Things I have learned while and about fiberglassing

[Dod42]

You read the comment " Fiberglass resin gets all over your body." This is why you go pee first. Experience not good.

[jeanathon]

My roommate reminded me of this one.
If you wrap up your brush and put it in the freezer to keep it from curing then everything in the fridge will taste like resin especially the left over Cuban sandwich . Oh and it cures anyway.

[motion30]

for smaller projects I like to wet out and roll the cloth on smooth hard surface then put it where it goes roll it out again easy to get the cloth fully saturated and eliminate air bubbles. I find it is also easier to do multiple layers that way

[rtbates]

as a teenager I took a summer job working in the Glastron boat fiberglass shop. I quit after 2 days. This was 1963 and no respirators to be seen. Just a huge open shop with huge fans at both ends, on pushing one sucking. I now know why all the workers were constantly singing and acting like fools. More brain cells killed there than at a Led Zeppelin concert.

[model 10]

I cool wx use a heat gun while you stipple.

[AbaftAndBaffled]

1. Make sure you've got everything handy before you start.
2. Put on several pairs of gloves all at once, that way you can peel them off one layer at a time as you go.
3. If you've been glassing, make sure you wash your hands BEFORE you go to the washroom.
4. Wear a long-sleeved shirt if you're going to be doing some grinding.
5. Fiberglass is most malleable while you curse at it.

[ShipShape]

Originally Posted by jeanathon

4. Discarded latex gloves will melt to the deck in the hot sun.

I must try this on my neighbor's boat. Accidentally of course.

Originally Posted by SVNeko

Don't use acetone on your skin.

Wet Ones work quite well if it hasn't kicked yet, I use the unscented, don't know if the smelly ones work. Get it off ASAP! I've used acetone twice out of desperation, I prefer a little toxicity to becoming allergic to epoxy. Acetone causes nerve damage, yes? Who'd be able to tell anyway??

Originally Posted by Andrew Troup

Tear chopped strand mat, don't cut it

Sweet! I have a big project on the horizon and did not know to do this. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Dod42

You read the comment " Fiberglass resin gets all over your body." This is why you go pee first. Experience not good.

You know what They say: There is no such thing as failure, only experiences and your reactions to them. Think of it like a bikini wax. Or whatever guys do.

Originally Posted by AbaftAndBaffled

1. Make sure you've got everything handy before you start.
2. Put on several pairs of gloves all at once, that way you can peel them off one layer at a time as you go.

I always have several more of what might be needed (mixing cups and sticks, syringes, paint brushes ...) ready to go.
Excellent glove advice, but don't soil and remove the first pair - your hands will be sweaty and the new gloves will be difficult to get on, impossible if they are not powdered.

Tear many sheets of paper towels ahead of time and have them WITHIN REACH both where you are mixing the epoxy and where you are applying the fiberglass.

Have trash containers within reach at both locations too.

Plan ahead of time where you will put a container of epoxy if it kicks - it gets smokin' hot!

[AbaftAndBaffled]

Originally Posted by ShipShape

Plan ahead of time where you will put a container of epoxy if it kicks - it gets smokin' hot!

Sure does. Makes me feel like an alchemist!

As for acetone, my mom's been in boat-building for 27 years and I've been around boat shops since I was tiny - I've needed acetone to get crud off me more times than I can count and it's never done any (observable) harm. I suspect I've done more damage to my body by whacking my head on booms than I have subjecting my skin to acetone.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by AbaftAndBaffled

I've needed acetone to get crud off me more times than I can count and it's never done any (observable) harm. I suspect I've done more damage to my body by whacking my head on booms than I have subjecting my skin to acetone.

Uh.... Hate to be the one to tell you this, but boom-whacking is a clinical symptom of acetone poisoning.

Let me guess, forehead, right?

You may want to consult a physician.

[AbaftAndBaffled]

Originally Posted by Bash

Uh.... Hate to be the one to tell you this, but boom-whacking is a clinical symptom of acetone poisoning.

Let me guess, forehead, right?

You may want to consult a physician.

I thought it was a symptom of tootallitis. I'd better get to a doctor.

[FSMike]

You've heard that "bread always falls jelly side down"?
Epoxied wood always falls epoxy side up - so you can step on it.

[s/v Jedi]

Okay, here is a serious one: lots of people make constructions of plywood with fiberglass, like for a support bracket or fridge box etc. Some glas the whole thing, others just the joints. No matter which option you choose, put fillets on those joints before glassing them. This provides the radius that multiplies the strength of the joint, plus it looks better.

[haw1961]

Use white vinegar on your skin. I keep a coffee can with a lid half full of acetone for your brushes,stir sticks, put them in the can, put the lid on, use next day. Change the acetone when it starts to get thick.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Okay, here is a serious one: lots of people make constructions of plywood with fiberglass, like for a support bracket or fridge box etc. Some glas the whole thing, others just the joints. No matter which option you choose, put fillets on those joints before glassing them. This provides the radius that multiplies the strength of the joint, plus it looks better.

It also removes sharp corners which glass hates...

[Azul]

Watch the Boatworks Today videos! Wear a tyvek suit, eye protection, big protective gauntlet gloves from Lowe's, a $30 respirator (you are working with agent orange derivatives) and clothes that are disposable. If you get a rash on your hands and arms it might be from fiberglass particles, sunscreen, latex allergy or the chemicals. Mine was from the gloves and I had to switch to nitrile which most of the boat builders locally use according to the local marine supply store.

Epoxy without fillers is one of the drippiest substances known to man. Use the sandable filler if you plan to sand. Get one of the little metal prickly roller thingies to wet out CSM like Andy in the videos recommends.

Don't be afraid of this stuff. You can always grind it back off. If you don't wet out your fiberglass cloth or CSM adequately it is worthless.

Get cheap containers to mix your stuff at Wal-Mart. Like the little mini paint roller trays.

Use polyester filler to fix your blemishes such as Adtech P14. It's great.