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Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question *PIC*
By:Etienne Muller
Date: 12/12/2013, 7:15 am
In Response To: Strip: A simple fiberglass question (Greg Galloway)

I use paper cups. I have loads of yogurt containers that keep piling up, yet I still use the paper cups.

How much to mix at a go depends on how you apply the stuff and on how heavy your glass is.

I find about eight or nine pump strokes each of resin and hardener (Mas). That is a little less than half a paper cup per batch.

I pour the whole lot on in a line down the keel and apply with a squeegee. Half to one side and half to the other, in about two to three ft sections.

I work the resin in from keel to sheer, moving along horizontally where necessary to spread evenly, but finishing off from keel to sheer. Don't over squeeze at this point, you want to saturate the cloth and allow timber penetration.

I start about five ft from the stem, work towards the stem, then work down to the other end. If you don't make it all the way to the point in one go that is fine, just work towards the middle with the second batch and use a small amount in the cup to finish the stem at the same time.

Keep working along the boat in about 24 to 30 inch sections, distance will depend on the width you are working on and the weight of cloth.

Once you have done about half the boat you will find that the first third will have gone nice and transparent.

If it hasn't, your temperatures are probably a little low, and it is time to give it a quick blast with the heat gun to get the resin to run well into the fabric. If you are working slowly you need to get to this a little sooner. You will know how much heat gun to give it. It doesn't need much.

At soon as a section has gone completely transparent I find it useful to go back over it, with the squeegee and gently squeeze out any excess resin. Only the transparent area, and not tot fast with the squeegee, There should not be much, if any squeeze out but you will notice a uniform fabric texture without shiny watery looking sections.

Continue working along thussly to the end of the boat.

For fill coats I also use a squeegee and alloy in the same manner, and in about the same batches. But a batch will go much further. I pout it on, spread it out with the squeegee until it is fairly even, and then go over it with a west system roller to even it out. Try to get it on smooth and without runs, but also not too thin, as this is a fill coat after all, and it is ment to fill. Make sure there are no dry areas as the next fill coat will not adhere as well to previously uncoated areas. If you do not use a roller you may get runs, lumps and thin bits. Not a disaster, but more work sanding later.

I typically use three fill coats on the outside and two on the inside. That may help to assess thickness. I find I can use the same roller for two coats, but Mas likes to be overcoated while it is still a little tacky, so the roller is usually still a little mailable.

The outside of the hull usually takes me about 90 minutes, start to finish, for the wet out coat, and about twenty minutes for each fill coat.

If you are working more slowly than that, which is fine BTW, then you need to consider doing the final squeegeeing of the wet out coat, described above, more frequently than the thirds in which I do it.

A couple of considerations.... Start off working in a warm shop, heat it up to higher than the ambient temperature. Then, once you have done the first third of the hull, start reducing the temps. I just turn the dials on my heaters until the thermostat lights click off. Then after the second third, turn the heat down till the lights click off again. Then finish and turn down again. Then about an hour later go back in and reduce heat again. This is to avoid the dreaded out gassing bubbles.

I lay the glass on the hull the night befor I am going to glass so that when I switch on the heat the glass heats up as well as everything else.

I place the resin container right next to a heater to keep the resin nice and warm. Easier to mix, as well as to apply.

I use a generic plastic auto body squeegee to apply resin, but for final squeeze out I use a tile grout applicator with a rubber tip. I fin it just the right stiffness/ softness to give an even result.

The phot below shows the squeegees, yellow plastic for application, orange with blue tip for finish squeeze out (hidden below the yellow one). Also the paper cups that I use, as well as the west roller sleeves. I actually prefer the longer 7 inch sleeves for most applications, but I don't have any at the moment.

Messages In This Thread

Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass! *PIC*
Greg Galloway -- 12/8/2013, 10:31 pm
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
M Hammond -- 12/9/2013, 12:32 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Bill Hamm -- 12/9/2013, 1:03 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Etienne Muller -- 12/9/2013, 2:39 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
John Messinger -- 12/9/2013, 7:07 am
How did you do it?
jay Babina -- 12/9/2013, 8:40 am
Re: How did you do it?
Greg Galloway -- 12/9/2013, 11:01 am
Dan's "Queen of my Heart"
Greg Galloway -- 12/9/2013, 11:12 am
Re: Dan's "Queen of my Heart"
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 12/11/2013, 9:17 am
Re: How did you do it?
Marc Upchurch -- 12/9/2013, 4:27 pm
Re: How did you do it?
Don T. -- 12/9/2013, 4:45 pm
Re: How did you do it?
Etienne Muller -- 12/9/2013, 5:39 pm
Thanks for posting that series
Jay Babina -- 12/10/2013, 8:42 am
Re: Thanks for posting that series
Greg Galloway -- 12/10/2013, 9:18 am
Re: Thanks for posting that series
Kurt Maurer -- 12/10/2013, 8:45 pm
Re: Thanks for posting that series
Greg Galloway -- 12/10/2013, 9:55 pm
Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Greg Galloway -- 12/11/2013, 9:59 pm
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Bill Hamm -- 12/12/2013, 1:28 am
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 12/12/2013, 7:15 am
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Etienne Muller -- 12/12/2013, 7:20 am
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Greg Galloway -- 12/12/2013, 8:52 pm
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Etienne Muller -- 12/13/2013, 4:54 am
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
wysedav -- 12/12/2013, 9:08 pm
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Bill Hamm -- 12/13/2013, 10:15 am
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Etienne Muller -- 12/13/2013, 1:49 pm
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
JohnAbercrombie -- 12/13/2013, 6:33 pm
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Etienne Muller -- 12/13/2013, 7:07 pm
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Bill Hamm -- 12/15/2013, 12:33 am
Re: Strip: A simple fiberglass question
Bill Hamm -- 12/15/2013, 12:30 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Greg Galloway -- 12/20/2013, 7:23 pm
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass! *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 12/21/2013, 12:44 pm
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Greg Galloway -- 12/21/2013, 6:26 pm
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Marc Upchurch -- 12/21/2013, 7:00 pm
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Bill Hamm -- 12/22/2013, 12:17 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Etienne Muller -- 12/22/2013, 5:23 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Bill Hamm -- 12/23/2013, 12:02 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Etienne Muller -- 12/23/2013, 5:22 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Greg Galloway -- 8/24/2014, 10:55 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Marc Upchurch -- 8/24/2014, 11:39 am
Re: Strip: Finished inlay, ready for glass!
Greg Galloway -- 8/24/2014, 12:20 pm