fiberglass tutorial needed, wanted.

[diverguy]

i have read many post about those who fiberglass and epoxy their TD. i have searched and only find little tidbits about this subject. can someone direct me to or can someone who really knows this stuff post some type of fiberglassing for dummies. materials, glass, mixtures, applications. i have "0" experience with this but would really like the learn and use on this build.
thanks

[Esteban]

Diverguy, here are a few places that'll help:

Joanne's Desert Dawg website.

Raka's User Manual: http://www.raka.com/UserManual.html

Rot Doctor: http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/appguide.html

Chesapeake Light Craft: http://www.clcboats.com/buildaboat.php
discussion forum http://www.clcboats.com/forum/bbs.pl
books: http://www.clcboats.com/books/index.php
videos: http://www.clcboats.com/videos.php

[madjack]

http://www.westsystem.com/ ....click on product info and then user manual...maybe more info than ya wanted but it covers about all you need to know....by the way, I get my epoxy supplies from www.raka.com .........
madjack

[toypusher]

Make sure and read all the WARNINGS and protect yourself when working with these products!! A respirator is a must indoors and should be used always!!

[glassice]

It like painting a house any dummy can do it go buy a Small repair kit and play with it . the biggest mistake is not being cheep there a lot of thin glass out there and the sun will burn though in a few years and it will crack break and be in the trash .If you get a kit and cut in to Small pieces and mix in Dickie cups you wont burn your house down and you will learn more than just reading about it

[duke]

Diver Guy, what kind of thing are you looking to do on the tear? Exopy encapsulation, sheathing with fiberglass cloth, gluing, putty ? heres a link to some simple tutorials on epoxy used in boatbuilding

http://www.boatbuildercentral.com/help.php

i've made a custom motorcycle fairing, several seats for recumbent bikes, a college mascot head (Go Phoenix!) using epoxy and fiberglass, and built 10', 14', and 16' sailboats that were all epoxy encapsulated and sheathed with glass.

Epoxy is relatively easy to work with, mixtures are pretty straight forward now, usually 2:1, application with brush or roller or putty knife. The key is to plan ahead and then work fast and clean....I get my epoxy from RAKA One caveat, any epoxy used on exterior applications must be protected from UV by paint, varnish, etc..

linky for an epoxy test kit
http://www.boatbuildercentral.com/proddetail.php?prod=E_try

[Juneaudave]

There are a lot of things that you can do with fiberglass. One of my favorite tutorials for putting a clear coat fiberglass finish on a canoe is at John Michne's site Fiberglassing 101

My experience is pretty limited except with boats. I can't think of any sites, other than those that have been recommended, unless I understood more specifically what you wanted to accomplish.

[diverguy]

thanks so much you guys. i will search all the links. i guess i was confused on how you see through the glass, "Transparent". and does it actually dissappear.
I work for the worlds largest manufacture of private business jets. and at times i can get an abundent supply of all types of exotic hardwood veneer's. these veneers come from all over the word and can be high dollar. every so often we have employee sales and can get a palet of this veneer for nothing. $2000.00 dollars worth of exotic for about 20 bucks. it is overbuy and scrap. i am going to try and get some at the next sale and laminate the outside of my tear with it. it is really thin also so i think i can come up with some nice designes.
then i wanted to glass over it to seal it in place.
thanks again and i will read all the suggestions and see where it goes.

[glassice]

if you put glass fiber over the wood it will hid the wood

[diverguy]

ok i dont get it. i see people with their tears and wood boats. i see this white fiber glass cloth all over it. then a few photos later they say here is the finished product after the glass has cured and i see this beautiful wood with the grain really pulling through.
so when you apply the resin does it make the glass transparent?

[glassice]

look how Doug hodder
did his trailer if you want the wood to show over time you will need to use epoxy not ISO. it turns yellow

[Juneaudave]

It is common to use glass and epoxy on wood boats and canoes...but you need to buy glass and resin designed for clear coating. In your application, where your not looking fro strength, you may not want to go to the effort of laying on the glass and just use resin to seal the surface. Here is kindof how it goes.

Lay out your glass, being carefull it doesn't snag....



Put on multiple coats of resin to fill the weave and give you a sanding surface...



Trim the edges....

[diverguy]

thanks, yes i want a clear finish to bring out the wood. but would also like some strength properties. what weight cloth is that?. i was looking through steve fredericks web page at some of his builds and he showed finished exterior panels that had been glassed and epoxied. so with the possibility of several pieces of lamanate veneer to hold in place i like this idea.
thanks for the photos and i think i am getting an idea. i just dont want to spend hours working on a great design and then screw it up with a bad coating job.

[Juneaudave]

That's Raka 4 oz. plain weave. It comes in a 60 inch width, which is tough to find, so you don't have to overlap on a 5 ft. panel. Typically, I use a 6 oz. on a canoe. When you start going less, you have to be much more careful handling the cloth. Here's is the link to Raka's cloth. Raka Cloth

[doug hodder]

Diver guy...the only trick to laying down a layer of glass so that it is invisible is to wet it out really well as you do it...I lay my glass down on bare wood and wet it out with a squeegee...The sides on this boat have a layer of glass on them, none on the top deck and it's pretty hard to see the fiber unless you are right up on it...I haven't used the cloth on any of my tears, just resin on wood...Doug