Post by atouchofglass on May 3, 2012 17:37:39 GMT 10
Resin coat the area first
When fibreglassing timber or ply it is best to let the resin go off before adding any fibreglass.
The wood or ply can cause bubbles under the fibreglass as it breathes or allows air under it.
Then put the tissue glass on, dabbing it with the brush soaked in resin.
This wets the glass and it will almost disappear, it is that thin.
In the photo there are at least six thicknesses of tissue glass on the repair.
This is the resin after it has gone off.
At this stage it is quite hot and can be removed from the container in one piece.
Leaving the container to be used again.... milk cartons are hard to get.
This is 225 chopped strand matt.
225 means that it weighs about 225grams per metre.
This is what is put on the repair next.
Take your time and add torn pieces to the repair.
As each piece is added wet it out with resin using the brush.
Dabbing the resin on the fibreglass until it goes from white to clear.
Tearing the pieces leaves strands to matt with previous and following pieces of fibreglass.
Allow the resin to set before adding any more fibreglass.
What can happen if you go too fast is the fibreglass matt will sag and pull itself off the repair.
Once the resin has gone off, mix up a new batch and continue with the next lot of glass.
If the resin isn't going off fast enough on the repair
Get your hot gun paint stripper and gently heat the area up.
Not too close to the repair. If you can't hold your hand in front of the repair the hot gun is too close.
The heat speeds up the reaction.
This is after adding more fibreglass to the repair.
Now you get the idea.
Then I used 600 chopped strand.
This can be divided up so it is less thick... IE two lots of 300 grams per metre.
Remember to tear not cut the fibreglass.
After adding multiple layers of 600 and extending it out past the repair.
The resin on this last lot can be trimmed with a sharp Stanley knife while the resin is still "Green"
That means it is stiff and quite solid but hot and gives a little.
It is no longer liquid but not yet rock hard.
Using the Stanley knife now means you do far less grinding.
When you cut make sure you cut toward a hard surface. That way it will not tear the glass off the new repair.
Grinding
Now you will need to let the resin harden so it can be ground off.
The trick to not getting itchy is preperation.
Get a vacuum cleaner as well as a grinder ready.
When grinding, the vacuum nozzle is held right next to the disc.
As the dust is coming off the disc it is sucked straight into the vacuum and not allowed to spread all over the place.
This is the only time I had to grind the fibreglass and it took less than five minutes.
If you are in an open area put a fan behind you so any dust that does escape the vacuum blows away from you.
That way you get next to no itch.
When fibreglassing timber or ply it is best to let the resin go off before adding any fibreglass.
The wood or ply can cause bubbles under the fibreglass as it breathes or allows air under it.
Then put the tissue glass on, dabbing it with the brush soaked in resin.
This wets the glass and it will almost disappear, it is that thin.
In the photo there are at least six thicknesses of tissue glass on the repair.
This is the resin after it has gone off.
At this stage it is quite hot and can be removed from the container in one piece.
Leaving the container to be used again.... milk cartons are hard to get.
This is 225 chopped strand matt.
225 means that it weighs about 225grams per metre.
This is what is put on the repair next.
Take your time and add torn pieces to the repair.
As each piece is added wet it out with resin using the brush.
Dabbing the resin on the fibreglass until it goes from white to clear.
Tearing the pieces leaves strands to matt with previous and following pieces of fibreglass.
Allow the resin to set before adding any more fibreglass.
What can happen if you go too fast is the fibreglass matt will sag and pull itself off the repair.
Once the resin has gone off, mix up a new batch and continue with the next lot of glass.
If the resin isn't going off fast enough on the repair
Get your hot gun paint stripper and gently heat the area up.
Not too close to the repair. If you can't hold your hand in front of the repair the hot gun is too close.
The heat speeds up the reaction.
This is after adding more fibreglass to the repair.
Now you get the idea.
Then I used 600 chopped strand.
This can be divided up so it is less thick... IE two lots of 300 grams per metre.
Remember to tear not cut the fibreglass.
After adding multiple layers of 600 and extending it out past the repair.
The resin on this last lot can be trimmed with a sharp Stanley knife while the resin is still "Green"
That means it is stiff and quite solid but hot and gives a little.
It is no longer liquid but not yet rock hard.
Using the Stanley knife now means you do far less grinding.
When you cut make sure you cut toward a hard surface. That way it will not tear the glass off the new repair.
Grinding
Now you will need to let the resin harden so it can be ground off.
The trick to not getting itchy is preperation.
Get a vacuum cleaner as well as a grinder ready.
When grinding, the vacuum nozzle is held right next to the disc.
As the dust is coming off the disc it is sucked straight into the vacuum and not allowed to spread all over the place.
This is the only time I had to grind the fibreglass and it took less than five minutes.
If you are in an open area put a fan behind you so any dust that does escape the vacuum blows away from you.
That way you get next to no itch.
