fiber glass

[Ezrider_92356]

is fibermat or fiber cloth better for covering wood?

[ztim]

What kind of wood and where? I go with the mat. Even better if you know how to use a vacuum pump with it.

[BillP]

For covering glued strip plank or plywood the standard is cloth for waterproofing and protection from minor dings...4 to 10 oz depending on the boat and use. The way I see it anyone asking what fabric to use isn't up to vacuum bagging their first job.

[Ezrider_92356]

no im not vacume bagging it, i have used fiberglass before and how i did it is, i covered the surface in resin then cloth and then another coat of resin and i used the fiber cloth. i dont know if thats the right way but it worked for me

[Ezrider_92356]

is that way acceptable for marine pourpouses

[wire2]

is that way acceptable for marine purposes

Works for me.

[pgdignan]

when you reference resin do you mean epoxy or the polyester? With the epoxy, I laid the cloth in place over the wood and then whetted the mess out in place.

[ondarvr]

Epoxy and cloth is what you want to use if you want it to last any length of time, polyester resin won't bond to the wood as well.

[Nandy]

is the vaccum pump technique only used to help press the epoxy/resin into the floor or there is any other benefits? If anyone ran in to a site with details on the technique it will be helpful.

[pgdignan]

Nandy, the vacuum technique provides a uniform "clamping" pressure across all surfaces. It ensures that every part of your subtrate comes into contact with the cloth/resin mix. I've never used it personally but I've seen it done. I do remember somewhere out on the web someone had plans for setting up a vacuum bagging operation using a wet/dry vac and trash bags.

[Good Ol Boy]

Fiberglass Mat is a non-woven felt consisting of chopped glass fibers 1" to 2" in length, crisscrossed and randomly interlocked, held loosely together with a binder. Since it is not woven, it can be stretched to fit into difficult areas. It is highly absorbent, soaks up a great deal of resin, and the resultant structure is stiffer than a layer of cloth, although not as strong.

Fiberglass Cloth is a woven pattern and is alot easier to cosmetically deal with and is ideal on flat surfaces, I.E getting air bubbles out of Mat ends up being like a string cheese tornado.

Mat vs. Cloth… Both have their advantages. Mat is short strands of fiberglass pressed into a sheet randomly. Cloth is woven. For compound curves, mat is the only way to go, whereas large flat surfaces, cloth is very nice! Cloth comes out smoother, but is less pliable.

Suggestions For Working with fiberglass

Wear latex or rubber gloves, spray them with a lil wd40 after you have them on, will help keep the fiberglass from sticking to you.

Wear a respirator when you are sanding or while dealing with resin in a closed area.

Careful of how much harderner you use, Too lil it will takes hours to dry, too much and you will be racing against the clock and risk a bad finish. Also be aware of how hot it is, quicker dry time.

Brush on the resin with a throw away brush unless you clean the crap out of it with lacquer thinner. Lay the dry fiberglass down over the wet resin and use a putty knife to press into any corners. Pour your mixed resin on the dry fiberglass that is in place. Grab a roller, like for painting walls, put a skin on it, once again like rolling walls and then wrap 2-3 layers of masking tape around it and saturate the fiberglass then make sure to roll all the air bubbles out by going multiple directions, center to edges. Let dry and sand, if any hard edges either sand like a villian or use a lil fiberglass bondo to feather out the edges or fill in any undesired pits.