Re: custom fiberglassing

From: Michael Meyerhoff (mmeye@kcnet.com)
Date: Fri May 18 2001 - 18:52:11 EDT


Basically fiberglass is a fiber and glass resin combined. The fiber can be
actual fiber mesh, speaker grill cloth, or any absorbent material. The
glass is actually a two-part resin mixture.

Fiber mats and "bondo" fiberglass resin are available at auto parts stores
and home centers. The pretty reasonably priced in larger quantities.

The process is basically a layering process. On the first layer it is
easiest to use speaker cloth stretched over some sort of frame or
mold. Then once that's hardened you can start adding the fiber saturated
with resin, letting it dry after each layer. You just add enough layers
until it is as strong as you need it. It takes surprising little to get a
strong surface.

The most difficult thing is getting right amount of hardener in the
resin. Too much and it will set up VERY quickly and you'll have to waste
it. Too little and it'll take forever too dry. Mixing as little as
possible at a time will help from wasting too much.

If you plan on finishing it, you will want to try to get as few air bubbles
in the mix as possible. The nice thing about fiberglass is you can cut,
sand, and apply more to help fix your mistakes.

Hope this helps
mm



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