DIY: Poor Man's Fiberglass - Step-by-Step!

[@marzsit9833]

this has been done for over a century to cover decks on wooden boats and ships except nobody ever used glue to do it, they used inexpensive oil-based paint. the procedure was to cover the surface with the dry canvas fastening it in place with staples or tacks, then spray it with water and let it dry. this process allows the canvas to shrink tightly in place and eliminates all wrinkles. then, mix the first coat of paint with thinner and totally saturate the canvas with it, then let it completely dry. after that, coat it with at least 3 more coats of unthinned paint, let dry between coats. it's still used as the standard method for covering decks when restoring old boats because wood boats breathe and expand/contract, painted canvas will move with the wood but fiberglass can't so it starts cracking and blistering...

[@HomesteadDIY]

That sounds brilliantly simple. Now I want to try that. Thanks!

[@bobgade6733]

I've never been a fan of fiberglass because of the need of a resperator during demo... Specifically the damage to the human body and the way it does... It's like black pepper causes taste, but inhaled for basically miles

[@MrKswildman]

This is what we do when we make experimental aircraft, using paint.

[@OGColorado]

Great points! I’m doing a PMF project to enclose our chicken run. Not necessarily pretty but definitely a fun project. I’m an old sailor too and will try a paint like you suggested.

[@guit156]

The method you describe is similar to that used for many years to make canoes. Coated canvas canoes used to be fairly common, although that was some years ago.

[@popsoldboats3406]

This is really a rich man's oiled canvas instead of poor man's fiberglass. 👍

[@JA-qi1fb]

Moving to a new house &looking at the old shed there, I thought I’d tear down the shed & replace it. Then I saw you working with ‘poor man’s fibreglass! Given a few days of hot weather, the shed dried out nicely & I levelled off the old tar/felt roof. Working in 4 ft widths I painted on the PVA glue, rolled down strips of decorators throw - good tough stuff - & then applied more PVA on top. Final coats of black bitumastic paint & the shed is totally dry. A couple of good storms / downpours proved it. Thank for the idea & info you provided, the shed is good for a good few years now. J.

[@JA-qi1fb]

A little more complicated but I’m now partway through saving an 8-sided summerhouse with PMG. Replacement cost would have been £5k or so but the PMG looks promising here too. 👍

[@gregry111]

Thanks for a well spoken, detailed, instructional video. no acting stupid or loud, dumb yelling. Also, I like your Pennsylvania Dutch accent. My dad was born in amish country and I've always liked the Eastern Pa. sound.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thanks! I don't know if I've ever had my accent described like that, but I certainly admire their work ethic so I'm willing to go with it. Thanks again!

[@bretc9644]

Back in the mid 90s my Dad and I made a bed cover out of plywood covered in black Naugahyde. It had a recessed piano hinge midway to fold over. We covered the plywood with some batting before laying the vinyl. The thickness of the batting hid the piano hinge and gave the top a nicer feel. The vinyl held it’s color probably 3-4 years and the cover lasted 6-7, just using mostly stuff laying around the house from other projects. I don’t remember if the plywood was marine grade. Might’ve been since it lasted so long.

[@mfw1936]

Enjoyable video. He isn't in love with the sound of his own voice, like so many other amateur video makers who waste my time talking for two minutes before they begin. He seems to be a skilled craftsman and he gets right down to work. Two things I would do differently: I'd use a bigger scraper and I'd wear shoes.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thanks for the comments, and I can't argue with your suggestions. Cheers!

[@bobsmoot2392]

Good idea! I build design/build sailboats for a hobby. To save weight and $$, I've used this method (same glue) on very thin plywood, but instead of canvas, I used thin, finely woven nylon cloth from Walmart (cheap/STRONG). You can almost see through it. I found that it wasn't necessary to pre paint the wood before placing the cloth on it. Just lay the cloth where you want it, pour glue on top and squeegee/flatten it smooth. The glue works right through the weave and comes out the same. Because I wanted my hull surface smooth, I squeegeed additional coats of glue to fill in the weave. Less glue needed for each coat as you go. Works great! Way less clean up (and with water), lighter weight, easy to use, no bad smell. Prime and pant when done. Thanks.

[@thomassater3462]

Hi; do you have a link for the nylon cloth you have successfully used? I would really rather go a lightweight route vs a canvas dropcloth or something, as I am building stabilization pontoons for a jon boat.

