Canvas Glue ?

[birol]

Where do I find the canvasglue to attach new canvas over a torn area ? The RV shop I go to sells only small amounts of the glue ina  tent/canvas repair kitI need like tons and tons of it Ok I exaagrated little bit. You get the idea I need more than the puny amount they sell.

[angelsmom10]

Have you asked them if they can sell you a pint or something like that?  Ask them where you can get additional glue, they should be able to tell you.

[Gone-Camping]

You'd be far better off finding someone with a Heavy Duty Sewing machine, and having patches put on that way. I had several patches put on both my old Starcrafts that way, then put a little seam sealer on it, works like a champ, the material blended right in, unless someone looked real close they couldn't tell that it had been patched. One of the guys at work had a HD sewing machine he uses on sail cloth.

[tlhdoc]

Birol you should check out the repair kits sold here in the store.

[birol]

I need a lot of glue .... tons the kits sold at RV stores and PUT are not enough I pay money for the other stuff they always include.

And no one we know has a heavy duty sewing machine I wonder if we bought one from WM if it would work, probably not though, canvas is really thick ....

[mike4947]

Birol, Spirit Deer isn't around anymore or she could tell you a couple of layers of that vintage canvas takes a really powerful home machine and is best done on a commercial sewing machine.

If worse comes to worse look in the phone book under canvas, boat or boat canvas. The repair shops know how to work on this stuff and are suprisingly cheap for repairs.
It will mean pulling off the canvas or at least a section back to a zipper if the trailer has them between the bunkends and the main body.
It's fairly easy to remove and replace the fasteners that hold the canvas to the trailer.
You might even be able to get some "bulk glue" from them.

[birol]

I do not want to take the bunkends off, The worst two areas are sewn by hand really nicely One of the I even patched up, both sides ! I do not care how it looks, I want it to be strong as it is the area of the canvas which goes to the corner of the bunkend (And the other side).  I will go to a  boat place I know tomorrow and see if I can get some bulk glue, they might have it in bigger containers or something.

I do not want to spend money  getting the canvas repaired. The trip cost me a lot higher then I had calculated and put me on a difficult spot bill payment wise unfortunately. So getting it repaired is out of the question. I will fix it any way I can. Hopefully we will get a new canvas next year anyways, or maybe if I can fix it well enough, we will delay the new canvas for another year. Things are not looking up much right now.

We might have to buy a sewing machine to reupholster the cushions anyways, if we do, we will just take it out to the PU and sew over the patches to make it stronger.

Birol, Spirit Deer isn't around anymore or she could tell you a couple of layers of that vintage canvas takes a really powerful home machine and is best done on a commercial sewing machine.

If worse comes to worse look in the phone book under canvas, boat or boat canvas. The repair shops know how to work on this stuff and are suprisingly cheap for repairs.
It will mean pulling off the canvas or at least a section back to a zipper if the trailer has them between the bunkends and the main body.
It's fairly easy to remove and replace the fasteners that hold the canvas to the trailer.
You might even be able to get some "bulk glue" from them.

[topcat7736]

B,
You might use an awl (for overlapping layers) or big, heavy "c" shaped and straight needles (all sold at most craft stores) to stitch things that you can back together first. It will eliminate the need for massive amounts of patching glue.

Once sewn properly, you can just apply seam sealer to the stitched areas. A 2-up-1-back stitch (go 2 stitches forward, then 1 backward through the previous hole and keep repeating) will yield a very tight seal.

If it is really canvas on the trailer, then you need to be careful with any stitching as canvas contracts when it gets wet and expands when it dries!

Because of all the weather problems you've been having, I would cover the popup with a big, cheap tarp until the repairs have been made.

[birol]

Al,

I am keeping the PU closed now, and will do so until I cover each and every part of the canvas which needs attention gets it. I am almost done with sewing the torn areas. Some areas had some patches falling off, I took them off and sew the original canvas together. Tomorrow I will buy enough glue, kits or not, and apply the patches and let it cure for a day or two. The kit recommend a period of two hours but I will give it a day at least. After all, the canvas gets really tight when opened up, I do not want the repaired parts to rip off. Looks like the four corners where the raisers got cut due to carelesness. The bunkend corners, probably old age as in some areas convas is really thin. I hope to set it up Saturday properly and then leave it open till we arrive, rain or shine. I now know that it doesn't leak anyways .


There is one corner to be sown tomorrow, half an hour should do it, I can't wait till canvas is in usable shape. Then comes the electrical work, (Cushion reupholstery at the same time by wife) and connecting the propane cylinder to the kinked tubing. That should more or less make it ready for the trip.

Hmm, I need the stabilizer holder thing though, I hope they still sell it or I have to buy something else and make do ... I will take a picture of that tomorrow and ask you guys ...

[chip]

Birol--

I used contact cement on mine ('67 Starcraft Sunliner) when I was patching the canvas.  Apply the cement to the patch and to the surface around the rip/hole, let it dry and apply the patch.  Make sure that you get the patch in the right place the first time, 'cause it won't move once the two surfaces meet.  

Contact cement should be available at WalMart, or any building supply store.  In a quart (liter?) can.  Should be lots cheaper than "puny tubes."

Hope that helps.


{I copied this reply from a reply I made in a thread in the "General" section before I saw this thread.  So, yep, it's redundant.  I still hope it helps.   )

[birol]

Contact cement it is !!!! Went to a boat/marine shop where they fix boat covers etc ..... Went to Homedepot and bought a can of it. This is the two hour cure one. Did not want the instant one as that seems to be for metal .....

[mike4947]

You learn something new every day. I didn't know they had contact cement for porous surfaces. Another good factoid to file away. Thanks Birol.

[birol]

I hope it is the correct one, I made sure that it is for Canvas. The guy assured me that it would stay soft but would be a very strong bond and that I could use it for canvas. Actually it specifies on its label that vpourous surfaces might require two coatins to fill up all the holes and to be very careful when applying. It needs to cover the whole area ... I will test it tomorrow for sure on a piece of spare small canvas and wait for the results. I do not want the Finally to turn into a sheet rock covered PU with a glued solid canvas on edges

You learn something new every day. I didn't know they had contact cement for porous surfaces. Another good factoid to file away. Thanks Birol.

[mike4947]

Just remember with contact cement there is no second chance. Once the two coated surfaces touch....that's all folks.

Had to throw away a table I was making as I didn't have enough strips between the laminate and the table and it touched when it wasn't covering the whole table top.

Maybe the two hour stuff will give you some positioning room without "grabbing"

[birol]

I am also hoping that it will give me some wiggle room ...... Otherwise Finally will look even worse

Just remember with contact cement there is no second chance. Once the two coated surfaces touch....that's all folks.

Had to throw away a table I was making as I didn't have enough strips between the laminate and the table and it touched when it wasn't covering the whole table top.

Maybe the two hour stuff will give you some positioning room without "grabbing"