laursand's Canvas over Plywood

[GPW]

Update: Long term testing indicates that foam glued /laminated with either the Gripper or TB2 will eventually dry completely inside , but it takes a long time ... months... especially in cooler weather... Best plan ahead for gluing such things.... then , just let it dry ... and dry , and dry .... Much easier ways , but it does work ...later...

[Lighterknot]

So I read through most of this thread but just wanted to make sure I am tracking...glueing the foam walls directly to the wood floor with the TBII is secure enough to keep the entire structure from lifting off the trailer? Or is that where the GG is used?

[ghcoe]

I would use Gorilla Glue or Great stuff for joining the foam to the wood floor.

[GPW]

L’knot, the “Skin” holds everything together ... Did you read the BIG thread yet?

[KCStudly]

I glued a 2x2 along the bottoms of my walls, then used PL and screws to attach the walls to the floor.

The 2x2 did several things for me: 1) it gave me a nice straight solid reference point to make all of my measurements from; 2) it provided a hard edge to help protect and handle the wall while moving it around during the various phases of construction; 3) it had adequate strength to bridge under the door opening without snapping during handling, allowing me to keep the door sill low below the top of the mattress, so it won't dig into the backs of my legs while sitting in the doorway; 4) it provided rigidity to the wall during construction before the inner skin was applied; and 5) it provided a solid point to screw my wire ways and cooler slides into at the base of the wall.

For a more traditional foamie, what they said, use GG and always wrap the side wall canvas under the floor.

[georgiadawg]

What is a good estimate of coverage area per gallon of TB or Elmer's Max, square footage, just to "tack" down the canvas, and then if you wanted to wet out the top surface after you tacked it down. Lets say it's 6oz or 8oz canvas.

[RandyG]

Just throwing this out there but I just did a little work with felt on foam and 3m Super 77 works great. I even tested foam to foam with it and the foam failed before the adhesive failed. Could be a good option for inner walls. Just not to thrifty at $10 a can but I'm sure it will cover quite a bit.

[GPW]

The BIG problem with 3M77 is the tendency to outgas the solvent when heated (sitting in the Sun) , which EATS the foam ... Tested on RC Foamies long ago ... The reason the RC Foamie guys don’t use it anymore ..

[RandyG]

Well, that's no good! Have you tried it on an interior wall though? Maybe the insulation of the foam and skin would protect it from the sun.

[GPW]

It’s the heat over time that does it ... We’ve taken apart (not by choice ) plane wings where the foam had cavities eaten out from the 3M77 ...and that foam was covered with 1/16” balsa wood and a mylar covering over that , so the sun couldn’t really reach it , but the heat did ... The plane guys switched to a latex product called Southern Sorghum ...it was inert and worked fine ...

[lthomas987]

I was just wandering around youtube when I found this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnOegaOKu38 She's sculpting foam I am gathering from what she's talking about around her testing but she did do a pretty nice set of test blocks of various foam adhesives. She tests all the usual contnders Gripper, GG, and GS, as well as some specialty foam glues.

[GPW]

Laura, that was the basis for a lot us trying the Gripper !!!

[tsmyth]

After preshrinking my 12' x 9'- 10oz drop canvas from Harbor Freight and put in the sun to dry, there were many wrinkles in the canvas.
My question is before I glue the canvas to the top and sides , should I iron the canvas to take out the wrinkles or will it not make any difference?

[GPW]

TS, Iron it if you want , or just dampen it slightly before applying .. If it’s real thick , then ironing may help ...

[scuba1978]

gorilla glue is awesome stuff! But, it doesn't come off of anything, so be carefull. I have rubber gloves, but I tend to get glue on my hands and arms anyhow. What I have found best to get it off is to rub sawdust into it as soon as I get glue on my hands. Really rub hard, it will get most of it off. Then, I use the little cheese grater things that the. Ladies use on their feet, and a pumice stone. It takes quite a lot of scrubbing, but it gets almost all the glue off. Even after that, my fingers feel "fuzzy" and plastic for a.day or two. Good luck!