[@GalenEppley]

Yeah what's the fabric

[@ernie5187]

You can use landscape fabric. No wrinkles and the fabric is waterproof

[@bobsmoot2392]

The cloth I found at Walmart is nylon I think. It's very fine and has little stretch. I've used it to stain clumps out of older paint for spraying houses. Main thing is to get it as flat/straight as you can. No wrinkles. I was amazed at how well/easy it went on with a Bondo type plastic squeegee. Wrinkles just squeegee right out. I cut the cloth in strips 6-8" by 24" works. Thinner on tighter curves. Overlap steps about half way for strength. This give you a double layer of cloth when finished. I just used an old brush to put the glue on the hull, then squeegeed the cloth down into the wet glue. Do a little at a time, to keep control. Layers are fine. Multiple coats, after the cloth has dried, really smooths it out. No sanding needed. Good luck.

[@davidsylvestre9118]

Is it structurally strong for boat, or only gentle use like a kayak?

[@nipz8053]

Wow, that really is a poor man's fiberglass, but it works. 👍

[@FT4Freedom]

The benefit of this technique is the fabric and coatings are flexible when you want flexibility. Fiberglass and resin are much less flexible and better applied to a rigid base. In this example the rule does not apply because the cover is hard. But for coating foam or some other flexible base this system will flex with the base material better than fiberglass. For example diy kayak building.

[@lumimobb]

You think this will work with insulation board?

[@michaelosmon]

Jason Rivero it does, there are people using this method to make foam kayaks, look on KZbin you’ll find it

[@robbehr8806]

Good tips!

[@aliposhtpazan2625]

Excellent and dared DIY. Thanks for sharing your DIY with us

[@HomesteadDIY]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching

[@PainterD54]

They use the same technique for boat building. Don't use Titebond II for boat building. It's only water "resistant". Use Titebond III because it's actually waterproof (says right on the label) I gave mine three coats and sanded after each coat. After the third coat, it's like fiberglass smooth and probably as strong. Instead of using a scraper, use a paint roller for the first layer of glue or even a wide paint brush. A 6" or an 8" wide scraper will work better to pull out all the air bubbles. It will save you time and it less of a headache and will be more uniform to look better.

[@JMAV357]

Hey Dave, I’m thinking of making a simple plywood boat, could I do thois to waterproof the outside instead of using actual fiberglass?

[@PainterD54]

@@JMAV357Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to use. One layer of cloth and three coats of Titebond 3 will give a coating just like fiberglass. And on the inside of my boat I will be using two layers of just glue alone to water proof it before painting it.

[@heliocentric9971]

What do you think of diluting the glue somewhat with water?

[@PainterD54]

@@heliocentric9971 It would flow easier no doubt but take away its strength.

[@bobbuddenhagen449]

@@JMAV357 pp

[@erichicks2978]

I don't know about the truck part, but this guy sure can stick fabric to wood.

[@WiKiTWoNKa]

😝😂😂😂😂😂🤔

[@1nvisible1]

*This guy could build you a house out of burlap bags and superglue but that looks like a lot more work than fiberglas.*

[@murraymadness4674]

I'm impressed you are willing to do so much work when polyester resin is super cheap would be done in an an hour and shiny smooth if you use some glass or another smooth surface as a form.

[@loudelvis610]

Lol..my thought also Titebond 2 is just as expensive as resin

[@ephestione]

This tutorial looks like the most thorough of them all on youtube. You appear to be the only one to use the glue both under and over the blanket, and you even sand the layers. Being almost two years, and pretty much three winters, since this video, are there any updates on how it's holding up?

[@HomesteadDIY]

Ephestione's HQ I actually got rid of it after a year, but not because it failed. In fact, despite being outside in all kinds of weather in that time it held up perfectly and looked as good as the day I finished it. However, using the wood from the folding tables that I did, about 5/8” thick, made them way too heavy. It became a pain in the neck taking them off when I wanted to remove it when I had big bulky items to move. I’m actually in the planning stages for building a sleeper camper that will fit in the bed of my truck and I plan to use this technique to waterproof it. I also plan on building a new tonneau cover, but this time with just 1/4” wood. FWIW, I actually made this video precisely because I couldn’t find a step by step video on KZbin. Thanks for watching!

