how do you glass a piece of wood?

[doug hodder]

Whether or not one uses cloth on the exterior of a tear in my opinion depends on just how your walls are constructed. A 3/4" wall needs no cloth on it, nor does the top joint with the roof if done correctly. I've done 1/4" boat decks with no cloth on them, not a deck to be walked on though, but you're not walking on a tear roof either. Cloth on a thicker wall is a waste of time and money. The buzzword is "if done correctly". I have 1.5" roundovers on an all wood tear, no cloth or tape, 1/4" roof, no aluminum...just resin and it's held up fine for 6 years on one of my tears, on a boat deck...12 years, but you need to take care of it. I also use epoxy in the construction of the main tear body, however, I will pull all the screws on the side other than the main ones used on the crossmembers.

Resin on it's own works fine, but only if the structure construction is solid. It won't happen in 2 or 3 coats though. If you are counting on it to tighten up or correct any poor building techinques...then yeah, it won't do it....cloth or tape it. If you stuck it together with Liquid nails or Elmers and some drywall screws and top coated it with latex....then be prepared for problems down the road. My apologies to those of you that may have done this...no offense intended.

And while we're at it...check out the threads and see just how many people have had problems with the CPES. "What happened? I used 3 coats of CPES"? I've been here 8 years and have seen plenty of them. You drop a lot of coin on the materials...has none of the variable uses via additives as a regular epoxy...and it doesn't build up any thickness to speak of that can be sanded and flattened out for a nice paint job or depth for a clear finished woodie....You do 1 coat and that's it....it ain't gonna penetrate any more....it's done it's thing! Same thing with epoxy, once sealed....that's it. Epoxy will at least build up a thicker coats that can be worked with much less labor.

In the case of Rot Dr., It's called that because that's what it was originally intended for....rotten wood. That, however is just my assessment on it. Why else would they call it Rot Dr, because it was intended for new plywood? They just managed to find another use for it to expand their market and that's smart business. I know the guy is on this forum...but tough, I'd like him to explain why the word "ROT" is used if it weren't intended for that purpose.

Any of the other true epoxy systems can be used for a variety of applications, construction, fairing, top coating, casting. Just read up on it, they all have lots of different additives to make your system much more versatile than the CPE$....go to the manufacturers sites and get the straight dope. Under an aluminum skin, it's probably great as a sealer, but given the multitude of uses that an epoxy system has...I'll stick with it. I'm willing to bet that the premium custom boat builders aren't using CPES. I could be wrong however.

Just my rant...do whatcha' want, it's your trailer/ project. If you are looking for a quick fix easy way to do it, ..well, that probably isn't going to happen long term. There is no quick fix or short cut on a quality product...use the epoxy systems as they are designed and intended.....once you know how it all works and feel comfortable with it...then try to modify it how you want, but don't complain if it goes sideways when you messed with the formula. Rant over....other opinions will most certainly vary.

[Forrest747]

what i got was a box of large popsicle sticks from the craft section at walmart and then 12 oz clear plastic cups to mix mine in. no clue about just resin and no glass, intresting to hear beacuase i have a few spots where its just resin.

[Oldragbaggers]

I did the experiment this weekend with the fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin on foam. There was no melting or any other negative effects on the foam at all.



There were two things that I was curious about. The first was how "stuck" the cloth would be to the foam, whether or not it could be peeled off. I pulled and tugged on it pretty good and it would not let go, which tells me that future peeling up at the edges should not be a problem. The other thing was just how much strength in the form of puncture/ding resistance it added. I'm not the toughest girl in the world but I punched it pretty good a few times without much effect. On the third punch, which was the hardest, I saw a faint impression in the foam. I only used 6 oz. cloth though and this was with only one application of resin. I'm sure a couple of fill coats later it would be even harder. But if that were the only skin I was using I might just go with a heavier weight of fiberglass cloth to improve the strength of the outer shell and make the foam less vulnerable to puncture.

