Alright brother!!, I tried your method of the poor mans fiberglass on my kyak and it works AWESOME!!!!!...I took my kyak out 4 times last year and it's a beast in the water...no leaks whatsoever!!...I only did two coats of 50/50 of paint and water and I ran over little rocks and even loaded my kyak on boat ramps....I have little scratches on the bottom but nothing bad.....dude!!!...thank you so much!!!!!!
@@ArmadilloJunction no I actually built a 14.5 ft wooden stitch and glue kyak out of 4 pieces of 1/4" luan and installed the poor mans fiberglass to the bottom and sides and wrapped it around top about 2" around the perimeter of the top....followed your instructions and then put two coats of interior paint I had around the house....it works awesome!!!!...brother!!!...you are awesome and saved me hundreds of dollars on this build....the total cost of my build was $75....hell yeah!!!!
Sawdust Psycho just checked it out looked good ! Reminds me of the pirogue boats they use in the Louisiana swamps . Awesome job now I gotta add that to the list of cool things to build haha
Dunno if you guys gives a damn but if you guys are bored like me during the covid times you can watch pretty much all the new movies on InstaFlixxer. Been streaming with my gf for the last days :)
As far as the texture goes, you actually can sand it. Several coats of paint, then sand it, and cover it with a thick clear coat would probably work out pretty well.
If you want it like fiberglass, you need to give the canvas three good coats, sanded between coats. That will turn out stronger like fiberglass and it nice and smooth.
Thanks. Your video convinced me to to use this for a flat hardened surface on my truck topper. I like how you showed your mistakes. The camper is beautiful.I would be proud to have built it.
Guy H. Not right off hand but , I ran across it searching poor Mans Fiberglass or pmf I’m sure , if I run across it again I’ll try to remember to send it to you
Your camper looks incredible! Very good work. I've been working with fiberglass and epoxy resin for about a month now for a hobby project, and I can say: Don't fear fiberglass. Obviously be careful when handling it, and be aware of the fumes. But it is very cheap, and even a not so crafty person like me can make interesting and strong shapes out of it. You can easily practice with about $20 of materials to get your technique down and making respectable looking stuff.
Caleb Hopper Thanks , u used this method because it’s an old tradition method for boat and airplane building . I’m a little concerned about the fiberglass cracking in rough rounds .
Thank you for this great video! I am in the planning phase of custom building a camper shell for my F-150. I think this is just what I need for my project!
Hope it helps , there are so many ideas on how to do it I picked the version that was mentioned most . It’s doing good so far . Hope your project goes well
Saw the whole vid and read all the comments.. reason for it was exactly what u said it was... a lot of us played with fiberglass is the reason why we looked at your vid...f/glass is more expensive and the discomfort of working with it..I looked at it because I’ve thought of making a semi camper shell for my custom tubing rack I’ve made for my truck... I’ve said tubing because I’ve specially made it to save weight... understanding what thickness of ply u support the canvas with is goin to determine the strength and lightness u need.. oh .. and ply is easy to work with !!... good vid , glad I saw it .. tnks 👍🏼
Thanks for stopping by , if you read the comments I’m sure you seen plenty of other ways people think I should have done it , haha . I searched and read countless internet threads and this version seemed to come up the most so I just went with it. At the time I made the video there was only one other on UA-cam I could find . So I decided to make a video of this version I used on the camper . It’s holding up for for how I’m using it .
Just heard about PMF and your videos is very good at showing how to make it. It was a suggested video from a guy doing a tear drop build. Thanks for doing it.
Chuck Howard thanks for checking it out . When I was researching my build a couple years ago , I ran across many ideas on how it should be done but no good videos. I picked this version based on majority of internet threads that said this was how they did it . It seems to be doing fine still. If you have more patience than me you could get a more smooth surface . Thanks again.
I'm an artist and when I want to disguise a surface visually I texture a few different colors of the paint so your surface irregularities are more hidden - just and idea - makes later repairs easier too thanks for the testing - I'm going to attempt a sit on kayak
Pinking shears will take care of the unraveling where you cut canvas. Sanding can make it all smoother, especially if you sand after the first over coat. How much titebond did you use for the covering?
Pinking shears to stop raveling is how they cloth covered air planes. It also makes the fabric less likely tò peel away because of the uneven seam. My interest is in making a velomobile stretching fabric over a wire form and stiffening with paint.
In my opinion you bypassed two critical steps that would have made life much easier and you much happier with the finished project. You did great for sure an I'm not trying to act like a know it all even though I'm sure it's coming across like that. So I apologize in advance my friend if this offended you. I figured maybe you could use this idea for more UA-cam content for your channel down the road. If you brush a coat of glue on the underside of the cloth an then after you place it down on the wood immediately brush another coat on the outside of the cloth it will seal the cloth, make it sandible, paintable and it would've made it completely waterproof. The cloth surface needs to be completely impregnated with glue and any excess glue brushed or rolled away. You also want all air bubbles brushed out and no dry spots on the cloth when you're finished. Again my friend I hope this comment didn't make me come across like to much of a butthead to you or offend anyone because I didn't want that to be the case. You have clearly done a fine job on this camper an you should be very proud. God Bless an Keep On Keep'in On!
This is 8 oz duck fabric and it's already waterproof when you buy it... I used to buy it by the BOLT... It is very hard to impregnate it... Believe me I have tried... but what you were explaining about glue on both sides is a great idea... on normal thick material... I agree with you 100%.
But wouldn't paint do the same job? It displaces the air and is waterproof. Since you get paint for cheaper, wouldn't it be smarter to soak the canvas after glueing it to your plywood with paint vs glue?
@@danielwurmer2266 No paint by itself would not work. Paint is designed differently to be a cosmetic use and isn't an adhesive. While they do have good UV and water proofing on the surface. You need the adhesive part and paint just don't have that ability alone.