[@keithmenia8470]

Holy macaroni! I just got done skinning the first half of my tonneau cover build using this method. Exceeded even my tough standards. Used the Titebond II, but I splurged and picked up some fiberglass cloth. I skinned both sides; top for appearance and wear, bottom for added rigidity...and it definitely does add some strength. I ended up draping the extra fabric and trimming the overhang. Sides will get a coating of glue. For others who may try this, I used a 4-inch rubber printer’s roller to apply the glue as the fiberglass is a pretty tight weave and the glue is thick. Thanks again for the video! I’m liking everything sbout this! I have an F-150, so thanks also for the link on connecting it to the truck.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Great! I imagine the fiberglass cloth will give it even extra durability. Glad it work out for you as it did for me.

[@isaacmadhavan]

Perhaps you could dilute the glue as explained elsewhere by RuggedHomestead.

[@samadamms3432]

Had to build a plywood box to store some bikes for the winter, sealed that with some cheap sheets from Walmart, coated with Redguard water proofing. Completely waterproof for three years now

[@paulrichmond6903]

Boatbuilders have traditionally used a similar procedure. The only difference is we use a good quality paint instead of glue. The edge treatments, for joints between parts that had potential movement, ( Like between the deck and cabin), we used a 2” strip of lead across the joint held in place with copper tacks. Old time tradition but quite durable.

[@beerus1]

What paint do you recommend?

[@Nicholas-f5]

Lead!

[@hugostiglitz6914]

I busted my small trailer cover. So until the new one arrived I made a temperory one out of an old plastic shop sign. Worked great and was free.

[@jorgepizarro3327]

🥃 As of now I don't know why you have 511 thumbs down because this is ingenious. I wish I knew about this 2 years ago when I had fiberglass projects.. all superheroes don't wear capes. Thank you my good man

[@HomesteadDIY]

Lol! Thanks. Haters gonna hate. But it sounds like you need a new fiberglas project! Cheers!

[@Arnickification]

Brilliant!!! I’m going to try this on my earth air tunnel to seal the barrel connections!!

[@gangleweed]

I once made a canoe and covered it with canvas.....then gave it 2 coats of oil based paint to keep the water out.…...years later I swapped it to a friend for a steam engine.....that was back in the 50's.

[@Nicholas-f5]

👏

[@jonhohensee3258]

Try a period at the end f each sentence.

[@oscaraguayo4423]

Thanks for doing this tutorial! I am going to attempt to use this method on a little motorcycle trailer I've built :)

[@robertnancarrow9433]

We use a tent indoors when all glued down use a heat fan inside the tent and close the tent up and leave for 1 hour done ready.

[@jaymag3125]

As a cabinet maker/professional painter, titebond 2 isn't waterproof, if you decide to use this method I'd recommend titebond 3 which is waterproof glue

[@hbradar1]

Yes, titebond II is water repellent, neither is polyester fiberglass. Need epoxy or titebond III . Probably an oil based enamel paint . Thanks

[@Ch4grin]

As a non-professional that has built paddles and boats with Titebond 2 I can say that it will easily outlast his particleboard core. The industry requirements to meet the "waterproof" rating aren't really relevant.

[@jeremiahshine]

@@Ch4grin Correcto. I've been sealing, waterproofing, staining, painting, exterior surfaces for 35 years. Particle board is great as long as it's not wet. A rock, a tool set on top, hail...the end is a couple years away. Once the skin cracks for sure sand and paint again. The edges should get extra treatment. High maintenance to look good. I'll wager latex caulk would last longer. Just re-spread over the sun cracks in 5 years...re-paint.

[@MayTheLightBeWithYou]

@@hbradar1 Polyester resin is 100% waterproof and chemical proof as well, I was in the business.

[@brandonedwards7166]

Probably cheaper to but a gallon of resin.

[@NewmanMG]

Looking at finishing a home made camper, this is interesting. I hate fiberglass but still will prolly use, maybe this technique on smaller projects another time. Thanks for the video

[@warrenclyde2467]

One can also dilute the glue and use much less. It just takes a bit longer to dry. For those concerned about being waterproof it is the paint that seals it. Foam boats use this process.

[@heliocentric9971]

How many much water per gallon of glue?

[@PeterSFam]

I don't even iron my dress shirts but would consider ironing a canvas tarp to try this.

[@smwon1]

I love this. The only problem is you didn't really give us a finished look. Perhaps you have a follow up you shared.