One thing to be careful of though is trimming the edges of your cloth. When I trim it on plywood I just rip my razor knife down the edge of it when soft cured and it's done. You don't even have to be that careful of it. But with the foam if your knife gets off track you can cut into the foam a bit. Just slowing down and taking the time to keep your knife along the edge is all that's required.

I would say the experiment was a success and for those inclined toward fiberglass, I think it would make a great skin over foam!!

[Forrest747]

Thanks Becky

[KCStudly]

Thanks Becky

+1

[mezmo]

Just cross referencing this to another thread in this section:

Skinning your TTT in epoxy and fiberglass

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=49361

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Oldragbaggers]

so whats everyone using to mix there resin in?

Slow

I save containers from cottage cheese, yogurt, whatever. If I'm rolling it out I mix it right in the little disposable trim paint pans and use the high density white foam 4" trim rollers.

[PcHistorian]

that bottom picture is done?!?! looks great! next time do it as a movie, for one of the DIY websites. :-) we can link there from here. :-) I didn't think it would be so clear, even with the fabric.

[Oldragbaggers]

that bottom picture is done?!?! looks great! next time do it as a movie, for one of the DIY websites. :-) we can link there from here. :-) I didn't think it would be so clear, even with the fabric.

Is that question for me, PC?? The walls have been covered in fiberglass cloth (6 oz.) and have 3 coats of resin, the laminating coat and 2 fill coats. My walls will be painted though. What you can't see in the picture is the screw holes and seams from joining my plywood skins. The walls aren't flawless enough to leave woody without a lot of trim, and there are more screw holes to come. I did it to waterproof and also to add strength to my skins which are 3mm Okoume marine ply, pretty thin stuff. (And because I just really like fiberglass.)

I, like Doug, also used epoxy for a lot of the bonding. My frame, insulation and skins are all bonded with resin. It has been a time consuming process but I am not expecting my walls to come apart or delaminate. If you use a nice clear resin (I used the RAKA non-blush) the fabric will become invisible and the beauty of the wood shows through. Look at Steve Frederick's beautiful woodies. They are covered with cloth.

Slow, if you are just trying to get a shiny finish on your prop rod why not just varnish it? If you decide to use resin you certainly do not need cloth at all. But I don't think I would go to the expense of buying a minimum quantity of resin and hardener just to do that. Especially in a dry climate like Wyoming where you say moisture is not much of a problem (wouldn't be a problem on a piece of solid wood anyway.) I'd get a pint of spar varnish for a lot less money and it would look just as nice.

[Pizzaguy]

Look at Steve Frederick's beautiful woodies. They are covered with cloth.

I too used Steve Fredericks Shop Manual from front to back on my build. I have NO visible fasteners on the outside of my camper except the 2 bolts that hold the bumper on. I even used his technique to join 2 different specis of wood together to give my woodie a different look.

[Oldragbaggers]

I wanna see Pizza Guy, where did your pics go???

[Oldragbaggers]

Just beautiful!!!

[Scouterjan]

Slow, if its a big job, I use a plastic 4 ltr ice cream bucket to mix in, then into the small paint tray with disposable liners. When cured, the ice cream bucket can be re used. I like West Systems, both the resin and hardner have pumps on the container, no fiddling with measuring, just x number of pumps for resin, x number of pumps for hardner. For gloves I like the black colored nitrile, way nore heavy duty than the blue ones, but still lots of feel
Jan

[PcHistorian]

THAT (Voyager) is covered with cloth, too?!?!?!?! that looks magnificent!
I don't see how you got it that clear with cloth.

[Dale M.]

what would I use as a container to put my resin in.


I am wanting a shiney gloss finsh on my large dowl that is my teardrop galley hatch support.

is a 6 foot long dowl about a inch in diameter. Would just resin and not cloth be fine on this?


then if I am correct I want doctor white plastic gloves on.

and what do I use to spread it with.

can a paint brush work?

slowcowboy.

You need to go back to beginning and reread thread.... Most of what you ask are answered in first few reply's to your inital question..

Dale