@@hmason76 i agree with every word. It was metioned above to use glue as a waterproofing coat after it got allready glued to the plywood. I don't feel like that would be necessary. Paint would do the job there. My approach would be using glue to adhere the canvas to the plywood and then paint to soak the rest of the canvas an make it waterproof with it. I did some testpieces since there is not a lot of information out there. Some I left outside, others got tested in a more controlled environment. Even an extreme test where I glued a 4 inch pipe on the surface and filled it with 1 ft. of water showed no leakage after 6 months. I am quite impressed by this method and feel comfortable now to use it on a big project.
jeff h at the time I researched all of this there was a reason everyone was using 2 but I can’t recall now . The post that’s pinned at the top is from a guy who built a kayak using this method , he said it’s working great
Thanks for sharing! I'm getting useful information from this. I thought of something that might be useful: Before cutting the fabric, saturate the cut line with the same glue you'll be using to stick it to the wood, and let it dry. When you do your cut, the glue will prevent the cut portion from unraveling. The glue will not interfere with gluing the fabric down later.
NEIL HAY Thanks , there are so many versions and ideas on how to do it out online I figured I’d show the version I went with on the camper . Seems to be doing fine . Thanks for stopping by
I like the texture of the paint cloth, maybe need to clean up the edges with a prepared seam. What I am saying is if you cut the cloth and just glue it down and paint it, the edge looks rough. If the edge was cut to lay in a certain area, like 1" over the roof edge so it is along the side, it would look prepared or on purpose, clean. I think they fold the edge over 3 times and stitch it, or it can be glued for a clean look. None the less, your camper looks pretty good. I think if I were thinking of camping in the cold somewhere, I would have used 1" foam and used white truck bed liner, waterproof, uv protected, tough. the layer of bedliner would make the foam tough and more ridged after cured. Just a thought, looks great... thanks for showing.
Nice video. I am going to try and make a tear drop style camper this year. Some black trim on the corners would hide the canvas edges and look good also.
Thought about gel coats , a friend that built one is having some cracking issues with fiberglass. I’m wondering since the gel coat dries so hard if it would have same issue?
I always heard you should squeegee on a thick coat of titebond , after you glued and laid down the canvas. So it gets infused with glue. Then the paint layer is more to waterproof the glue.
Wesley Pipelayer yep when I researched it I found 50 different ways to do it and everyone swore it was the right way haha, so I went with this version and it seems to be holding up just fine . I think most any recipe would work fine with a good paint top coat . Thanks for stopping by!
I was deluting the glue 1 part water and 2 parts glue applied to the wood before I layed down the cloth. It seems to let the glue soak into the wood better. But being it's wood glue, it should stick well enough without the water. I gave it two coat of glue then and it turned out to be a dam tough surface.
TIRED OF CAR/TRUCK HEADLINER HANGING AROUND YOUR EARS !! Pull the liner out of the ceiling , it's not that hard to do but don't damage the styrofoam liner former. Get a matching shade of the original liner color, cheapest "exterior" semi gloss water based house paint, an old king sized bed sheet (color/ printed doesn't matter). You will have to carefully scrape the foam padding off the styrofoam liner(it will crumble off anyway, which is why the headliner failed in the first place), after cleaning (water only, no solvents or chem cleaners) and drying, brush a HEAVY coat of paint onto the styrofoam , lay the sheet on the wet paint and work out the wrinkles and let dry ( watch while drying and brush out any puddles that may form from bleed through). Apply two more LIGHT coats of paint and reinstall liner back into vehicle. Makes a washable finish.
sounds great but unfortunately no Styrofoam liner on my vw new beetle or my vw golf.... it was/is just the foam padding stuck to metal roof and cloth glued to that. avoiding doing anything.... its going to be hayll of a mess and breathing it in does not sound fun to remove all the padding. Not sure what will do next. Need some form of insulation ..
Given that foam fusion sticks so much better than wood glue, if you made another of these, would you use that for gluing on canvas? Perhaps your ironing step makes wood glue stick better. If F.F. is too expensive for that, I wonder if there is something inexpensive that would stick to foam, and that paint would stick to. Would paint stick canvas to foam?
thanks for showing this, i have some interior bits i wanted to build in real fibreglass but this will be more than good enough, after all, might not like version 1 would be silly to do it an expensive way as a prototype
I'm entertaining using this method on the thin Luan plywood on a camper rebuild. With a lot of 'must have' items in the camper for boondocking, I'm thinking the Luan will keep the weight lower, but I'm also concerned about the structural integrity. What are your thoughts on Luan and this method ?
This method doesn’t provide and structural support . If the box itself is good and rigid on its own it would be fine but it doesn’t get hard like fiberglass.
I am using this pmf to cover a roof I am building for my pop up camper. Just curious will 1 gallon of titebond 2 do the job or do I need more. Also what is your recommendations on diluting it with water? Thank you in advance for any advice
Good job! I wonder if you would skim the whole unit with body filler maybe after the 2 coats of 50/50 then paint it? Just a thought but maybe pretty expensive?
What type or brand is the light blue paint? I’m picking my colors now and don’t wanna ruin the whole thing by getting the wrong type of paint. Trailer looks awesome !
shawn donahue jr I used exterior acrylic latex paint . I bought it from Lowe’s but can’t recall the brand . As far as the color I tried to match it to our Jeep that is chief blue . We just took a good close pic with our phone and took it to Lowe’s to have them help match paint with paint samples at store . Hope this helps
I see what you mean about where the canvas overlaps, but overall that is a nice looking camper. The trim board on the top looks great, even if you didn't need it, that is a nice touch.
Just an idea, I wonder if after the last coat of paint dried, then put a coat of spray on or roll on bed liner. That seems it would be almost indestructible for the use of the camper.