[@suoppsdn9751]

Thanks for sharing. This seems easy enough and you described it very well.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thanks!

[@lhb4031]

Thats great , i may need to build something, that would need a nice top like a storage place for racks and shovel. Thanks for doing this.

[@ZORRO4652]

going to build a camper shell for my truck using 1/4 in. plywood....this will keep my weight down plus reinforce the shell..going to double up on glue and canvas. using either titebond III plus Polyester resin. thank you again!!!

[@HomesteadDIY]

That's exactly what I plan to be doing with it next! FWIW, I still think Titebond II is the better choice than Titebond III. Although TB says "waterproof" on the label for III, if you read further it is not meant to be used in instances where it would be submerged or below the waterline. That makes it more water-resistant like TB II than waterproof. Where TB III excels is in high-temperature water resistance, meaning where it would come into contact with steam or boiling water. It's good on cutting boards that you will run thru the dishwasher but in a PMF application it will not have any better water-shedding properties than II. Also, TB III will essentially melt at high temps (figure 150 degrees) but TB II (and original) won't. While I don't expect my camper to see those kinds of temps -- though maybe a summer sun beating down on it could raise the temps significantly -- for all of the above reasons I plan on staying with TB II. And maybe best of all, TB II is cheaper than III. Good luck with your project!

[@Creator_Nater]

This is very interesting, I love it! I like to know all the ways to "skin a cat" People that only know the "right way" are helpless in the real world, (in many scenarios). Subscribed!

[@Sleepvroffical]

The right way is the best way, but if you're a conformist the other ways will work.

[@samuelluciano8672]

Wonderful Job, you a natural engineer & materials alchemist, your completely awesome 👏 awesome 😎 awesome 👍🏼✅🧰. ThkU 🖐🏼

[@ed.puckett]

Thanks for sharing your technique!

[@the.j.b.5782]

This was pretty cool and had plenty of good info. Thanks for the video!!

[@HomesteadDIY]

Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!

[@reowhite4862]

Old biplane wings were made in a similar way. Very cool.

[@chuckaddison5134]

Old canoes and boat decks too!

[@mikestefanick7542]

WWII PT Boats had canvas covered decks. Easy, cheap and quick to repair

[@davidj837]

Mike Stefanick my vintage Norfolk Broads boat has a canvas over ply top to the salon and front cabin roof which is called scrim covering and was quite common practice before fibreglass was used.

[@sureshbabu5687]

So......................Awesome……. Thank you very much. 🙏🙏 🙏

[@mohammadkhalifa8594]

thank you that gave me an idea for a different project I'm using your method to cover an old cracked surface, cheers:)

[@ryanryanryan4329]

nice job and lay out on the poor man's fiberglass good job

[@gergemall]

What a creative idea.thank you

[@mikerevello3828]

Love this! Subscribed! I can see Many uses for this affordable method around our property and outbuildings. Thank You for posting this terrific idea.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Awesome! Glad you liked it. It realize does seem to have a lot of applications and I know it's been used to waterproof boats, camper vans, even planes back in the day. Cheers!

[@Crow3112]

bro im a poor man and this is a great idea very smart im going to be putting this on my new truck bed cover imma make @ a small portion of the price, thanks for sharing

[@HomesteadDIY]

Awesome! Mine held up very well through all kinds of weather. I’d recommend using much thinner plywood, maybe 1/4”. I had to take mine off because 3 sections of 5/8” particle board was too heavy to lift after awhile. I was actually thinking of just making a frame to go around the top edge of the bed and no wood in the middle to lighten it even more.

[@ljaysperspective1775]

This is a very unique and practical idea, very cool!

[@nakedgoatlastnamesarelame8868]

Rimworld Music! Aw man I was hoping for the build also :)

[@ruck-a-tron]

I always see the PMF for campers. I never thought about making a tonneau cover with it; that's brilliant...and probably much easier.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thanks! I would not use the 5/8" thick particle board like I did though. That was surprisingly heavy to maneuver about. I said afterwards if I was to make another one of these I'd make it out of 1/4" plywood. Much lighter and easier to move out of the way when necessary.

[@IshanDeston]

You need Titebond 3, which is water proof. Titebond 2 is only water resistant, which means it will soak through on a long rainy day. Or you need to buy some boat varnish to coat it before you go and paint it.

