Fiberglass Reinforced Panels (FRP)

Finishes, paints and coatings

Re: Fiberglass Reinforced Panels (FRP)

Postby Westley » Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:29 am

saywhatthat wrote:There so many things that call them shelf fiberglass
lots of fiberglass shards in the stuff that gets on my arms
dose it glisten? 99% of what they call fiberglass is not old school spend glass. Try sanding a 63 vet with no shirt.
yes epoxy make a great glue. We have found doing a polyester laid over cured polyester cut some small slots in old glass. faster than drilling holes for more mechanical bond.
Plastic, such as the high density stuff, like cutting board we use as backing dose not stick to polyester
The FRP I'm using looks to be polyester resin
cost is a give a way and the burn test
Where you live has a lot to do with it made from


Yes, it glistens.

I have no idea what you are saying : "Try sanding a 63 vet with no shirt"

I'm glad you have success with polyester resin. I'll never use it. Zero confidence in the stuff for laying up fiberglass over stuff already cured (mechanical bond).

This FRP I have cost me nothing. I scrounged it. It came off the top of an over-the-road trailer. I got two big rolls, about 10' wide and about 40' long. It has some holes and cracks and some 3M VHB tape still stuck to it, but I can cut around that or patch where necessary. It has years of road grime on one side, but it is easily removed with the flap disk or even the RO sander.

Also, in case you are interested, I use 40 grit zirconium disks on my RO sander to prep the surfaces and clean-up after cure. I hate sanding, grinding and grinding. These disks really cut and really do last much longer than alum oxide disks. On my boat projects I learned to just use some of that high-build marine epoxy primer when I'm ready to paint. It fills the 40 grit sanding scratches very well. Then when I sand the primer in prep for the top coat, that's when I go to finer grit.
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Re: Fiberglass Reinforced Panels (FRP)

Postby Westley » Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:10 am

By the way, about a year ago I did an experiment using some of that rustoleum two part solvent based epoxy garage floor paint. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum- ... /202765176

I built some heavy duty shelving out of 2x4s and plywood, and epoxied all the joints. Then, except the sides which are varnished for UV, I painted the whole rest of it with the epoxy garage floor paint. The stuff covers well, it soaks into bare wood, and two coats were enough. I sanded the first coat and faired some blems.

I was wondering if the stuff was easy to use, and would it hold up with the supposedly expansion and contractions of the wood. So far there are no cracks. I used dry wood to start with.

So, on fiberglass, I'm confident with the stuff for an RV, especially the floor.
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Re: Fiberglass Reinforced Panels (FRP)

Postby saywhatthat » Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:42 pm

I have no idea what you are saying : "Try sanding a 63 vet with no shirt
back then it was real glass .itching power . What they have now if you itch now 99 % it is in your head.
epoxy garage floor paint I have thought of trying it .Have you used it on fiberglass.
?
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fast, cheap, fiberglass/ foam stressed skin panels
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=73945

Build 4.5 by 8' using Trailtop fiberglass Components
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=70729
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Re: Fiberglass Reinforced Panels (FRP)

Postby Westley » Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:13 pm

Oh, I finally get it - you're talking about a 1963 Corvette.

On the old boat I've been working on lately, I can see the weave in the cloth they used for the layup. It's pretty course, but it's still woven cloth, and the boat was made in 1973. I presume that was before the invention of the chop guns that blow fiberglass strands and polyester resin - a very poor technique IMO; made for speed not quality. The layup with the woven cloth makes for a much lighter boat, and strong.

Comparing what they used to use with what's available today, I can't say with real knowledge.

But, I order all my fiberglass here: http://www.uscomposites.com/cloth.html

And I've never been disappointed.

No, I haven't used the rustoleum epoxy garage floor paint on fiberglass yet, but I plan to. BTW, they make at least two kinds of the two-part paint. One is water based and another is solvent based. I wouldn't use the water based for what we are talking about. The solvent based two-part epoxy over marine epoxy doesn't need priming, IMO, but I might prime it anyway.