Great video. I’ve been wondering about the use of canvas in this manner? I would imagine this could work for Vardo Gypsy trailer / campers and Shanty Boat tops!? Anyhow thanks again for the post. Learned a lot 🧐
Jeff Hipson not sure how that would work , I owned a few campers before and that’s one reason I just built one is because the terrible rubber roofs and leaking .
Jeff Hipson there is a channel where a guy just covered the top with rv roof paint/rubber let me see if I can find his channel and maybe he could answer better. I believe he said he’s built a couple trailers . He is in my sub list just can’t remember his channel .
I want to paint the bottom hull white anyway and leave the top of it all wood....do you think it would hold up to the water even putting on two layers of latex paint and then a top coat of exterior paint??
Sawdust Psycho I’m wanting to build a foam kayak myself ,,, from what I noticed in my test it seams like it would be fine. Check out the channel NiteWolf Fishing . He has built 2 and could probably answer question better , his yaks seem to be doing fine. He has a whole build series .
I'd like to see you do another project like this, but using Sunbrella fabric. I've had great success with it in other types of project. it would be interesting to see how well it works for you. helpful tip though, cut Sunbrella with a hot knife for perfect long-lasting edges.
The material needs to be a cotton or porous material the glue and paint can soak into , so I don’t think it would work . But good idea thinking out of the box . Next time I would probably use bed sheets . Thanks for stopping by
Excellent video and i like the test you did ..just one thing next time before appling the wood glue, if you damp the wood before appling the glue it will make the glue go into the wood fibers and it will stick even better. If you have damped the glue i will not expect you to tear off the canvas as easy as you did. But great video 👍
R. R. I just uploaded a video testing this piece of wood again after one year and when I pulled another piece off it was still flexible ,, check it out
I have never used bedliner, I’m pretty sure people just spray or roll it right on wood. You would need to pay special attention the the spots where 2 surfaces meet and make sure to fill the cracks good .
i wish i could answer that for you, i have always used latex paint on my house and wood projects so thats what i went with on this project. i would have to wonder how well the oil based paint would dry and cure with so many coats on the canvas. i do seem to recall people that went with straight paint on wood and didnt use canvas used oil based. I read every thread and group i could find while researching and seem like most used the acrylic latex. i didnt really answer your question but hope it helps.
I been contemplating making a camper cap for my Tacoma this way. It would be made in panels so it could be assembled as needed with rigid foam board insulation in between . The one thing it seemed the paint was going on with a bit of difficulty. Is that because it’s pretty thick and tacky and the glue? I’m trying to keep low cost but have a speedy process.
meckleboy dry times were a bit longer for me living in an area with high humidity and the non porous surface don’t help . On my camper build I actually rolled it out into sun to try to help cure/dry faster
Question sir could a poor mans Fiberglass thing be done possibly on a SUP BOARD OR Surfboard? Because it would be Subject to being put into water conditions both fresh and Saltwater fishing
I’ve seen people build kayaks and canoes using it but they used wood strips to stiffen it . The PMF doesn’t get hard like fiberglass . In my last video you can see i took it off my camper after 3 years and it was still flexible . But still completely waterproof. Maybe if you ran some wood strips vertically down foam for support. Good idea though I’ve been wanting one and may try next summer
Brian Nicholas I have seen campers sanded in between coats and it seemed to work . I attempted it with my camper build and it didn’t work well . It may have been the cheap canvas with large thread . Maybe if it was tight wove canvas it would be better ?
Good job! My thoughts: I like the canvas texture, even wondered one could pre-wrinkle the material to give a sort of adobe look to it. I also watched other PMF vids and two of them applied the glue, let it dry, and applied a second coat, sanded and painted. As a house painter I was wondering how primer would work instead of glue. You ever tried to get water-based primer off your hands? Tough shit. Last, I was wondering if it would be smart to put a coat of polyurethane over the paint (sand paint first). I think that would have prevented your rub marks. Again, good job.
+Steve Smith yep all good questions, seems like there’s many different ways people do it . It’s holding up good just finished a week long trip in the camper in storms and doing fine . Thanks for stopping by!
So I'm curious why does everybody use tight Bond 2 instead of type Bond 3 which is supposed to be waterproof versus Titebond 2 is not considered waterproof it's considered water resistant hopefully somebody can answer my question cuz I plan on using Titebond 3 unless there's a structural issue
John Hales my purpose was using it for a tiny teardrop style camper. It waterproof, seals and encases the light weight wooded camper . Making it stronger. This is also how basically how the first airplanes were made. And it was also used it boat building years ago.
I have a couple of questions. The 1st it may seem a little funny, but does the paint color matter? Was thinking that if a person was to get some of that "mistake paint" for cheap, a person could lay down a couple of coats for cheap then add the top, finish coat. 2) Have you tried this with regular bed sheets vs painter's canvas? If so, results? 3) If you were to use bed sheets, would multiple layers work better? 4) Have you done this with the 1st step (glue & clothe), then cover it with fiberglass resin? 5) Would it help to cover both sides, let it tack up for a couple of minutes, then set it? Good info sir!
I think it would be a great idea to use returned paint first , i think if i do it again i will try bed sheets or a tighter wove canvas for sure,i have never used them but i have seen people use them in tutorials, never seen multiple sheets or layers used on any build, no ive never seen glue used under cloth and resin. hope it helps . Thanks for stopping by
So the part that you left the hole in did you add glue to it as well and then I'm still not sure why I've seen on other videos where everybody wants it out just like you would regular fiberglass or you wet the wood then you wet the mat and then you squeegee out whatever you need to to press it against the structure and then from what I understand you what it again with the wood glue and then you paint it because at this point without the glue being on the back side of that spot that you cut out you've kind of defeated your own test in a way
The glue on the wood is to glue it to the wood , the point of diluting the glue to put on fabric is so that it soaks into the fabric . It obviously works , so I didn’t defeat my own test . Thanks
Nice video. I will use TPO roofing as I have access to it. However your video is nicely done and very well thought out. I think I will subscribe as you do a good job .
drmachinewerke1 Thanks for stopping by , trying to decide on next build now , but even though this method is good and stronger and more durable than I expected I will use something different next time .