[@FT4Freedom]

Titebond III has been used as well. However, the overall process works better with titebond II.

[@Smitty-op4ld]

After you put several layers it's water proof. It's a hack. They didn't design the glue to go in several layers. Toilet paper is water proof of it's enough layers. The way he did this is water proof.

[@rosskellynmoore4207]

Not to mention the obvious fact that the truck bed liner is waterproof. What I don’t understand is why he even bothered with the glue and fabric. He could have just coated the board with the touch bed liner and had the same result.

[@SlyC00p3r]

@@rosskellynmoore4207 thats because he is showing anyone else who could use this as a replacement for fiberglassing. Hence poor man's. Also truck lining is expensive

[@jimharris2897]

Titebond 11 is highly water resistant and with good paint should be okay for things that aren't submerged or too regularly soaked. I would be more concerned with the particle board softening up.

[@johnbaggus9966]

Bringing back an old trade , sailing ships in the old days used the same technique with canvas and paint ,

[@judichristopher4604]

Great Video... Thank you for sharing.

[@gusargoan]

Welding blankets are the poor man's fiberglass, and they are fiberglass.

[@je-fq7ve]

My friend pulled pink insulation out of the attic. wetted it out and filled holes in his truck.

[@EnFuegoDuo]

Ha ha ha!

[@alisha75006]

I applaud you for your creative, effort + end results, knowing that mature criticism always come up with helpful information. If I may say so this is very similar process which most R&D Research labs would address and make incremental adjustments for improvements till software come along, other than that those vinyl cannot save someone in wilderness. Lol "& cause I have an opinion" "That's my 2CENT"

[@texedwards3039]

looks like a good idea

[@emagowan]

Excellent video. A million thanks for not having annoyingly loud and shitty music in the background... like too many KZbinrs.

[@harvmac69]

This is so cool!!

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thanks! It's a pretty effective solution that has all types of applications.

[@squiggy813]

This is great info. The only ting I would do different is to put glue on the entire underside in order to seal the wood from humidity incursion and warpage.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Absolutely agree.

[@elishalancaster1158]

Very wholesome video. This guys a W

[@DeeOldChook]

the point I think many are missing is the glue is simply a vehicle to hold the canvas on to the plywood with bonus of canvas providing strength. it's the layers of paint that that provides the water proofing .. I'm going to do a horse box camper conversion... one layer of glue, many coats of paint. its not new gimmick.. great video thanks

[@HomesteadDIY]

Absolutely correct! Good luck on your build. I keep saying I want to build a camper for the bed of my pickup using PMF. Maybe one day I will lol

[@ensignj3242]

Very clever

[@Muertodia]

Great info, very detailed. Thank you.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@Mark-gg6iy]

Interesting. Was that particle board you used? If so, my last choice. Another way to do this is to use XPS (extruded polystyrene) in combination with insect screen fabric and a good weather-resistant paint. Experimenting with Gelcoat would be interesting. The screen provides excellent tensile strength, the XPS deflection is minimal while being very lightweight. If fasteners and\or hardware is to be employed solid wood can be embedded for screw strength. I just watched a video of a man using this method to build van cabinetry.

[@52memor]

Brilliant idea many thanks

[@cadechristopher6456]

Truckbed liner is already enough. BTW, you should go to the source for truckbed liner. Company called Durabak. Any color, texture and UV for much cheaper.

[@keithchilcote8088]

Fun project - especially for those of us with vintage trucks where covers aren't available. I was thinking of doing something similar with 1/4 plywood that would lay on separate supporting spares . Since my 8 ft. bed would require a joint in the middle, I thought maybe the canvas only could act as a continuous hinge? Maybe add a strip of canvas on the reverse side of the joint and stitch the two together before gluing. This would make for manageable handling and 1/2 bed use.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Well I can tell you the 1/4" plywood would be a heckuva lot lighter than the 5/8" particle board I used. Man that was a bear to maneuver! I was considering redoing the cover doing just that. I think your idea for the canvas hinge is a good one.

[@stuartwilliams3164]

As an old coach builder this what we did to make cartage roofs waterproof but we used a paint called smudge

[@shanebeaudrot777]

More than one way to skin a cat. Turned out pretty nice.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thanks!

[@roncline3120]

Great idea and I cant wait to make new worm bins this way...Thanks for info........

