Polyurea as a camper skin

[Dakodu]

Hi, i was wondering what do you guys think of polyurea coating for a camper skin?, as the URO-camper.
Polyurea would have to stick to the styrofoam insulation and a painted steel frame, maybe to wood on some small parts.
From what i understand it's very flexible and resistant so it should be a good solution for a "spray on/one pice" skin, or not?

Thanks.

Francisco.

 

[Greg]

I was also wondering about the use of polyurea as a camper skin as was done by Uro-cover.com for building their camper. They were using 4mm PVC foam sheets to sandwich 30mm extruded polystyrene core followed with a wood perimeter. Looking at the Uro-cover.com translated website found coatings is their primary business. Their claim and video also show a military application for personnel protection from IED's while riding in vehicles. The protection comes from the vehicle underside being coated with 5mm of polyurea that apparently helps stop shrapnel.

I'm unclear what the differences are between sprayed-on polyurea versus polyurethane used in sprayed-on truck bed liners.

 

[Tribu]

Hello friends.

The polyurea is a wonderful material. You can build your pop-up and go to a company that applies polyurea to complete.
We use it for many types of applications.

You want to see a video that will convince you??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLGW2fMdVp8

 

[Greg]

Tribu,

Even though I do not understand Spanish, that is an amazing video (basically beating an approximately 2'x2' coated panel with wooden club many times). Pods8 posted photos of his impact testing various fiberglass and epoxy coatings on extruded polystyrene. I think his tests were with a ball peen hammer but he did have have the epoxy splinter. If I understand what is said about polyurea, it has more give and does not crack like epoxy.

Reading about this says polyurea is UV stabilized.
Did you guys have an issue with heat when exposed to the sun?

 

[Yellowkayak]

Ok great stuff...best I seen yet...now for the important question....HOW MUCH per gallon?
here is their page:

http://www.polyurea.com/


JJ

 

[pods8]

Tribu,
Even though I do not understand Spanish, that is an amazing video (basically beating an approximately 2'x2' coated panel with wooden club many times). Pods8 posted photos of his impact testing various fiberglass and epoxy coatings on extruded polystyrene. I think his tests were with a ball peen hammer but he did have have the epoxy splinter. If I understand what is said about polyurea, it has more give and does not crack like epoxy.

It was a framing hammer, not a ball peen. In glancing at that video I would speculate that if you hit a panel like mine in the same fashion with a club and it was painted/colored I doubt you'd really be seeing any damage just like the video. If it was unpainted you may or may not have some stress cracking in the structure that you'd see, I don't know enough about polyurea to say one way or another but damage could be occurring that isn't readily apparent, then again it may not. My use of epoxy/fiberglass skins was for the strength of the structure though since I don't have a frame at all. I am intending to use a undercoating material on the bottom of the camper and I'd guess it will provide some extra impact protection just like a polyurea probably would. I think for a total coating system it might be fairly heavy though in addition to the epoxy/fiberglass skins I would still need for the strength.

Looking forward to more information on the coating though, I've only read a little on it in the past.

 

[Lynn]

What is the reason for polyurea in diabetes mellitus?

Reported.

 

[Dakodu]

You can build your pop-up and go to a company that applies polyurea to complete.

do you think any polyurea would work? what about the one that it's used to make bed liners, like the rhino lining?
can you spray polyurea directly to the insulation? instead of building a sandwich, just using the polyurea as the sandwich outside layers.
Thanks.

 

[eugene]

I was thinking similar, I am going to use 3/4" foam and 1/8" ply in and out. My test with the rear wall it seems pretty sturdy. I just painted it white with a 25 year exterior paint, but having something stronger to coat it with would be nice.

 

[Greg]

I'm still not fully understanding the difference between polyurea and polyurethane but Line-X.com apparently does both coatings. For a coating a camper I would be looking for something water-tight, impact resistant, abrasion resistant, UV resistant, and strength holding the structure together plus light weight and low cost. Probably missed some considerations for a coating that someone else will think of.

The Line-X videos listed below show various things (concrete block, watermelon, light bulb, egg) being dropped from a 30foot roof before and after coating. It is unclear which coating they are using. All the sprayed objects held their shape

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiGycl1XrRw (Line-x video roof drop)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fjrIqk0N9Q (Line-x video free fall)

 

[IdaSHO]

Ive stumbled across polyurea in a few searches a few months ago, and have been digging into it since.

I took me some time to find a version that could be a true "DIY" job. But I think Ive found it.


Im currently waiting on a sample pack, literature, and wholesale pricing on this product made by Fox Industries.

This stuff is called "FX-645 Fast Setting Brushable Polyurea Coating"

http://www.foxind.com/brushable-polyurea.htm

A couple of the key points I locked in on....

*aliphatic polyurea is UV stable
*FX-645 has an elongation rating of 450%
*FX-645 remains flexible from -45°F to 200°F
*FX-645 has a bond strength of 200PSI to wood, and 1750PSI to steel

It also comes factory tinted in a few colors. One of them being Beige. :ylsmoke:

So... assuming it isnt outlandishly priced, I think we have a great option for a DIY Polyurea coating/

Ill be sure to report my findings.

 

[pods8]

In one area of the site it says the gel time is 10min, in another area it says 20min. Either way that is not much time to lay down a coating via brush. Not sure if the reaction time is slowed down during cooler temps like with epoxy, if so you might be able to buy some time that way. Otherwise that sounds like disaster in the making to try and do a camper in it by brush.

 

[IdaSHO]

Your 100% correct.

I was well aware of the cure times, but after chatting at length with my sales rep, I also found that it wont even adhere to itself without prep.

I was willing to paint bands around the camper to beat the cure time, and layer as I went up. But according to him the cured layer has to be chemically prepped to allow the next layer to adhere.

So much for that! :snorkel:

The brush-able stuff is simply a "touch up" item. To repair damaged sprayed on polyurea.


I did get some rough pricing though. 2 gallon kits are in the $200-$250 range, depending upon color. Coverage is between 60 and 100 square feet. Dependent upon mil thickness applied.

 

[trailrunner]

I would like to see what lighbulb looked like if they removed the line-x afterwards. Though the idea of using the poly urea sounds great as long as you achieve good adhesion. Do you think that the structure would have to be completely sealed in a continuous coat? And having never dealt directly with the material is it relative rigid? I could forsee issues with the internal foam components being damaged and creating weak areas.