Things I have learned while and about fiberglassing

[jeanathon]

1. Have a good plan before hand. It won't work out how you planned, but the better plan you have the closer you might be to kind of what you wanted.
2. Where gloves
3. That tip you heard about wax paper not sticking to the resin is true on cool March evenings. In the sun the heat from the hardener and sun will combine to melt the wax paper to the resin.
4. Discarded latex gloves will melt to the deck in the hot sun.
5. Fiberglass resin gets all over your body. Fiberglass resin makes an excellent hair removal system. The only part of your body resin does not get on is your back where you want the hair removal.

Feel free to add your own fiberglass tips.

[David M]

Use nitrile gloves. Always wear a good respirator. If the fumes are bad then use an organic or better yet a positive pressure respirator. Cover up all your skin...unless the itchies don't bother you.

[SVNeko]

Don't use acetone on your skin.

[Bash]

Cut the fabric before you mix the resin.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by David M

Use nitrile gloves. Always wear a good respirator. If the fumes are bad then use an organic or better yet a positive pressure respirator. Cover up all your skin...unless the itchies don't bother you.

Same goes for bottom paint.

Actually, you want to use latex gloves for polyester or epoxy. They are cheaper too. Use nitrile for paint and mineral spirits. Going the opposite way will dissolve the gloves.
Pour acetone or MEK into nitrile, and then paint thinner into latex, and see what happens.

I use MEK rather then acetone for a couple reasons.
1) It evaporates slower.
2) I recycle most of it. The used stuff I pour into 2 qt. plastic juice bottles and let it settle. Then pour it into another clean bottle and let it settle. And I'll go to a third bottle.
These I use for the first cleaning of brushes and container/tools. Then use new MEK to finish clean the stuff, which goes back into the #2 or #3 bottle.

Mek is getting hard to find now. One has to go to a independent hardware or chemical supply now. And it cost 3 times what it did 10 years ago. The big chain hardware stores (Lowe's, Home Depot and such) are only selling a synthetic MEK now that only half works and charging around $20 a gallon.

[boatman61]

Get some one else to do it...

[Andrew Troup]

Tear chopped strand mat, don't cut it

Add no more resin than you can get away with prior to adding the glass layer, so it doesn't float and skid

Try and keep the brush perpendicular as possible when stabbing to wet out

Don't mix too much resin in one hit

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Andrew Troup

Tear chopped strand mat, don't cut it

Add no more resin than you can get away with prior to adding the glass layer, so it doesn't float and skid

Try and keep the brush perpendicular as possible when stabbing to wet out

Don't mix too much resin in one hit

Thanks for the tips. We are starting our first glass project this week. Re-coring wet decks.

[Andrew Troup]

Neo

When I look at what I wrote, 'stabbing' was perhaps not the best word: it suggests a degree of aggression which would be unhelpful: ideally it feels more like 'bouncing' the tip of the brush against the glass you're trying to wet out.

Sometimes with a persistent airbubble you have to dial up the vigour a little, but it should be done in sorrow rather than anger...

You're trying as far as possible to bring through the resin from underneath rather than pouring more over the top (which can actually inhibit getting the air to the surface), so when you rewet the brush, dip it shallowly in the container.

Never done re-coring, only cutting out core and replacing with ply backing pads; have you checked out minaret's thread?

IIRC he's adding cores to replace teak in that instance, rather than re-coring, but he's a legend when it comes to boatbuilding methods and if you have any specific queries I'm sure he'd give great advice.

[goboatingnow]

My advice, Dont use the kitchen table, it really pis%^es of SWMBO, dont ask me how I know.!!

Dave

[s/v Jedi]

Drink a beer before you start

[skipmac]

If you're trying to mix a really small batch of resin for a small job, don't try to eyeball the amount of hardener you add.

[s/v Jedi]

Go pee before mixing resin with hardener

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Go pee before mixing resin with hardener

But, if you drink that beer before you start the job you might have to go again before you're done.

[jeanathon]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Go pee before mixing resin with hardener

Is this from experience?