Fiberglass
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Postmaster
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From: St. Peter
Fiberglass
Ok, I am building a center console for my truck. I am getting to the part where i need to do the fiberglassing. I was wondering, for the cloth, should i cut it up in strips that are like 2 inches wide, and about 10 inches long, or should i just cut it to the piece that i need, or should i leave the cloth as one big part. Also, i'm thinkin i should do about 3 layers for added strenght. should i do 1 layer, let it dry, then do another layer. Or should i do 1 layer, then another, then another while its all wet, or should i put on 3 layers of the cloth and then put on the resin?
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Portland Oregon
Cover your form with the largest pieces you can wet out
and not get wrinkles. For your corners and radius use pieces small enough to make the bends and not wrinkled when wetted out. Stipple everything so you have good wet out and no air
pockets or bubbles. Lay up one layer at a time..if you
do not you can not tell if your epoxy has lit off properly.
Hope this helps.
and not get wrinkles. For your corners and radius use pieces small enough to make the bends and not wrinkled when wetted out. Stipple everything so you have good wet out and no air
pockets or bubbles. Lay up one layer at a time..if you
do not you can not tell if your epoxy has lit off properly.
Hope this helps.
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Postmaster
Joined: Aug 2003
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From: St. Peter
ok, i'm new to this fiberglass thing. Whats good "wet out", and what does it mean to "stipple" everything?
So i cut out the pieces big enough so they dont get wrinkley when they are dry. Should i have alot of overlap (2-3 inches or more), some overlap (1 inch max) or no overlap? I'd do 1 layer, let it dry and harden completely, then another layer, dry/harden, then the final layer. Am I interpruting this correctly? P.S. thanks for the help so far
So i cut out the pieces big enough so they dont get wrinkley when they are dry. Should i have alot of overlap (2-3 inches or more), some overlap (1 inch max) or no overlap? I'd do 1 layer, let it dry and harden completely, then another layer, dry/harden, then the final layer. Am I interpruting this correctly? P.S. thanks for the help so far
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 191
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From: Portland Oregon
Wet out means applying the correct amount of your
epoxy [hardner and resin mix] to your fiberglass.
For small projects you can use a 1 or 2 inch
throw away brush..for larger projects use paint
type roller or spreaders.
If you put to much epoxy on your fiberglass it will
flow off like runs in a paint job. If you put to
little it will have no strength. Just the right
amount will give you a good "wet out".
Stipple is a hard term to explain in words. To artists it is what they do when they just push the end of a paint brush against
their picture. A fiberglas man does it the same way but he is trying to drive epoxy into the fiberglass weave.
To learn your way around this stuff you just have to do it. Take a 6 inch piece of wood 2 by 4 and cover the whole thing
with one layer of glass. Then put another layer on..
experiment..that is the only way to learn this stuff.
Do a net search on composite construction and you
should get some pretty good hits on how to do it sites.
Good luck..its fun stuff!
epoxy [hardner and resin mix] to your fiberglass.
For small projects you can use a 1 or 2 inch
throw away brush..for larger projects use paint
type roller or spreaders.
If you put to much epoxy on your fiberglass it will
flow off like runs in a paint job. If you put to
little it will have no strength. Just the right
amount will give you a good "wet out".
Stipple is a hard term to explain in words. To artists it is what they do when they just push the end of a paint brush against
their picture. A fiberglas man does it the same way but he is trying to drive epoxy into the fiberglass weave.
To learn your way around this stuff you just have to do it. Take a 6 inch piece of wood 2 by 4 and cover the whole thing
with one layer of glass. Then put another layer on..
experiment..that is the only way to learn this stuff.
Do a net search on composite construction and you
should get some pretty good hits on how to do it sites.
Good luck..its fun stuff!
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