water proofing your wood

[working on it]

That's the way I'm gonna do it; my plywood is to be sealed both sides, with overcoating outside. Interior undecided. thanks.

[GPW]

Just beware if you are going to glue it to another piece , do that BEFORE waterproofing it ... as the glue seems to work better just wood to wood , no sealer ... the glue replaces the sealer ... then you can waterproof over all that ...
I built my first TD out of plywood , put it all together with screws and Glue , and before painting , just SOAKED it with about 4 coats of “the mix” ... then painted it ... Did just fine ...

[Lancie49]

I used mine inside , outside , everywhere... No problem with UV , You Paint over it ... Just a waterproofer, not a final finish ...
Ps, I’ve been a painter for most of my 63 years ... wood that breathes soaks up water ...

Sounds great.
Can I use an oil based, exterior, full gloss enamel over 'the mix' ?

Lance

[GPW]

Lance, don’t see why not ...

[bonnie]

Just beware if you are going to glue it to another piece , do that BEFORE waterproofing it ... as the glue seems to work better just wood to wood , no sealer ... the glue replaces the sealer ... then you can waterproof over all that ...
I built my first TD out of plywood , put it all together with screws and Glue , and before painting , just SOAKED it with about 4 coats of “the mix” ... then painted it ... Did just fine ...

Thinking my foamie here. Do I need then, to glue everything up and only protect those exposed wood edges? Will the canvas stick okay? Or the foam coat, or whatever?

[GPW]

Bonnie , I think the original intent was to protect wood on wood trailers .... If you cover the plywood with canvas and use the thinned down T2 or T3 , you essentially are doing the same thing as the “sauce” ... Plus the canvas , primer and paint further isolates the wood from the elements and prevents those first splits/cracks from opening up which is usually the first place for “water entry” ... As much as we love the shape of these rounded TDs , whenever we bend plywood we splay the grain on the top which is now under tension forces, stretching the wood , just waiting for a crack or split to start ... with the addition of a secure outer skin like canvas , that problem is eliminated , what’s stretched is filled in and can move no further as to open a new gap ... Something a few mils of paint/finish cannot seem to do entirely by itself .
Any exposed wood left , like the plywood floor , would greatly benefit from waterproofing with the mixture ... which is readily paintable , and doesn’t dry glossy at all , plenty of “tooth” to securely hold a Primer ... but if you lightly sand it in between waterproofing and primer coats , you can remove all the little bits (dirt, dust , dog hair ) sticking up , making for a nice Smooth finish ... But then I always sand everything in between because working outside , who knows what dirt, bugs, leaves , etc, will get onto the wet paint ... Murphy’s law ... you know it’s gonna’ happen, WET PAINT and all

[KCStudly]

In big Mike's delamination thread (http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=49207&start=15) Larry C wrote -

I discussed this with a friend over breakfast this morning. He is a temporary wall contractor that covers store fronts that are being remodeled, and uses Luan by the pallet load. He told me since almost all paints and clear coatings available today no longer have high VOC's (solvents) the plywood industry has followed suit by replacing the solvent resistant glues with a cheaper glue that may be water resistant, but will easily delaminate when exposed to any solvent.

The veneers on luan are so thin, solvent can penetrate to the glues. He told me one of his employees was using a pallet of Luan as a work bench, and tipped over a gallon can of paint thinner. The thinner ran down the whole stack, and penetrated the the edges of most of the stack. As they were later using this stack, they discovered the paint thinner had softened the glue, and was delaminating the ply edges.

He told me the current Luan is very water resistant and they don't seal the edges at all when using it outside, but they can no longer use any solvent based coatings. They used to spray on a oil stain with garden sprayers to protect the luan A sign painter or Mural artist would follow. They now use a water based stain even though it is not as protective outdoors as the solvent based product. In cold weather they have to pre-coat the ply before going to the Job site, where previously they could spray the solvent based product even in Winter.

His suggestion when using Luan is to use the best water based products that are intended to seal plywood, and avoid anything with solvent in it.

Did you seal your plywood with deep penetrating epoxy, the one with all the solvents? Maybe that's why the delamination.

Hmm, maybe I'll be doing my waterproofing with TB2 or 3, instead of the elixir.

[GPW]

Seems the game has changed in the plywood industry ... Now with different parameters , seems we need to do some more testing .... again ...

[eaglesdare]

any wood this time will be convered in diluted tb, primed and painted. some may even be completly convered the same as the foam, with canvas.
i have wood on the first one that started turing black in spots. so i will be doing something different this time. although, i don't plan to use as much wood either.

[linuxmanxxx]

As I just posted on another thread the current box store luan is being sold for underlayment and due to that its intended usage is not anything that is finish work. That is why people that get it and try to turn it into a finish product get upset when it delams slightly because it was created only to go under something not be the exterior finished product.

[GPW]

Steve, so far , the box stores have been a constant disappointment as far as materials go ... we may just have to STOP shopping for plywood there (other things as well save "name brands” ) ... Or just eliminate the use of plywood altogether... It does seem to be the Biggest cause of failure on most ALL trailers ... On a Foamie , I’d guess the most call for ply is on the floor ... but my next Foamie will probably have something like a T&G cedar floor , similar to the ones the Old Timers used , and like on my Tiny cargo Trailer , which although unfinished is still in great shape ... and unaltered wood is still so easy to waterproof in the usual ways ...
We’ve seen some really Nice ply at the specialty lumber yards, Pricy , and the salesmen really don’t know s**t about what they’re selling , beyond price and face wood . Not much help ...
More testing is indicated ... at least to find a Secure and foolproof way to waterproof (encapsulate this stuff , if we HAVE to use it ...

[PcHistorian]

Looks like I'm going to have a chance to try out that mixture sooner than I had planned. the shingles are starting to crack and crumble a bit on the cottage. Which means a reroofing. (might take me a whole half an hour to tear the old one off.) So I'll get to do the particle board underneath. Then I have to find that cool type of octagonal shingle again! :-(

[GPW]

PC, that should work Great on shingles ... add lots more years ...

[bonnie]

[quote="GPW" Any exposed wood left , like the plywood floor , would greatly benefit from waterproofing with the mixture ... which is readily paintable , and doesn’t dry glossy at all , plenty of “tooth” to securely hold a Primer ... but if you lightly sand it in between waterproofing and primer coats , you can remove all the little bits (dirt, dust , dog hair ) sticking up , making for a nice Smooth finish ... But then I always sand everything in between because working outside , who knows what dirt, bugs, leaves , etc, will get onto the wet paint ... Murphy’s law ... you know it’s gonna’ happen, WET PAINT and all [/quote]

Thanks for the comment. I had to laugh at your dog hair comment. Just finished painting my music room. Daisy the wonder dog backed right up to the wall and planted her behind against it. Luckily it was already dry. No imprint left behind.

[GPW]

Bonnie , having a dog and a cat , both shed this fine fur like substance , constantly ... I have to vacuum often , endless battle to keep it out of paint, off clothes , and from forming rolling “dust bunnies” on my floor ... ... I go out , people look at my jacket and say “ You must have a cat huh ? “