21 replies to this topic

[Old Crow]

Hi! it is called Thermo-lite 4. Possibly we can just paint it, if the paint will adhere. Not sure if curtains would get caught in the folding mechanism. I could velcro them up and remove them each time I close it, though. Thanks! 

 

Gee... that name is very interesting.  I can't find Thermo-lite 4 but searching led to "Thermo-Lite Board®" manufactured by SpaceAge Synthetics, Ltd. of Fargo, North Dakota.  And that in turn reminds me of seeing this 2013 Truck Camper Magazine article where Tom Hanagan said the new composite lift panels are made in the Dakotas (about two-thirds of the way down the article). Could those be the ones?

 

There appear to be several variants of those panels but the Safety Data Sheet applies to all of them.

 

Safety Data Sheet

 

I then called SpaceAge Synthetics about painting Thermo-Lite Board® panels.  Unfortunately, it's not as straightforward as saying yes or no.  The guy said the degree of success depends on the finish.  The one most likely to be successfully painted would be a sanded finish which he described as a rough, textured finish.  Another is E-skin, also known as 'elephant skin' (because it looks like elephant skin) and it would be more difficult to paint.  And another is 'fast coat', an epoxy finish which would be very difficult to get paint to stick. 

 

I also asked if Thermo-lite 4 means anything to him.  He said that might just be a mis-hearing of "Thermo-Lite Board".  But there is a finish code 4 which means smooth one side, sanded the other.  And another code 4 which means the 'tough-lite' version of their panel.  He gave me a sample code of 2844 and explained the first four would mean 'tough-lite' and the second four would mean 'sanded-one/smooth-other'.

 

In any case, his advice would be to sand first to rough the surface a bit and then apply a urethane-based paint, not a water-based or an oil-based one.  And he said he believes Sherwin-Williams has a urethane-based paint.

 

(Please note we have not yet confirmed that the composite panels are indeed Thermo-Lite Board® ones, much less what finish they have.)

 

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Edited by Old Crow, 31 January 2019 - 07:16 PM.

[buckland]

I would suggest testing a corner with "Seal coat" wax-less shellac. In restoration work Shellac is used between all subsequent coats so that what you do is always reversible. That and, shellac has a great quality of sticking to things. (for instance if you have a water stain on a roof panel... spray shellac first ...then paint over....the stain is barred from bleeding through again. On the panels, if the shellac sticks (it dries within a minute) ... you can then topcoat the shellack. Paint will stick to it.  

Edited by buckland, 01 February 2019 - 12:43 AM.

[Bjammin]

You could try and disguise it like we did with prayer flags and other stuff...

Edited by Bjammin, 01 February 2019 - 01:10 AM.

[sashee]

Thanks for all of your tips! 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Hi! it is called Thermo-lite 4. Possibly we can just paint it, if the paint will adhere. Not sure if curtains would get caught in the folding mechanism. I could velcro them up and remove them each time I close it, though. Thanks! 

That's just one more thing to do when opening/closing the camper.

Contact paper might work.

Get some and try.

It doesn't cost that much.

Have fun.

Frank

[sashee]

Thank you so much! We will. 

[CougarCouple]

Hello sashes
Just re-read this post and thought of this. Since this is a non issue when campers collapsed and your in travel mode, a curtain in front of the panel could be ideal, and you could pick a fabric that would be an accent to your environment. I came up with this because I have used our little bungee cords across the rear panel to hang stuff some times. My thoughts were make the curtain the size needed thread the bungee thru the top, ( front curtain might have to be two pieces because of the securing device, but that's what Velcro is for).
So when you set up relocating the bungee cords to cover those lift panels, you gots to store them some wheres. Ready to travel relocate the cords back to their intended spot, lower-latch-leave.

Russ

[sashee]

Thank you! That sounds possible for us! If I do it, I will post a picture. 

[DavidGraves]

This is only a little relevant...

 

We recently added the thermal lining to our Hawk and I have been surprised how it makes me claustrophobic versus the off white sides themselves.

 

I will likely get used to it and one can easily remove the lining....stow under bedding when not needed...

 

Perhaps it underscores for me how small the space inside actually is.

 

David Graves

[sashee]

Yes.