Elizabeth Swing Thank you for stopping by ! At the time I was building my camper I couldn’t find any good videos about it . I hope this helps . Plan on doing some more camper stuff in near future . Thanks again
I did a layer of glue wrap the canvas and coated the canvas with glue. Sanded it then did another coat of glue. Did 3 coats of glue total. Then two coats of paint
claybird Thanks , I’ve owned a number of campers from used to new and they all just fall apart and leak . The build quality on RVs should be against the law haha. I have a few videos on my page that show the inside . I need to do an update video to show how it’s holding up.
Alright brother!!, I tried your method of the poor mans fiberglass on my kyak and it works AWESOME!!!!!...I took my kyak out 4 times last year and it's a beast in the water...no leaks whatsoever!!...I only did two coats of 50/50 of paint and water and I ran over little rocks and even loaded my kyak on boat ramps....I have little scratches on the bottom but nothing bad.....dude!!!...thank you so much!!!!!!
Sawdust Psycho awesome to hear ! A kayaks on my list of things to make , did you use the stacked foam method and then shape it ?
@@ArmadilloJunction no I actually built a 14.5 ft wooden stitch and glue kyak out of 4 pieces of 1/4" luan and installed the poor mans fiberglass to the bottom and sides and wrapped it around top about 2" around the perimeter of the top....followed your instructions and then put two coats of interior paint I had around the house....it works awesome!!!!...brother!!!...you are awesome and saved me hundreds of dollars on this build....the total cost of my build was $75....hell yeah!!!!
Sawdust Psycho just checked it out looked good ! Reminds me of the pirogue boats they use in the Louisiana swamps . Awesome job now I gotta add that to the list of cool things to build haha
Dunno if you guys gives a damn but if you guys are bored like me during the covid times you can watch pretty much all the new movies on InstaFlixxer. Been streaming with my gf for the last days :)
@Mack Gerardo yup, I've been using InstaFlixxer for years myself :D
I don't have a camper, or fiberglass, or anything to make/repair. I'm just here because it's midnight. This is my jam.
Mike Jones haha that’s probably how I got the idea to do this
Thank you...
Great info for my Mind library. 🙏
Haha watch ya start pmf random shit
As far as the texture goes, you actually can sand it. Several coats of paint, then sand it, and cover it with a thick clear coat would probably work out pretty well.
If you want it like fiberglass, you need to give the canvas three good coats, sanded between coats. That will turn out stronger like fiberglass and it nice and smooth.
I used a similar method with oil-based paint, but used bed sheet cloth which is finer woven and leaves a smoother surface.
That’s what I’ll try next time
Thanks for taking the time to show your test results! I much appreciate you and your experience that you share. Beautiful trailer also.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thanks. Your video convinced me to to use this for a flat hardened surface on my truck topper. I like how you showed your mistakes. The camper is beautiful.I would be proud to have built it.
Bob Smyth hope it works out for you , there is another video out there somewhere of a guy who built a bed cover for his truck .
@@ArmadilloJunction do you know the name/link? 😊😊
Guy H. Not right off hand but , I ran across it searching poor Mans Fiberglass or pmf I’m sure , if I run across it again I’ll try to remember to send it to you
10:28
"WOW"
That Blue Trailer is BEAUTIFUL...
Judi Christopher Thanks. Thanks for stopping by !
Use "Pinking Shears" on the canvasto prevent unravelling after you cut it.
Your camper looks incredible! Very good work. I've been working with fiberglass and epoxy resin for about a month now for a hobby project, and I can say: Don't fear fiberglass. Obviously be careful when handling it, and be aware of the fumes. But it is very cheap, and even a not so crafty person like me can make interesting and strong shapes out of it. You can easily practice with about $20 of materials to get your technique down and making respectable looking stuff.
Caleb Hopper Thanks , u used this method because it’s an old tradition method for boat and airplane building . I’m a little concerned about the fiberglass cracking in rough rounds .
Thank you for this great video! I am in the planning phase of custom building a camper shell for my F-150. I think this is just what I need for my project!
Hope it helps , there are so many ideas on how to do it I picked the version that was mentioned most . It’s doing good so far . Hope your project goes well
Saw the whole vid and read all the comments.. reason for it was exactly what u said it was... a lot of us played with fiberglass is the reason why we looked at your vid...f/glass is more expensive and the discomfort of working with it..I looked at it because I’ve thought of making a semi camper shell for my custom tubing rack I’ve made for my truck... I’ve said tubing because I’ve specially made it to save weight... understanding what thickness of ply u support the canvas with is goin to determine the strength and lightness u need.. oh .. and ply is easy to work with !!... good vid , glad I saw it .. tnks 👍🏼
Thanks for stopping by , if you read the comments I’m sure you seen plenty of other ways people think I should have done it , haha . I searched and read countless internet threads and this version seemed to come up the most so I just went with it. At the time I made the video there was only one other on UA-cam I could find . So I decided to make a video of this version I used on the camper . It’s holding up for for how I’m using it .
Just heard about PMF and your videos is very good at showing how
to make it. It was a suggested video from a guy doing a tear drop build.
Thanks for doing it.
Chuck Howard thanks for checking it out . When I was researching my build a couple years ago , I ran across many ideas on how it should be done but no good videos. I picked this version based on majority of internet threads that said this was how they did it . It seems to be doing fine still. If you have more patience than me you could get a more smooth surface . Thanks again.
That’s great one that I watched used several coats of glue and sanded after each one dried etc. If u need more protection u can try that.
I really like your style of craftsmanship
Thanks , not sure it’s on a craftsman level haha but occasionally things work out .
