Fiberglass Options

[bojangles_8686]

I think I'm going to try making something out of fiberglass. Ive wanted to for some time and finally I decided I want to make something small just to see how hard it really is lol. I know the process but I just dont know all of the materials I need. I already have an electric sander and some fiberglass body filler (i guess I can use that to make the whole thing look smooth, right?) What else do I need, and does anybody have a suggestion for a beginners fiberglass project?


Thanks,
Chucky

[NEVERSTOP]

One thing I would recomend... wear TWO pairs of gloves makes clean up a little easier and your less liky to got the resin onto your wraists... which is a pain.

Also you don't really need a paint brush, but some people perfer it. I personally just use my hands and work the resin into the glass before I apply it then I run my fingers down it to get off all the excess resin and loose fibers - that way when I lay it down there isn't too much small fibers everywhere which can happen sometimes with the dabbing of the paint brush. The most important thing that I have noticed is to makesure that you have your resin evenly over everything, a dry spot is a pain to deal with.

You might want to also look into an accelerator for you resin. I don't usally use it but it sometimes really helps, but can turn your glass purple

As for the matting/cloth issue:

sSo everyone knows what I am talking about
cloth - thicker strand woven sheet, smooth feeling



matting - actual fiber, coarse feeling



Matting is alot better than cloth - period.

And here is why

Matting is woven 100x more that ne cloth I have ever seen. This increases the strenght of it alot, It is also generally multi layer strands that intersect at either 45 degree angles or 90 degree angles within each piece which adds alot of interal strength to the piece. When you lay your glass down by hand and are doing mutilple layers you should be rotating the pieces whenever possible so that the weave in the matting is at 45 degree angle from the layer below it - this is simple geometry and most of you should be able to understand what I am talkin about and why this is important for strength, if you are building a piece with alot of flex needed lay the pieces all in the same direction. Also the strands inside the matting are generally shorter than in the cloth. This also adds strength, think of a 6 foot 2x4 - its gonna be alot eaiser to break in half than a 3 ft 2x4. It will also flex less the smaller it is.

If that dont convince you let me ask you this...

When was the last time you walked into a body/custom shop and saw them using cloth in a fiberglass chopper(spraygun)???

Now I'm not saying that cloth doesn't have it purposes.. but for the kind of stuff that most of us will use fiberglass for the cloth really isn't gonna cut it. It has been my experince that the cloth works best for light weight repairs with minumal amount of sanding, it is also good for areas where there will be alot of flex. But its is harder to work with than the matting for tight areas. Cloth is not something that should be ignored, like I said it does have it's purposes but for the level that most of us are going to be working on.. just use the matte it will be alot better for you.

Point is though.. use what you want and what you feel comfy with and lets not argue about it cuz its pointless