got some Q's about fiberglassing

[1stGen7]

i was wondering my freind told me to staple a shirt to the box then put the fiberglass over it is this true i put someining under the fiberglass? allso when i get the fiberglass reson do i need to buy hardner to or does it harden on its own? (im a bondo guy dont know much about fiberglass) LMK please and ty in advanced

[memole]

what you need to use is fleece material that you can pick up at Walmart for like 4 or 5 bucks a yard. I like fleece becuase it soaks up the resin. staple it down to make you base shape then fiberglass resin it. and yes you need the hardner or else it will never dry. hope that helps
Chris

[GradeA_TireFryer]

he is talking about using the shirt for shaping (old school) go get some polyester fleece at walmart and use that... your resin needs hardener to set up..

[1stGen7]

so a shirt will be fine to use? seen as im on a 25 buck buget to fiberglass this box ill use one of my old shirts LMAO im ghetto

[GradeA_TireFryer]

thats fine - you might have to put more layers of resin - the fleece is cheap - and it will hold a lot of resin in one coat- usual you need 2 or 3 coats of resin -

[TBSpyder]

A t shirt will work, but generally the more absorbent the fabric, the better. You'll need an MEKP hardner, usually about a 1 to 4 ratio of hardner to resin. Paint the mixture on using a disposable brush, soaking it through. Then apply small strips of soaked fiberglass matting.

[1stGen7]

MEKP hardner? can i get this at walmart LOL that where im geting my fiberglas and resin from so they might sell it? itll be a few days if not a week cause the money i got now is going tords a tow dally cause i just got a free truck its a 88 dodge ram like the one i just scraped but its a short bed and a 5 speed...

[integralsgreen]

the resin usually comes with some mekp. anything that will absorbe the resin will work but polyester is the best to use because using polyester resin it bassically melts the fabric into one solid peice rather than having resin soaked cotten. it ill give you the best strength without havin to wast alot of resin building up layers. be shure that what ever you use that the resin soake all the way through the fabric. if you just put a thin layer on top then a thin layer behind you will have a massive air bubble between 2 shets of resin and you will have a nightmare with it cracking.

[integralsgreen]

A t shirt will work, but generally the more absorbent the fabric, the better. You'll need an MEKP hardner, usually about a 1 to 4 ratio of hardner to resin. Paint the mixture on using a disposable brush, soaking it through. Then apply small strips of soaked fiberglass matting.
1 to 4 ratio? :-o thats alot of hardener!! even in 20 degree weather that would dry befor you could get ur bush in it.. with how hot it is here in fl i find it best to use 1% hardener to prevent shrinking and cracking and it will also give you about 15-20 minuts of working time. you dont wanna throw away half ur resin cuz it dryed up befor you could spread it

[GradeA_TireFryer]

There Is Different Resins - That Require Different Hardener Mix - Read The Label On Mixing On What You Buy,

[Notladstyle]

I always use too much and end up with liek 3 minutes of work time and half a cup of solid rock at the end.

too much hardener will cause the resin to gell and not absorb into the fabric.

[ragingdave]

I work on boats. Dont buy walmart fiberglass or hardener you will pay too much. Go to Fiberglass Coatings in st pete you can find them online buy your products there at the phsical store it is huge you can get the quantities you need + people there have good advise. Test your process on a board of wood before you do your piece make sure and follow hardener directions exact. Too much will not give you enough time to work too lil will not harden.

[TBSpyder]

1 to 4 ratio? :-o thats alot of hardener!! even in 20 degree weather that would dry befor you could get ur bush in it.. with how hot it is here in fl i find it best to use 1% hardener to prevent shrinking and cracking and it will also give you about 15-20 minuts of working time. you dont wanna throw away half ur resin cuz it dryed up befor you could spread it


Sorry, I dunno what the hell I'm talking about today. I usually don't even measure...just go by color. But yeah, if you don't know what you're looking for, just go by the directions on the container of whatever you're working with.

[TJElite]

what you need to use is fleece material that you can pick up at Walmart for like 4 or 5 bucks a yard. I like fleece becuase it soaks up the resin. staple it down to make you base shape then fiberglass resin it. and yes you need the hardner or else it will never dry. hope that helps
Chris

Cheap, non-backed carpet works great for this. Soaks up lots of resin, and you end up with nearly 1/4 of 'fiberglass' before you even add any mat.