I'm an artist and when I want to disguise a surface visually I texture a few different colors of the paint so your surface irregularities are more hidden - just and idea - makes later repairs easier too
thanks for the testing - I'm going to attempt a sit on kayak
thanks for the tip, i have also been looking into doing a kayak,,you may already know but NiteWolfe Fishing on youtube has some pretty cool ones
Pinking shears will take care of the unraveling where you cut canvas. Sanding can make it all smoother, especially if you sand after the first over coat. How much titebond did you use for the covering?
joe woodchuck for the camper I used almost a whole gallon
Pinking shears to stop raveling is how they cloth covered air planes. It also makes the fabric less likely tò peel away because of the uneven seam.
My interest is in making a velomobile stretching fabric over a wire form and stiffening with paint.
@@lamarrharding4776 That would be a cool project,
LOOKED TUFF AND THE CAMPER LOOKED GOOD
DriveShaft Drew thanks! U was really surprised just how tough it was.
In my opinion you bypassed two critical steps that would have made life much easier and you much happier with the finished project.
You did great for sure an I'm not trying to act like a know it all even though I'm sure it's coming across like that. So I apologize in advance my friend if this offended you. I figured maybe you could use this idea for more UA-cam content for your channel down the road.
If you brush a coat of glue on the underside of the cloth an then after you place it down on the wood immediately brush another coat on the outside of the cloth it will seal the cloth, make it sandible, paintable and it would've made it completely waterproof. The cloth surface needs to be completely impregnated with glue and any excess glue brushed or rolled away. You also want all air bubbles brushed out and no dry spots on the cloth when you're finished.
Again my friend I hope this comment didn't make me come across like to much of a butthead to you or offend anyone because I didn't want that to be the case. You have clearly done a fine job on this camper an you should be very proud. God Bless an Keep On Keep'in On!
This is 8 oz duck fabric and it's already
waterproof when you buy it...
I used to buy it by the BOLT... It is very hard to impregnate it...
Believe me I have tried... but what you were explaining
about glue on both sides is a great idea... on normal
thick material... I agree with you 100%.
You did fine in your explanation. Kind and polite. Good idea too.
Thanks.
But wouldn't paint do the same job? It displaces the air and is waterproof. Since you get paint for cheaper, wouldn't it be smarter to soak the canvas after glueing it to your plywood with paint vs glue?
@@danielwurmer2266 No paint by itself would not work. Paint is designed differently to be a cosmetic use and isn't an adhesive. While they do have good UV and water proofing on the surface. You need the adhesive part and paint just don't have that ability alone.
@@hmason76 i agree with every word. It was metioned above to use glue as a waterproofing coat after it got allready glued to the plywood. I don't feel like that would be necessary. Paint would do the job there. My approach would be using glue to adhere the canvas to the plywood and then paint to soak the rest of the canvas an make it waterproof with it. I did some testpieces since there is not a lot of information out there. Some I left outside, others got tested in a more controlled environment. Even an extreme test where I glued a 4 inch pipe on the surface and filled it with 1 ft. of water showed no leakage after 6 months. I am quite impressed by this method and feel comfortable now to use it on a big project.
Just curious, would titebond 3 work better, since it's a waterproof glue, versus titebond 2 which is only water resistant?
jeff h at the time I researched all of this there was a reason everyone was using 2 but I can’t recall now . The post that’s pinned at the top is from a guy who built a kayak using this method , he said it’s working great
Nice video, learned a lot from your demonstration and experiments.
Thanks i hope it helped , it was a fun project . Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for sharing! I'm getting useful information from this. I thought of something that might be useful:
Before cutting the fabric, saturate the cut line with the same glue you'll be using to stick it to the wood, and let it dry. When you do your cut, the glue will prevent the cut portion from unraveling. The glue will not interfere with gluing the fabric down later.
Thanks for the advice ,,, sorry so late replying just saw the reply . Yes that would probably help for sure. . Thanks for stopping in
Thanks, good tests. Shows it works well, and you did a good job with it too.
NEIL HAY Thanks , there are so many versions and ideas on how to do it out online I figured I’d show the version I went with on the camper . Seems to be doing fine . Thanks for stopping by
Beautiful camper build bud!
@@williammarshall5888 Thanks
I like the texture of the paint cloth, maybe need to clean up the edges with a prepared seam. What I am saying is if you cut the cloth and just glue it down and paint it, the edge looks rough. If the edge was cut to lay in a certain area, like 1" over the roof edge so it is along the side, it would look prepared or on purpose, clean. I think they fold the edge over 3 times and stitch it, or it can be glued for a clean look.
None the less, your camper looks pretty good.
I think if I were thinking of camping in the cold somewhere, I would have used 1" foam and used white truck bed liner, waterproof, uv protected, tough. the layer of bedliner would make the foam tough and more ridged after cured.
Just a thought, looks great... thanks for showing.
I would body fill the seams and sand the body fill to smooth the seems over.
Thanks for the substantial video! It was really clear and efficient, and the results are really good👍
Hope it helped , thanks for stopping by
Nice video. I am going to try and make a tear drop style camper this year. Some black trim on the corners would hide the canvas edges and look good also.
lambrettaladUK good luck on your build , I have some project I still need to do on mine . I will post updates when I get them done.
Rhino Liner, Yes... Exactly what I was thinking. It's made to look rough.
I'm also considering gel coating. The type of stuff they put on boats.
Thought about gel coats , a friend that built one is having some cracking issues with fiberglass. I’m wondering since the gel coat dries so hard if it would have same issue?
I always heard you should squeegee on a thick coat of titebond , after you glued and laid down the canvas. So it gets infused with glue. Then the paint layer is more to waterproof the glue.
Wesley Pipelayer yep when I researched it I found 50 different ways to do it and everyone swore it was the right way haha, so I went with this version and it seems to be holding up just fine . I think most any recipe would work fine with a good paint top coat . Thanks for stopping by!
Great video. Awesome job on the camper. Very inspirational.