[@HomesteadDIY]

Well that's an interesting use for this technique I haven't seen elsewhere!

[@Deontjie]

This can work with closed cell foam for cheap floating craft.

[@Nicholas-f5]

Mouseboats

[@russbilzing5348]

I was thinking that a toothed trowel such as is used for the adhesive used under linoleum would shorten the time and labor involved in getting a thin and even coat of glue.

[@daveybernard1056]

One word, "finger painting".

[@Smitty-op4ld]

You're a tile guy ain't you?

[@colinstace1758]

Cheap throw away foam paint roller 👍😊🇦🇺🦘

[@zebedeedoodaah6454]

I was going to ask if anyone has heard of a roller but I see another Aussie beat me!.😋👍

[@colinstace1758]

@@zebedeedoodaah6454 👍🇦🇺🦘😊

[@americanboathead5390]

Thank you for a great video! Im thinking of this for boat applications.

[@HomesteadDIY]

I've learned that was a primary use of the technique once upon a time. Good luck with it!

[@Bahnamoon]

@@HomesteadDIY hows the top 2 years later?

[@williamsaum3465]

Watchingyou smooth with the small scraper, I realized a ROLLING PIN might be easier and is washable. Js

[@HomesteadDIY]

Literally ANYTHING would have been better than what I used 🤣

[@stewartcpitt]

7 or 8 years ago we helped out a local school who was doing a environmental Project. They were making a racing car out of environmental and recycled materials. The company I work for now-defunct called Lola cars in Huntingdon UK we were mostly used to making cars for the Indy circuit and lemons cars. But we were helped out by making most probably the cheapest panels ever made using flax and resin flax is used in making all sorts of things from shopping bags 2 climbing rope and it seemed to work ok when you think of the materials are generally work on which are roughly starting at £50 per square metre this was surely money for old rope as we say in Britain

[@brickmafiaindylocal317supe5]

Show your truck with new improvised cover

[@whatnowok]

What happened to the rest of the video man!,were you show us the install?

[@mwt5258]

Great video. I am doing exactly this. And thanks for the ideas

[@HomesteadDIY]

Good luck! I’d recommend thinner wood because 5/8” particle board turns out to be heavy as all get out after a while

[@MIKEH.777]

Great job on the cover

[@tommysmith5082]

Very Good. Thanks

[@VerifyVeracity]

I've done quite a bit of fiberglass work even 4 flat roofs, & I think it would be almost as cheep to just use the fiberglass & etc. But still it's something to think about & maybe as said by Jay L make sure I'm using waterproof glue.

[@cndbrn7975]

Pretty cool bro! I was thinking about using an old school "Whitewash" technique , it also acts as a glue, for the final coat. It's a slurry of Portland cement and water, mixed into a paint like consistency. After it dries use an acrylic paint and sealer.

[@southernnyer6086]

Thanks! Thats a great idea.. I was looking for a way to build a toolbox for my Ram 1500 pickup.

[@CheekyMonkey1776]

GREAT TIP! thanks.

[@davidfusco6600]

Good idea, thanks!

[@hodgecooter]

I question smooth sanding between coats of glue. Would have thought the glue would adhere better with a rough surface.

[@daviddeas6486]

Did this many years ago on boats for cabin tops and decks

[@pierre-rose7783]

Impressive, but you need a wider plastic scraper/spatula for spreading the glue.

[@cadenwhite982]

Great video! Very helpful

[@celinerose3692]

Thank you. I love you.

[@HomesteadDIY]

You're welcome. I love you, too.

[@craigmonteforte1478]

i tuned in a little after the beginning of this video because that’s how youTube started it my curiosity is why you used a decent sheet of Plywood to d this method ? myself i’m a retired Woosworker and i’ve owned 17 or 18 Boats of various Materials including Wood ,Fiberglass , and other Composites i was unaware of Harborfreight selling the Truck Bed material and in the past. used Durabeck Paint that is a Polyuethane Paint with rubber particles to give you a non skid sutfsce i personally used that product on a WoodenChris Craft CabinCruiser Deck i sealed with West Epoxy and applied the Durabeck over that FYI the Durabeckmis a Catalized product that can be rolled ,Brushed ,or Sprayed. they provide specialFoamRoller Pads that help distribute the Rubber non Skid pellets evenly the paint is a very flexible product and i have had it hold up for over 25 years in the Marine enviorment another plus is it’s available in many Colors and that is the Manufacturer of Herculaner Truck bed coating sold at most Auto Part Retailers under the different name

[@Heatsauce70506]

Finally someone showed me how to do this. I am wanting to use this technique on my camper I built. Thanx for showing me how to do it. One question, Can the glue be "watered" down just a little to help spread it easier?

