Ironing new deck canvas

[lesweeks]

In the latest issue of Classic Boat there is feature article on a lovely restoration of the Folkboat 'Viking Bird' by boatbuilder Adrian Donovan. The part that interests me is the description of canvassing the deck using 10oz cotton canvas bedded onto Titebond III - basically a fancy, waterproof, PVA adhesive.

So far so good. However,

the method description then suggests that a further coat of adhesive was applied on top of the canvas, then it was sprayed with a fine water spray and then ironed. My experience with PVA is that it is heat sensitive and the glue melts (or at least softens) under the heat of an iron. [I've used the method to apply wood veneers in the past].

Now, I can understand ironing the canvas (suitably sprayed) after the initial bedding to;
a) flatten/smooth the canvas,
b) use the created steam to tighten up the canvas,
c) aid the penetration of the adhesive through the weave of the canvas.

But to do this after a coat of adhesive had been applied to the top surface seems wrong to me. Won’t the PVA melt and stick to the iron? To add an adhesive coat after the ironing to seal the surface prior to painting seems to make more sense.

Has anyone any experience of using Titebond III (or similar) to canvas a deck and then ironing it?

 

[Seanick]

Possibly the text has become incorrect in the edit (respect to the Edif it hasn't).

When canvas was applied on wet paint it was soaked straight away to tighten it before the paint dried.

I cannot see how you could iron PVA without making a mess, unless the iron was cool.

TBH, anyone canvassing a deck these days wants their head examined. You can epoxy sheath a deck and make it look like canvas, with the advantage of not having to paint it each year, and rip it all off again 10 to 15 years later!

 

[Bobobolinsky]

I'm one of the crazies, I did a traditional duck and paint covering on two coachroofs on my Colvic last year. It cost me £20 for the duck and £40 for the paint. You cannot come anywhere near on price with epoxy and in those circumstances is not as good as the epoxy people would have you believe in this circumstance I am not convinced of the adhesion of epoxy laminate to an old wooden deck

http://www.russellandchapple.co.uk/

These people are good and do a postal service for the canvas duck in 78" widths