How Does One Become A Fiberglasser?

[minaret]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

How do you become a professional Fiberglasser?
I can't seem to find much info on the Internet regarding schooling or training.
I'm a skilled and sucessfull house painter that's been self employed for many years but my passion is boats and sailing. I really need to consider learning a new trade that's boat related. I don't need to transform overnight. I make good money painting houses and I don't have any financial debt so there's no stress there but I could start working in boatyards and such in between painting projects.
Any suggestions?
endoftheroad

You are in a prime location to consider a different option than the repair yards. New construction. Lots of builders in Florida. I've spent almost as much time building new over the years as I have in a yard. When I first graduated I started in a sea kayak factory! Moved up to bigger stuff from there. Here's my last big build, Carl Schumacher's last big design, 77'. I was the only laminator on the job start to finish. She's a carbon/cold mold hybrid. Building cool stuff is fun!

[Horror Hotel]

I'm not sure if there's any certification to obtain, just start doing it and once your really good someone will want to pay you. Do some big projects for yourself and help your friends out for cheap. Once you can build nice stuff from nothing but resin, cloth, and filler your there. I think the hard part is the final cosmetic steps. Just like autobody, learning to splice two smashed cars together is not rocket science, but the final fairing is an art. I lengthened my keel 1 foot and added a 1000#. I used west and cloth/mat without a single mechanical fastener. In short I made a canoe looking mold, filled it with lead and had the travel lift set the weight of the whole boat on it. Then ground out a 20" area all around to glass on and fair. Nothing but epoxy. Many, many people told me I needed to through bolt it. These are people that would also never do this job themselves. Read some good books and dig right in, after a while you'll be really good, then in 5 or 8 years you'll be a pro and people will know your work is tops .

[boatman61]

Buy a West Pack and the book by the Gudgeon brothers.. get some scrap ply boards and punch holes in them and then pretend its GRP and repair the holes by prepping and laying the glass cloth layers to build it up and fill/fair it off to perfection.. its what I did before tackling my Tiki 21... figured it was cheaper to screw up scrap rather than buy everything and find I had two left hands and no ability..
Hardest part for me was laying the glass without 'stretching' it on the large sections

[Cuttyhunk]

Check out the International Yacht Restoration School's Composites program in Bristol, RI. It's a six-month program, www IYRS.org.

I took the marine systems course a couple of years ago, sharing a building with the composites guys. The instructor is very well-respected in the industry. Graduates have gotten great jobs.

[minaret]

Oh, BTW, no such thing as a "fiberglasser". You want to become a laminator. This is the proper position title. You will look like a total newb if you ask for a job as a "fiberglasser".

[jcapo]

Seems to me that you should move into brush painting boats. There are lots of boats being brushed due to restrictions on spray painting in many yards. Hang around boat yards, watch and learn.

[captain58sailin]

I am going to chime in with the same thoughts, take a fid and stick it in your ear and hit it really hard I did some of that work when I was younger and it is toxic, smells bad, makes you itch, and put some really nasty deposits in your liver. I would think that you might prefer to get paid to paint boats. Also if you have a fine hand there is always a demand for someone who can paint names on boats really nicely.

[rw58ph]

I been doing my own fiber glassing and painting, called Roll and Tip, for years. I repaint a section of the Eagle every year. Last year did the salon and port side of the hull down to the rub rail. This year is the pilot house and the bridge. When we pull might re paint the entire hull below the rub rail. Mostly sanding, repairing/fairing a few areas, re priming and then a gloss final coat. I use Interlux Brightside polyurethane one part paint as it flows well, easy to match, hold up well and does not cost too much. So when I bang/scratch the hull I don’t have a heart attach as less than a hour I can fix/repair like new.

I use West Epoxy System which is sold at most marina stores, and they also have books/videos of how to mix and apply. Most of the epoxy/fiber glassing on most boats is small repairs of nicks/scratches/gouges with some delaminating. To me its sort of like plastering but instead you are using Epoxy that is mixed with fillers into a paste. There are different fillers for different application.

Delininations usualy requites the delimninated area to be cut out. the majority of the time you can use the old fiberglass piece and epoxy it back in place. Again sort of like doing a counter top. You can buy 4" X 8" sheats if fiberglass in different thicknesses, that you laminate to marine ply wood. I replaced the dry rot under the salon windows and sectons of the roof. Again not the difficult.

As for painting a boat is different than painting a house in that a boat is primed prepped with is the really protection and the final gloss coat is a thin layer just enough to cover the base primer. The texture of the paint is like finger nail polish, just thick enough to cover but thin enough to go on smooth feather and flatten. The technique is called rolling and tipping. The paint is rolled on just enough to cover the dull primer which usually leaves bubbles/streaks so a bush is used to feather/smooth. Once you get the right paint texture and the technique down its easy. If you don't like it sand it down and start over again or stand back a could of feet.

Might want to walk the yards as there are many of us do it our selfers that would not mind some cheap help. If I paint the hull I will have have to have some help. I ma getting lazy/old might have ti done?

Now bright work, varnishing, is another area. I spend mjore time and money a teak bright work than the rest of the boat.

[endoftheroad]

Wow!!!!
So much help here loaded with great advice and information.
I just got home to read all these very helpfull posts.

You see, we have a massive cold front that hit Key West last night and I got a phone call at daybreak while I was sleeping in my Westsail in this boatyard that our new Herreshoff 28 that we bought a couple months ago was missing from her mooring.
We found her and had her dislodged from the rocks on the Navy Base by Towboat US.
There were other boats from the anchoring area tangled up with boats on the mooring field, I'm not sure yet how our H28 broke loose but I do take great care of my mooring tackle and chaffing gear.
Anyway, she has a couple deep scars from the land assault so this fiberglasser (laminator, thanks Minaret) thread is great timing.
I guess I'm like someone that takes up Psychology so they can actually learn more about themselves.
Here is a picture of boat meets land. No doubt we got lucky, I'm not taking getting out of this for granted.

Back to the topic,
I love everything everyone has to say. And yes..I am very skilled at painting and tip and rolling.
Seems to me that laminating fiberglassing and painting are closely related.
I'm looking forward to a transition.
I'm back in my Westsail in the boatyard looking forward to viewing some of the provided links.
But, serioussly guys, this has been a very helpfull thread for me.
Guess I gotta couple repairs on the Herreshoff.

[captain58sailin]

As with painting, the prep is 90% of the job. If you take your time with the prep, and lay everything out before mixing your resin, it will go smoothly and well. I used to do it for money, but later I would only do it for myself, I am not in the same league as minaret. I just can't tolerate the chemicals anymore.

[endoftheroad]

Not to get off the subject although it's related to fiberglass.
My Herreshoff sustained a couple brushburns beyond the gelcoat exposing the laminate below the WL. Them rocks were tough.
How long do I have before I should haul the boat?
Meaning, how long does it take for the laminate to absorb water?

It was just 6 weeks ago that she was hauled and got 2 coats Trinidad.