[@HomesteadDIY]

Absolutely! In fact most of what I've seen has suggested a 50-50 mix for that reason and if/when I do this again I will dilute it a bit too.

[@tcornettomaha]

The diluted glue also gets deeper into the wood for better protection and adhesion.

[@HomesteadDIY]

@@tcornettomaha That's good to know! Thanks!

[@Heatsauce70506]

@@tcornettomaha Thanx. I think I'm going to attempt this. We'll see if I have the skill to pull it off. LOL

[@johncasor9698]

Another Great Video... Thank you...

[@HomesteadDIY]

Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!

[@wattwaster5936]

I am wondering if heat lamps would help with the drying part and save a bit of work? They are used for baby chickens since they need a heat source until they can make their own. I would think one heat lamp every two, or three feet set around 3 feet above would do the trick with less fuss. Sure looks like spreading thick latex paint, so a low nap roller should make the application of the glue a lot quicker and help keep it even.

[@Stephanie9959]

I appreciate this practical and detailed demonstration.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thanks, and thanks for watching!

[@ArmadilloJunction]

Nice demonstration, looks like some good content on your channel , subbing a fellow DIYer ! Not many of us brave enough to do a pmf demo. When I built my camper last year I could only find one and wasn’t helpful. That’s why I did one . If I do it agin I will for put a second coat of glue on top and sand more like you did .

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thanks! A teardrop camper is on my to-do list and researching a build is actually how I discovered the PMF process. Subbed back and keep up the good content!

[@philliptoone]

Armadillo Junction I would have used a paint roller to apply the glue, then saturated the cloth in the glue. Probably watered down the glue also.

[@jeremiahshine]

Awesome! Roofing panels for sheds and barns!

[@GPDIY]

Love the project man, Respect.

[@HomesteadDIY]

Thank you!

[@garychandler4296]

It became immediately apparent that a wider blade, like a 6 or 8" finishing knife or a trowel would have spread glue MUCH faster. Thanx for the vid!

[@HomesteadDIY]

You think? lol In my head I was thinking the smaller blade would give me more leverage to push the glue into the fabric, but in reality it would've been just as effective (more so) to go larger. Thanks for watching.

[@garychandler4296]

I think I'll also use a 9 inch paint roller and pan, stretch wrap to keep glue in pan and roller wet, and an electric palm sander for speed. Titebond says you can dilute glue only by 5% for better penetration. I'll use Oops paint for the 1st 2 coats, follow with Behr Marquee or Sherwins Durabond exterior. I like your idea of sanding every coat, thx 4 the video!

[@HomesteadDIY]

@@garychandler4296 Sounds like a sound plan. Good luck!

[@jestork1]

For the fibreglass advocates. Fibreglass will generally last longer but it needs to be scuffed down and then painted if you are using waxed resin. With unwaxed resin, you can put down a waxed gel coat. Not much margin to get a good finish. Layers 1: unwaxed resin to seal wood and keep wood from pulling resin out of the fibreglass cloth. 2: lay down cloth: smooth out 3: saturate fibreglass with unwaxed resin 4: top coat with waxed gel coat. Gel coat and the (at least two layers of resin) won't be cheap but will last arund 25 plus years if no water gets in the wood from the underside. The cloth glue and paint will last as long as the truck. The paint can be easily recoated. The old boat decks lasted quite a while and they had a lot of wear and water exposure. Fun stuff to play with.

[@matthewklumper1248]

Just use epoxy. Put a thin layer on the wood Apply your cloth and wet it out. DONE. Make sure it's UV stable and you don't need a gelcoat. If you don't want to use fiberglass, you can use epoxy with the same cloth your use here and it will STILL work far better than paint will. Your assessment of how crusty paint will outlast even the worst fiberglass is laughable. You talk about the durability of the "old boats", but did you consider for a second that there's a very good reason that no NEW boats are built using that method?

[@verbon5434]

Great video.

[@danssv8]

Nice man

[@kevinburgess6112]

good video, thanks for sharing the technique