JackOfAllTrades glad you liked it , thanks for checking it out.
Thanks for sharing this, very informative.
+JohnHartemusic no problem thanks for stopping by
I was deluting the glue 1 part water and 2 parts glue applied to the wood before I layed down the cloth. It seems to let the glue soak into the wood better. But being it's wood glue, it should stick well enough without the water. I gave it two coat of glue then and it turned out to be a dam tough surface.
TIRED OF CAR/TRUCK HEADLINER HANGING AROUND YOUR EARS !!
Pull the liner out of the ceiling , it's not that hard to do but don't damage the styrofoam liner former.
Get a matching shade of the original liner color, cheapest "exterior" semi gloss water based house paint,
an old king sized bed sheet (color/ printed doesn't matter).
You will have to carefully scrape the foam padding off the styrofoam liner(it will crumble off anyway,
which is why the headliner failed in the first place), after cleaning (water only, no solvents or chem cleaners)
and drying, brush a HEAVY coat of paint onto the styrofoam , lay the sheet on the wet paint and work out the
wrinkles and let dry ( watch while drying and brush out any puddles that may form from bleed through).
Apply two more LIGHT coats of paint and reinstall liner back into vehicle. Makes a washable finish.
Michael Avery sounds like a good idea 👍
sounds great but unfortunately no Styrofoam liner on my vw new beetle or my vw golf.... it was/is just the foam padding stuck to metal roof and cloth glued to that. avoiding doing anything.... its going to be hayll of a mess and breathing it in does not sound fun to remove all the padding. Not sure what will do next. Need some form of insulation ..
It's a wonderful trailer! Dont stress too much about the seams and and texture. It gives it character.
if it really bothered him 4" x 4" aluminium angle
You should make a "bowl" out of it and see how long it holds water. This was a great test. Thanks for doing it.
I built a kyak out of luan and it didnt leak at all!!!!
Given that foam fusion sticks so much better than wood glue, if you made another of these, would you use that for gluing on canvas?
Perhaps your ironing step makes wood glue stick better.
If F.F. is too expensive for that, I wonder if there is something inexpensive that would stick to foam, and that paint would stick to. Would paint stick canvas to foam?
I think the glue worked just fine
thanks for showing this, i have some interior bits i wanted to build in real fibreglass but this will be more than good enough, after all, might not like version 1 would be silly to do it an expensive way as a prototype
Yes it could be a good option if you have a structure under it. especially if you already have the stuff available.
Hmmmm....wonder if you could make a pop-up trailer, where the bottom is glued and painted, but the rest of canvas is folded inside with top being lid.
Hmmm . That’s an interesting idea !
I appreciate the time you took to make this video.
You bet , hope it helped somehow. Thanks for stopping by.
A 100K well done my friend this is what it is all about and a great tutorial too
Thanks , we just got back from New Braunfels today with the camper . I swear it gets smaller every trip haha . Or maybe I’m getting bigger ! Haha
@@ArmadilloJunction ah ha ha ha I know what yo mean
I'm entertaining using this method on the thin Luan plywood on a camper rebuild. With a lot of 'must have' items in the camper for boondocking, I'm thinking the Luan will keep the weight lower, but I'm also concerned about the structural integrity.
What are your thoughts on Luan and this method ?
This method doesn’t provide and structural support . If the box itself is good and rigid on its own it would be fine but it doesn’t get hard like fiberglass.
@@ArmadilloJunction thank you, that answers my question immensely 👍
Any idea if pmf works on the smooth film of polyisocyanurate foamboard.... it's R value is 6.5/ in rather than 5/in pinkboard
Sorry not sure
Absolutely excellent video man. One day I will build a tiny trailer.
NorCal Nate thanks dude, it was fun to build . Just no good videos that I could find on the subject
I am using this pmf to cover a roof I am building for my pop up camper. Just curious will 1 gallon of titebond 2 do the job or do I need more. Also what is your recommendations on diluting it with water? Thank you in advance for any advice
Jason Madden I used one gallon on my whole. 4x8 camper one base coat was full strength to glue to plywood then I did 3 coats 50/50 mix
Good job! I wonder if you would skim the whole unit with body filler maybe after the 2 coats of 50/50 then paint it? Just a thought but maybe pretty expensive?
@@dptp9lf I have seen people put more layers of glue , basically creating glue bondo , sanding and having a smooth finish
Awesome video!!!...can I use this method for the bottom of my 14ft wooden kyak I am building to cover the bottom hull??
Seems like you could run a bead of glue along the seams or cut lines first so you don't get that fraying of the.cloth when you cut it.
That would probably work , I didn’t have the issue the second time I tried it . I believe the material played a big part also.
What type or brand is the light blue paint? I’m picking my colors now and don’t wanna ruin the whole thing by getting the wrong type of paint. Trailer looks awesome !
shawn donahue jr I used exterior acrylic latex paint . I bought it from Lowe’s but can’t recall the brand . As far as the color I tried to match it to our Jeep that is chief blue . We just took a good close pic with our phone and took it to Lowe’s to have them help match paint with paint samples at store . Hope this helps
I see what you mean about where the canvas overlaps, but overall that is a nice looking camper. The trim board on the top looks great, even if you didn't need it, that is a nice touch.
RevolutionStandard Thank you very much , I definitely learned a few things for next time . Thanks for stopping by .
Just an idea, I wonder if after the last coat of paint dried, then put a coat of spray on or roll on bed liner. That seems it would be almost indestructible for the use of the camper.
lots of builders use bed liner, but ive seen some say it cracked or pulled apart when used by itself . i may try the liner over the pmf next time.
Honest assessment. Great video. Very informative. Gives me several project ideas. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by, it’s an old technique used in boat and airplane building . I thought it was interesting also when I ran across the method .
What about winter,snow and ice built up on it with heat on the inside,just wondering if it would leak or come apart traveling thru areas with snow...
