- This topic has 8 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 9 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Maybe it’s not jumping off the page but I don’t see a recommendation in the manual of when to epoxy the inside of the camper. Any suggestions with an eye towards ease of application?
I don’t have the manual in front of me but I believe there is a step for this much later in the construction after the doors are cut out. I chose to do it a bit earlier for a few reasons, mainly because I stained my camper and wanted to protect the dye as soon as possible. The dye is lifted and creates “water marks” by any drips of denatured alcohol used to clean the outside of the shell. I knew if i didn’t protect it then all of the sanding and cleaning on the outside would ruin the dye on the inside because of alcohol dripping in from the perforations.
I recommend applying epoxy anytime after the floor has been filleted & glassed to the camper shell and before the large exterior fiberglass jobs.
The other benefits you get from doing it this way is;
1) Epoxy on the inside shell before cutting out the doors will prevent any blow out of the veneer from the cutting process. Haven’t seen anyone complain about this but it’s always a worry of mine when working with veneered wood.
2)It’s easier to wipe clean the epoxied interior from the dust created by the sanding of the cured fiberglass 1&2 roof panels. Dust is the enemy to a clean and clear epoxy finish.
3) Its a good introduction to doing a large epoxy job. I believe I had to mix 4 cups to coat the inside @ 70deg Fahrenheit the first batch starts to tack up by the end. So keep it clean of runs as you work, you may not have a chance to go back to the place you started to clean up.
Drawbacks include:
1) I’m not sure if the coat of epoxy will affect the adhesion of the door stiffener, I may rough up those spots on the door before applying the stiffener.
2) If you are doing it by yourself you will be crawling in and out of the transom hole a bunch. As apposed to doing it later when you can use the doors on either side as access.
I’m sure some others who are a further along or have finished their construction could lend some input on this as well. Good Luck!
smithn I don’t understand are you talking about coating the insides of the panels prior to stitching process. That would be a very bad idea. Many of the panels need to flex/bend and the fillets you will apply later should be done to the bare wood for proper strength and adhesion.
I would respectfully disagree with artistic Adam, and I would cut the doors out before epoxying the inside. yes, depending on the saw you use to cut the doors out, there might be some minor tearout, but getting in and out of the camper before the doors are cut is an exercise!
as for minimizing tearout–I bought a Dremel ultra-saw. it is designed like a miniature old-school Skil worm-drive circular saw. the blade (actually its more like an abrasive disk) is mounted forward and you can easily see the cut as you are making it. plus, you can set the front of the shoe on the work, and then carefully plunge the blade into the wood. I was able to hit the cut line dead-on on all the cuts. it makes a lot of fine dust so wear your dust mask.
As I look at the the photos on page 232 & 233 some seem to show the interior sealed and other not. To me it seems much easier to seal the inside panels before the floor is attached. That’s my plan.
apologies for my earlier post. I had brain fade.
yes–you should epoxy the inside while the shell is still in the mold. you can tilt the mold to the side and on its ends to reach the entirety of the inside of the shell.
what I was thinking about in my earlier post was VARNISHING the inside, which I did after the floor was in and the camper was right-side up.
If I were to do it over again, I’d probably epoxy the interior right before placing the floor. Though, I didn’t find it terribly challenging or inconvenient to do after cutting the doors, etc. Just do what makes sense to your situation/approach, I suppose.
I’m doing the inside ‘ceiling’ while the camper is upside down and the bottom is being fiberglassed. It’s easy to get at now and you avoid trying to brush epoxy on over your head if you were inside the upright camper. Something that helps is an extension for your roller, if you use one. I have a 3 foot dowel that’s threaded at one end and it makes reaching most of the inside pretty easy.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.