Outer skins

Canvas covered foamies (Thrifty Alternatives...)

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Re: Outer skins

Postby Mary C » Tue Jan 14, 2014 9:53 pm

What about using strap points on the floor and wrapping them under the trailer? just a thought :thinking: :thinking:

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Re: Outer skins

Postby pchast » Tue Jan 14, 2014 11:37 pm

As far as paper board, how about single ply matting board? It comes in 30X40" sheets and can be had for around
4.00 each in quantity...
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Re: Outer skins

Postby GPW » Wed Jan 15, 2014 5:12 am

Pete, having Much experience with mat board (Art) , I think the chipboard is better and much cheaper ... ;)
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Re: Outer skins

Postby Sidekick » Thu May 29, 2014 10:08 pm

I think I am going to go the frp route, I like the fact that is it smooth, easily trimmed stable and takes paint well. Nothing worse than seeing wood grain thru the paint or having the wood separate and chip.
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Re: Outer skins

Postby Ironhinge » Mon Jun 16, 2014 3:18 pm

Hello, I have a big roll of floating row cover for gardens outside. Its about 8 or 12 ft wide. I'm not sure but I think it is very similar to an open weave tyvek that the glue would sink into. Has anyone thought of this as a skin? A few layers would be just as light as canvas and I think It might work very well put on in overlapping layers. Its pretty strong considering you can almost see though it and I don't think you can go wrong with U.V. resistant.

I am still trying to find my way around the site, and the foamie section is particularly daunting. So please bare with me

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Re: Outer skins

Postby GPW » Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:53 pm

Matt, you really should test that material first to see if the glue sticks and you can paint over it with foam safe paint (Latex) . Just a small sample should tell all ...
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Re: Outer skins

Postby Mary C » Mon Jun 16, 2014 8:32 pm

Oh, sounds like experiment time to me. :twisted: Remember it is important to take pictures :pictures: lots of :pictures: and ballast checks are important too .......... :beer: :wine: :thumbsup:

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Re: Outer skins

Postby Ironhinge » Mon Jul 21, 2014 8:15 pm

So I finally got back on-line and wanted to follow up. I had a few scraps lying around and sliver of time so, a mini test. I knew going inside to check the procedure would not result in a test so I did more improvisation than I would have liked...

2 inch board is not available at my local box stores so I used a small piece of the 1/2inch reflective film sort with the aluminum pealed off as the base. I painted full strength tight-bond 2 onto the cleaned foam and pressed the floating row cover on with a puddy knife.
I was impressed by how well the glue soaked though so I put the second layer on with a thick grid application down on the board and worked the puddles up and out though the fabric with the knife. I did both layers together with no drying time. After letting it tack up for a little bit I put a third layer on dry and placed the board under plywood weighed down...

When it finally cured its kinda impressive. I can really see how a purely foam structure could hold up.

This is what I thought of it...

It is not as strong as canvas, I don’t think even with extra layers it ever will be... there is a quilting in the fabric to bond the fibers together, these points don’t absorb the glue as well and once the fabric has stiffened they act as perforations. I can rip the individual layers if I peal them back and then pull laterally, they break on a dotted line.

This quilting also shows up as a fine texture, a coat of paint might cover it up but it was not as smooth as I had expected

I don’t know what the canvas is like to work with but something I did like was how well the row cover absorbed the glue. It filled in and became tinted and transparent, I was fairly confidant visually determining if there would be a good bond to past layers, dry and too thick were fairly easy to see.

at 10ft wide this material is .10 cents a square foot. It weighs 1-2 oz per square yard and can be bought by the foot in various widths.

I am sorry but I am realizing I don’t have the time to really hash this out. I still think it may have potential but I have no tactile contextual knowledge.
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Re: Outer skins

Postby Ironhinge » Mon Jul 21, 2014 8:31 pm

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Re: Outer skins

Postby GPW » Tue Jul 22, 2014 4:49 am

IH , those results look promising , but I’d think you want a heavier skin , just for long term integrity ... Most canvas is 8-10 Oz. and more than adequate for the job ... I used 18 oz. (HEAVY) canvas on the FS , which might be overkill , but it sure is strong ... All in what You want to do, and what you think is best for your application. ... ;)
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Re: Outer skins

Postby Ironhinge » Tue Jul 22, 2014 12:57 pm

Yea, pretty much what I was thinking... Seems promising, just not sure for what application. It didn’t strike me as resilient enough for an outer skin
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Re: Outer skins

Postby Sidekick » Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:54 pm

There is a cardboard covered foam sold at most building/roofing supply houses that takes fiberglass resin both epoxy and poly ester. I have used it for years to make cars, boats, consoles, air compressor covers and other things. It is easily sanded- tho you will want to wear a respirator, and it bends pretty easy. It comes in 4x 8 sheets- 1/2, 1", 1 1/2, 2, 3, clear up to 6 inches thick. Normally it is used on commercial building roofing to provide insulation and support for plastic membrane roofing. There was a big article in Mechanics Illustrated where a guy was making cars, sub marines ( scuba type) and other projects . I will try to find the article. Blue polystyrene will not accept poly ester resin without a protective layer to separate them. It does work with epoxy- but I react very badly with the fumes even with protection. A surf board ins made of styrofoam sandwiched or wrapped in fiberglass and is very light and strong but gets real expensive quickly.
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