Toby

[1stGen7]

I work on boats. Dont buy walmart fiberglass or hardener you will pay too much. Go to Fiberglass Coatings in st pete you can find them online buy your products there at the phsical store it is huge you can get the quantities you need + people there have good advise. Test your process on a board of wood before you do your piece make sure and follow hardener directions exact. Too much will not give you enough time to work too lil will not harden.


im from lakeland im not goin all the way to st.pete to get fiberglass

[TBSpyder]

Cheap, non-backed carpet works great for this. Soaks up lots of resin, and you end up with nearly 1/4 of 'fiberglass' before you even add any mat.

Toby


Only thing with the carpeting is that it's not as stretchable and formable (if that's a word) as fleece.

[memole]

if your making a sub encloser just make your frame then stretch your fleece over it. then apply your resin allowing it to soak up through the fleece. after you are done with that you should have a decent looking form on the outside. instead of adding more and more chop mat to the outside...(which sometimes if you add too much you lose the cool shapes that you had before, and second who the hell wants to grind chopped mat fiberglass...ichy ichy ichy) just cut a hole in the bottom of your project and mix a 50/50 or resin with a product called carbsoil ( I like thats the spelling)mix throughy should become a like bondo ( very pourable and spreadable) then add your hardner to that like you would normally, then pour this mixture into the box and spread it around. bascially you are strenghing the box from the inside instead of the outside and you wont have to spend days grinding and sanding the outside trying to get the perfect shape back. the carbosoil is like 9 bucks a pound. I bought two pounds and it filled a five gallon pail..very very light and its cheaper than chop mat and resin plus the time is much quicker. just me two cents but thats what I use and its great. good luck and if you have other questions let me know through this thread. good luck
Chris

[memole]

Sorry should explain what carbosoil is. Just ask for any fiberglass resin expander. maybe they have different kinds.
good luck
Chris

[93ex]

I generally use 2% mekp, gives about 20 mins work time.

T shirt will work for a base layer. Fleece alone wont be strong enough. I normally layer chop matte or weave onto the top until you could park your car on it. Sand, and I never itch, dont know what I'm doing right, then bondo and sand again. repeat until desired.

I dont try to add layers to the inside, None of my creations are wild enough to have any definition lost by adding a few layers of matte. Even if anythign WAS lost in the looks department, it's not going to be so intricate that it will lose all effect.

Also - If you cut rope into strips and glass that down, it will act the same as ribs in any animal. I think layering fleece is adding thickness but not enough strength. You can easily rip apart fleece after just resin.

[integralsgreen]

the make a 4 mill fabric that is made for bracing. kinda works like that rib effect. it works verry good

[ragingdave]

just an idea... I think a test piece is a good idea tho.

[integralsgreen]

im from lakeland im not goin all the way to st.pete to get fiberglass
go to home depot. you can get a gallon for like 30 bucks

[integralsgreen]

have any of you guys ever used or herd of a chopper gun and fiberglass rope? great tool for makin molds. i got one on the way along with a spray gun made for spraying resin. my tool collection grows exponentually lol.

oh yea and john are you talkin about shrot strand fiberglass filler? ive never noticed a change of color when adding mekp to resin as it is clear. but i go by color when mixing fillers

[1stGen7]

well i allmost got the shape i want.. but then the damn screwdriver sliped off the screw and layed my thumb wide open(i was useing screw to get the shape i wanted then ima staple it tonight) all i need is 1 screw... pics up soon

[93ex]

have any of you guys ever used or herd of a chopper gun and fiberglass rope? great tool for makin molds. i got one on the way along with a spray gun made for spraying resin. my tool collection grows exponentually lol.

oh yea and john are you talkin about shrot strand fiberglass filler? ive never noticed a change of color when adding mekp to resin as it is clear. but i go by color when mixing fillers


My mekp is Red, btw. Gallon of it from Select Products. I went thhere and played with all the toys :)

I also have fiberglass filler, it's rather thick, it's like a compressed fiberglass foam pad thing. It works freaking solid. Sandwich that between two layers of chop matte and you are going to be strong. Do glass-filler-glass-filler-glass? Damnnear bullerproof.

[TBSpyder]

My mekp is Red, btw. Gallon of it from Select Products. I went thhere and played with all the toys :)



I use the reddish select products resin as well. It turns a caramel shade when it starts to heat up with mekp. I usually do a rather hot mix when working with it being most of my projects need to be fully completed in less than a day.

[integralsgreen]

oic ive never used select products resin. i order my resin from a boat building distributer. so ur using the bubble gum resin? i use there spray poly fill. that stuff is great

[93ex]

oic ive never used select products resin. i order my resin from a boat building distributer. so ur using the bubble gum resin? i use there spray poly fill. that stuff is great


I did, but for the price and convience, any ol resin will work for me.

[passfan]

They need to put some of this info in a technical section, it's great.