I strongly suspect that the epoxy floor paint mentioned above will crack if subjected to flexing. It's very tough stuff, but a concrete garage floor doesn't flex. My use is outside its intended purpose per the mfg, but I'll probably try it anyway, and if it does crack, my RV floor won't rot anyway or soak up water. I'll just mend it if I see problems.
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Re: Fiberglass Reinforced Panels (FRP)

Postby saywhatthat » Tue Mar 17, 2020 2:14 am

Could you expand on that? Do you mean burning the stuff to see what glass is left?

If it just melts at a low temper then it Plastic,.
Fibreglass or glass fibre is a reinforced plastic material which is composed of a woven material that is embedded with glass fibres which are randomly laid across each other and held together with a binding substance. Fibreglass is combined with resin





i
Il suffit de le faire
fast, cheap, fiberglass/ foam stressed skin panels
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=73945

Build 4.5 by 8' using Trailtop fiberglass Components
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=70729
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Re: Fiberglass Reinforced Panels (FRP)

Postby Westley » Tue Mar 17, 2020 7:32 am

Some FRP made specifically for RVs:

https://www.cranecomposites.com/pdf/65147.pdf

https://www.cranecomposites.com/rv/filon.html

https://www.cranecomposites.com/rv.html
Crane Composites exterior sidewall panels are specifically engineered to provide unsurpassed performance against weathering. Composed of thermoset polyester resin and chopped fiberglass strands,

http://www.glasteel.com/images/Product% ... gue_yes785

Here's a rather thorough article on "fiberglass":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiberglass

By the Way, Crane Composites is the same company who makes the FRP easily found In Home Depot, for example. It's the stuff engineered for use in bathrooms, with one side smooth and the other dimpled. They also make the bathroom version with both sides smooth, but it's hard to find. This is NOT the same FRP that they engineer for RVs.

That's not to say that the bathroom FRP cannot be made to work on a DIY RV.

I would have to study specs to know for sure, but I suspect that the differences are structural stress tests, UV protection added, maybe some changes in the polyester formula, etc. Gelcoat, BTW, is polyester, and does have UV additive.
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Re: Fiberglass Reinforced Panels (FRP)

Postby Westley » Sat Mar 21, 2020 5:54 pm

saywhatthat wrote:
epoxy garage floor paint I have thought of trying it .Have you used it on fiberglass.
?


I checked my stash, and found some partial cans of the stuff still on the shelf. I checked to see that it was still good, and it is. I stirred the base and activator, separately, then mixed a batch and painted a well prepped interior of a storage box on the fiberglass boat I'm working on.

It looks good, applied easily. I used a mini-roller 4". I did not prime it in advance. The material I painted over is the usual polyester fiberglass and gelcoat used in most boats. I can't imagine it not working. It's some really sticky and dense stuff. The only test I can think of is time. I do have high confidence that it will suit the purpose for many years.

I will use it again.

Be advised - not all roller covers are good. Some will disintegrate and leave particles all in the paint. I found some acceptable and reasonably priced on Amazon about a year ago, and I still have some, but I find that they are no longer available. When I get ready to re-order, I may have to use those sold by wholesale marine, which are more expensive, but actually work better. I just don't like to use the expensive rollers on the primer or base coat. Blems can be sanded out. The top coat counts, and the best rollers available are the only acceptable choice. These rollers are the only ones that I've found that won't shed or come apart with the epoxy paint: https://www.wholesalemarine.com/redtree ... -pack.html

Remember, this is the solvent based Rustoleum two-part epoxy garage floor paint - not the water based stuff.

Also, this stuff has a bad odor which may be toxic. Use in well ventilated area. I wear a respirator, with the correct filters for these vapors, even though I'm working under an open garage with a breeze. The stuff is rather thick and gets thicker fairly quickly, so mix small batches and use it right away. As I recall, previously I thinned it with something called M.E.K, (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) which is fast evaporating and also toxic. I didn't thin it this time. If the project is not small, rollers may have to be changed while in progress. You will know when it's time to change rollers. Throw-away rubber gloves are recommended too. In my opinion there is no need to try and clean rollers, brushes, trays, mixing cups, etc. when using this stuff. I toss them all. In my opinion, this is not a paint that can be sprayed on, unless thinned a lot, and it seems to me that thinning it that much would defeat its purpose and might as well use something else if rolling is not an option.
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