Clifton Tibbits living on the gulf coast I wouldn’t know about using it in those conditions . Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Great video. I’ve been wondering about the use of canvas in this manner? I would imagine this could work for Vardo Gypsy trailer / campers and Shanty Boat tops!? Anyhow thanks again for the post. Learned a lot 🧐
Hope it helped out , the history of this method is actually in boat and airplane making from years ago.
That is a nice looking camper!
Vilo Shmillo Thanks for checking it out
Thanks for the info I was wondering what if you used some rubberized RV paint over the canvas or directly on roof just a guess.
Jeff Hipson not sure how that would work , I owned a few campers before and that’s one reason I just built one is because the terrible rubber roofs and leaking .
Was just thinking because that’s the problem I’m having with mind it was leaking. Thanks for the reply.
Jeff Hipson there is a channel where a guy just covered the top with rv roof paint/rubber let me see if I can find his channel and maybe he could answer better. I believe he said he’s built a couple trailers . He is in my sub list just can’t remember his channel .
M Langford is the channel name
I want to paint the bottom hull white anyway and leave the top of it all wood....do you think it would hold up to the water even putting on two layers of latex paint and then a top coat of exterior paint??
Sawdust Psycho I’m wanting to build a foam kayak myself ,,, from what I noticed in my test it seams like it would be fine. Check out the channel NiteWolf Fishing . He has built 2 and could probably answer question better , his yaks seem to be doing fine. He has a whole build series .
When you put the PMF on your camper, how many gallons of glue did you go through painting the surface?
Used around a gallon , first 4x8 camper was a little less the 5x10 was right at a gallon with 3 coats.
I'd like to see you do another project like this, but using Sunbrella fabric. I've had great success with it in other types of project. it would be interesting to see how well it works for you. helpful tip though, cut Sunbrella with a hot knife for perfect long-lasting edges.
The material needs to be a cotton or porous material the glue and paint can soak into , so I don’t think it would work . But good idea thinking out of the box . Next time I would probably use bed sheets . Thanks for stopping by
Great work Sir. I ask a question kindly answer me. This latex is applied on plywood?
It is latex paint . Used on the exterior of houses . Yes it is applied on plywood
I wonder if you could do the same with Nylon cloth and exterior varnish
Not sure , never ran across anything like that when I was researching.
Excellent video and i like the test you did ..just one thing next time before appling the wood glue, if you damp the wood before appling the glue it will make the glue go into the wood fibers and it will stick even better. If you have damped the glue i will not expect you to tear off the canvas as easy as you did. But great video 👍
Good tip thanks
Good videos, gets you thinking... is this flexible if just treated as a fabric I wonder? No plywood. Anyone tried?
R. R. I just uploaded a video testing this piece of wood again after one year and when I pulled another piece off it was still flexible ,, check it out
If I use bedliner do I still have to use the pmf?? Great video
I have never used bedliner, I’m pretty sure people just spray or roll it right on wood. You would need to pay special attention the the spots where 2 surfaces meet and make sure to fill the cracks good .
Do you think an oil based gloss or satin finish would work better.
i wish i could answer that for you, i have always used latex paint on my house and wood projects so thats what i went with on this project. i would have to wonder how well the oil based paint would dry and cure with so many coats on the canvas. i do seem to recall people that went with straight paint on wood and didnt use canvas used oil based. I read every thread and group i could find while researching and seem like most used the acrylic latex. i didnt really answer your question but hope it helps.
I been contemplating making a camper cap for my Tacoma this way. It would be made in panels so it could be assembled as needed with rigid foam board insulation in between . The one thing it seemed the paint was going on with a bit of difficulty. Is that because it’s pretty thick and tacky and the glue? I’m trying to keep low cost but have a speedy process.
meckleboy dry times were a bit longer for me living in an area with high humidity and the non porous surface don’t help . On my camper build I actually rolled it out into sun to try to help cure/dry faster
This method can actually give you a decent structure made out of redgid foam if you design it correctly.
You might try waterproofing felt for ppma waterproofing..
It is a polyester and cuts a lays very well...
Available at roofing supply stores
Question sir could a poor mans Fiberglass thing be done possibly on a SUP BOARD OR Surfboard? Because it would be Subject to being put into water conditions both fresh and Saltwater fishing
I’ve seen people build kayaks and canoes using it but they used wood strips to stiffen it . The PMF doesn’t get hard like fiberglass . In my last video you can see i took it off my camper after 3 years and it was still flexible . But still completely waterproof. Maybe if you ran some wood strips vertically down foam for support. Good idea though I’ve been wanting one and may try next summer
@@ArmadilloJunction Thank you sir .
I'm surprised youb didn't use exterior titebond and do a coat over the cloth before the paint. Butbi guess that's what the 50/50 mixture is for
What about spackling the corners with body putty, sanding, and then painting?
WVMontani hmm interesting idea , not sure if it would work or not .
What if you were to stand down the canvas before painting? Wouldn't that have smoothed it all out?
Brian Nicholas I have seen campers sanded in between coats and it seemed to work . I attempted it with my camper build and it didn’t work well . It may have been the cheap canvas with large thread . Maybe if it was tight wove canvas it would be better ?
Good job! My thoughts: I like the canvas texture, even wondered one could pre-wrinkle the material to give a sort of adobe look to it. I also watched other PMF vids and two of them applied the glue, let it dry, and applied a second coat, sanded and painted. As a house painter I was wondering how primer would work instead of glue. You ever tried to get water-based primer off your hands? Tough shit. Last, I was wondering if it would be smart to put a coat of polyurethane over the paint (sand paint first). I think that would have prevented your rub marks. Again, good job.
+Steve Smith yep all good questions, seems like there’s many different ways people do it . It’s holding up good just finished a week long trip in the camper in storms and doing fine . Thanks for stopping by!
