I am posting this message to clear up some misinformation and also to help present and future users of our 5 oz. tightweave fiberglass cloth.

First of all, how is this 5 oz. different than other fiberglass. According to my supplier this was a special material made using a different than normal weaving and finishing process. Most fiberglass cloth is woven and then run through a bath to put a sizing or finish on the cloth to help the resins stick to it. It also has to go through a heat cleaning process. The problem here is that the heat cleaning can reduce the cloth strength as much as 50%.

This 5 oz had the finish put on the yarn before the cloth was even woven and did not have to go through a heat cleaning process, that is one reason for its higher strength and of course any tight weave will have wet out, a higher fiber to resin ratio.

Our 6 oz. is the standard plain weave style 3733 that most of our competitors sell for small boat building and clear coating. It has a dry breaking strength of about 150 warp x 115 fill lbs./sq.inch and a thickness of .0082. Our 5 oz. shows a dry breaking strength of about 200 x 200 lbs. and is only .0045 thick. This material is stronger than most s-cloth that I have seen specs. for. Now, you must consider that since your final layup will be much thinner with much less resin used tha 6 oz., then you proably will not have much more strength with 5 oz. over 6 oz. BUT CONSIDER THIS. You will get much more strength for the amount of weight you add to your boat and you will use less resin.

The advantages : Higher strength, less weight, less resin used and lower cloth cost.

Lets talk about disadvantages and some of the complaints I have seen on this board. Oviously a tighter woven cloth takes more care to wet out and I will discuss that later. I have sold thousands of yards to small boatbuilders doing clear coating amd the feedback from those following recommended wet out procedures has been very favourable and I get plenty of reorders.

To those that have had wet out problems and complaints of grid pattern, lack of clarity or complete wet out etc. Feedback has many admitting that they did not follow our recommended wet out procedures. REGARDLESS SOME STILL HAVE PROBLEMS. They have said on this board and have called to tell me that regardeless of care in the wet out process, they get a grid pattern that does not wet out clear. If I assume that they are doing everything right, then this is the only explanation I can think of. When weaving the cloth, several rolls of yarn feed into the cloth being woven, perhaps 1 or more yarns have a defective finish on them. This is possibly AN EXPLANATION (just a guess on my part) for some people that have problems. I do not get improper wet out in any tests that I have done. I have tested samples from many different rolls of cloth at different times and always, the wet out is clearer and smoother than 6 oz. I can however get non clear wet out if I do not follow correct procedures.

The correct wet out procedure: (1)Test a sample piece on scrap material doing proper wet out procedures. This should be standard with any new material and especially with novices. If you for any reason do not get the clarity or results that you expect, then call me. (2) The first step of the procedure is to precoat the wood surface with a thin coat of mixed epoxy to seal the wood. Allow to cure tack free. Not precoating can allow the epoxy to soak thru THE FIBERGLASS and leave the cloth incompletely wet out with white spots. I BELEIVE THAT NOT PRECOATING IS ONE OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS WITH LACK OF CLARITY. (3) Lay the cloth over the dry epoxy surface and do your first wet out coat starting at one end of your boat. The cloth should become absolutely clear by dragging a plastic squeegee spreader over the surface. IMPORTANT, warm epoxy will be thinner and wet out better. IMPORTANT, Use small batches of mixed epoxy so that the epoxy will not start gelling and have trouble wetting out. Novices, especially should only mix enough epoxy to wet out 2 or 3 sq. feet, then mix another batch and keep moving along until the boat is finished. When the cloth is clear drag the excess forward to a new area. The surface of the cloth should show and be almost whitish from dragging the excess epoxy off, this will help prevent the cloth floatiing and dripping and run off. (4) Allow to cure to tack free or nearly so and then do your next coat, this coat will fill the cloth to the surface. (5) you may need a final thin coat to finish some spots that need touched up.

I welcome anyone to call me to discuss our 5 oz. Considering the advantages of this material, I think it is well worth considering.