry up a sample of the untinted paint on a dark stained stick of scrap to make sure that it has no pigments. It looks milky white when wet. The person at my store had no idea it would dry clear.

[Shar]

Laura, I have used an acrylic exterior base paint (without adding any colour) on several outdoor things at my place- it dried clear and gives good protection to the wood. Ask a lot of questions at the paint counter. Hope you find something that works, because those flowers look cool!

Eagle, have a great camping trip. Hope it's not too cold at night.

Wood, welcome to the foamlings! This thread is a bigger and bigger challenge all the time.

Mary, I am glad things are starting to settle; good to hear that those villains were caught. How is Grits doing right now?

[eaglesdare]

Did not get any pics, but we had a great time. It did feel good to be out camping again (been way too long since my last trip out). Inside the Foamie this time was unbearably hot. had to open doors. The second night I left the hatch up, there is a screen that runs across from side to side. So that really helped cool it down on the second night. Very comfy.
Did have a couple of people say "Oh you have the foamie? or "Oh is that the foamie?" Word must be getting out huh?

[Mary C]

Where did you go camping? I am glad you got to go. I have been missing you on the forum.

Mary C.