So I'm curious why does everybody use tight Bond 2 instead of type Bond 3 which is supposed to be waterproof versus Titebond 2 is not considered waterproof it's considered water resistant hopefully somebody can answer my question cuz I plan on using Titebond 3 unless there's a structural issue
Can’t answer that one , maybe tite bond 2 was the only one out when this all started . When I did my research over 5 years ago that’s all people used.
You could Bondo and sand, where you overlapped the seams.
Great Job !!! Thanks for the test !!!!
Wow, you made a nice little camper trailer. If you get into thin plywood and foam shaping, there is no telling what you might be able to do.
A friend youtuber is building a foamy camper right now on his channel lonestar rider .
Wonder what would it look like if you just skimmed it out with a coat of boat fairing compound.
Dennis Thompson hmm not sure how that would work . Been thinking of building a new one before summer and trying a new technique.
Forgive me if this is an ignorant question.... What is the purpose of the cloth vs onlythe paint ya put on?
John Hales my purpose was using it for a tiny teardrop style camper. It waterproof, seals and encases the light weight wooded camper . Making it stronger. This is also how basically how the first airplanes were made. And it was also used it boat building years ago.
@@ArmadilloJunction wonder how well it would work on foam board
John Hales I believe they do use it on the foam campers but it’s been a while since I researched it.
Great looking camper!!
Thanks , it was a fun build.
Did you ever consider using carbon fiber cloth? That's what will be using on my camper build. Thanks for posting your video sir.
Hmm never crossed my mind . I’ll have to check it out for a future build . Thanks for stopping by.
Are you in dirty bay jeepers?
Homestead DIY with L&T mostly hang out with south coast jeeps . I follow dirty bay on Facebook
I have a couple of questions. The 1st it may seem a little funny, but does the paint color matter? Was thinking that if a person was to get some of that "mistake paint" for cheap, a person could lay down a couple of coats for cheap then add the top, finish coat. 2) Have you tried this with regular bed sheets vs painter's canvas? If so, results? 3) If you were to use bed sheets, would multiple layers work better? 4) Have you done this with the 1st step (glue & clothe), then cover it with fiberglass resin? 5) Would it help to cover both sides, let it tack up for a couple of minutes, then set it?
Good info sir!
I think it would be a great idea to use returned paint first , i think if i do it again i will try bed sheets or a tighter wove canvas for sure,i have never used them but i have seen people use them in tutorials, never seen multiple sheets or layers used on any build, no ive never seen glue used under cloth and resin. hope it helps . Thanks for stopping by
So you don't need to put a coat of glue over the top??
Not over the final coats of paint
So the part that you left the hole in did you add glue to it as well and then I'm still not sure why I've seen on other videos where everybody wants it out just like you would regular fiberglass or you wet the wood then you wet the mat and then you squeegee out whatever you need to to press it against the structure and then from what I understand you what it again with the wood glue and then you paint it because at this point without the glue being on the back side of that spot that you cut out you've kind of defeated your own test in a way
The glue on the wood is to glue it to the wood , the point of diluting the glue to put on fabric is so that it soaks into the fabric . It obviously works , so I didn’t defeat my own test . Thanks
Nice video. I will use TPO roofing as I have access to it.
However your video is nicely done and very well thought out. I think I will subscribe as you do a good job .
drmachinewerke1 Thanks for stopping by , trying to decide on next build now , but even though this method is good and stronger and more durable than I expected I will use something different next time .
Really helpful- thank you for doing this!
Elizabeth Swing Thank you for stopping by ! At the time I was building my camper I couldn’t find any good videos about it . I hope this helps . Plan on doing some more camper stuff in near future . Thanks again
Sticker on your tool box, is there a difference?. Other than it rains more in Hell than west Texas.
Haha
Nice job on your camper.
Thanks , it was a fun build
I did a layer of glue wrap the canvas and coated the canvas with glue. Sanded it then did another coat of glue. Did 3 coats of glue total. Then two coats of paint
Jean Moyer sounds good 👍 .
For the price of the weave, it was much easier than canvass. Then a layer of gelcoat made it pretty
Trucker Daddy - AKA John in Québec maybe next time I’ll try it , may build another one soon .
@@ArmadilloJunction fiberglass is easy. Go look at the channel boatworks today
@@ArmadilloJunction ua-cam.com/users/boatworkstoday
Real useful diy stuff.
Buy a decent mask. He doesn't show the example enough
Great information. Thanks for making the video!
Nick Behling no problem , hope it helps . Thanks for watching
It's nice looking, probably built 10 times better than one you can buy, and 100 times cheaper! Good job! How about some interior shots?
claybird Thanks , I’ve owned a number of campers from used to new and they all just fall apart and leak . The build quality on RVs should be against the law haha. I have a few videos on my page that show the inside . I need to do an update video to show how it’s holding up.
I wonder if it matters what fabric you use? Does it have to be canvas?
JayJay if I did it again I believe I would use bed sheets. I have seen it used before with good results.
Armadillo Junction
Excellent thank you!!
Great Job testing AJ !!! Thanks !!!
gpwx Thank you, hope it helps out
That's what's nice about it. You can patch it easy over night and be back on the road!
Yep
Paint needs 7 days to completely cure, how long did you wait before the testing?
bizim eller at least 7 days on the test . When I was building my camper I didn’t wait that long and was probably the issue with sanding .
So been a while how did your pmf projects last?
I have a video showing how the blue camper held up.and my latest campers roof is still doing good a couple years later.
If you cut your strips nice and straight, the overlaped seems look pretty good. If you sanded it more, you don't even see them.
What paint did you use and did you use marina plywood are regular stuff and nice job
Aaron Davis exterior acrylic latex paint and regular plywood,, thanks for stopping by .
Is that camper still holding together?
I actually tore it apart in another video after a couple years to show how the poor man fiberglass held up .
Great demonstration.
BocaDelCielo Playa Thank you