A lot of time has passed in the build since the last post. There has been an enormous amount of sanding, sanding and more sanding. There has been other work and planning going on behind the scenes as well. The coach is being stored at brother Matt's house which is an hour and a half, one way. And Michael is racing professionally all summer long, so no camper building goes on while he is traveling.
So...The Filon Fanale? Are we at the end? The answer is yes and no. The build is far from over but regarding the Filon, we will soon be done! That means the entire coach will be wrapped in a thin, protective layer of fiberglass that will stand up to the elements, be able to have an automotive type finish and give it a "wash and go" kind of attitude!
When we left off last time the Astroliner was really starting to look like a real live camper; walls up, roof on, windows and hatches cut out. The walls are already covered in Filon, now it's time to cover the roof as well.
The first thing we need to do is roll the Filon out over the coach and lay it into place:
We used a couple straps to help position the piece and give it a bit of stretch...
Next we trimmed the Filon for fit.
And made patterns of things we needed to go around and glass in later.
Now that everything is cut and fit, it is time for the Red Glue! Because the coach is way too big for a vacuum bag, we are using
Red Glue to attach the Filon to the roof rather than epoxy like we did on the walls. This is actually the way the RV manufacturers do it, such as Jayco or Fleetwood.
Here's the prepared surface, coated in epoxy that has been cured and sanded, and ready for some glue...
The glue is sprayed through a special applicator gun...
We sprayed it on the coach side as well as the Filon side...
Straps hold things in place while the glue dries...
Then she looks like this after the windows are cut out and the sides trimmed with a router:
And that is it for the Filon! In the upcoming post we will be working on glassing in all the seams so stay tuned for more progress!
Be sure to follow our blog for future updates and please feel free to ask questions and comment! We would really like to hear from you!
Happy Creations!
Michael & Carrie
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