jakejakejake wrote:kstills wrote:Took a while, but I mocked up both weights of fiberglass onto the XPS.
Looks good, just practice on few more small samples and it becomes easier each time.
A couple of tips:
Ive found that prepping the foam to an 80 grit finish produces a better glass to foam bond. I use a cheap random orbital sander to do this.
Get a few plastic bondo spreaders https://tcpglobal.com/products/dynatron-3-pack-spreaders-358?_pos=2&_sid=a8250cbf2&_ss=r and squeegee the cloth down with them. it will produce a nice flat finished product. If you wipe them off with a paper towel when you are done they last forever. You can get these at any auto body supplier for a buck or so each.
a chip brush https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-chip-brushes-36-pack-58084.html does a great job of wetting out your workpiece. Also used to work air out of the cloth and the resin into the cloth. Use an up and down motion like you are poking the workpiece with the bristles, if you use it like a paintbrush it will distort the cloth, which is to be avoided.
I have used 6oz per sq yard cloth almost exclusively on my build. Give a multi ply layup a test. 2-3 layers will surprise you with its strength.
Welcome to the club!
Thanks for the tips!
I'm hoping that when both sides are laminated the lamination will be strong enough to hold a bolt-nut combo, which would mean I won't have to use any wood for supporting hinges or slides. Have you tried using bolts, and if so what were your results? I figure I can either put moulding or caps over the exposed bolt heads, so I'm not too worried about the aesthetics.