Going to Fiberglass for the first time

[OBI]

Hey im building up my lincoln and wanna glass my doors. I have this local boat store that sells most everything i need. Before I go out and spend my money I wanted to make sure im covering everything.

Polyester Resin- How much would be enough for 2 door pannels? (4 6.5's w/tweeters per door)

Mat- chopped or woven? And how heavy? How much should I get?

Is that kitty hair stuff meade uses optional?

In help and tips will be greatly appericated.

Edited November 21, 2009 by OBI

[raytard]

entire door panels, count on about 2 gallons

chopped mat is the way to go, dont worry about weight and what not too much because you can always add an extra layer

and the kitty hair stuff is for filling imperfections and stuff, it is optional, but may be necessary, especially for your first build (you cant fill a big gap or hole or dip with bondo, cuz it has a tendancy to crack or break out, kitty hair works flawlessly though)

[mbdblue]

Hey im building up my lincoln and wanna glass my doors. I have this local boat store that sells most everything i need. Before I go out and spend my money I wanted to make sure im covering everything.

Polyester Resin- How much would be enough for 2 door pannels? (4 6.5's w/tweeters per door)

Mat- chopped or woven? And how heavy? How much should I get?

Is that kitty hair stuff meade uses optional?

In help and tips will be greatly appericated.

for 2 door panels Id say 1-1.5 gallons would be enough...but it all depends on your material for shape and how many lyaers you do... ex. if you use fleece, its gonna be a good starting point but soak up a shit-ton of resin...chop mat or woven is really up to you. I like to use chopmat cuz I usually have alot of curves in my glass projects and its easier for the chopmat to contour (Id say the most popular weight is 1.5 oz.)...kitty hair isnt absolutely necessary, but comes in alot handier than you would expect, epecially if its your first time glassing (you can build kitty hair thicker than body filler). Other than that, take alot of pics!

edit: haha ray beat me

Edited November 22, 2009 by mbdblue

[zfrerichs]

Id start with something smaller for your first glass project, not trying to be rude but door panels are pretty envolved

[raytard]

if it gets screwed up, just gotta bite the bullet and get some new ones from the junkyard....if you look around on here enough you'll figure out how its done, and the rest is just practice. practice requires actually doing it so....time to go do it

[EpicenterDesigns]

if it gets screwed up, just gotta bite the bullet and get some new ones from the junkyard............ and the rest is just practice. practice requires actually doing it so....time to go do it

What that quote says.

[OBI]

Thanks everyone for the input! Now to go and do it. And Im kinda nervous. But I've always been pretty good at learning really quick and figuring things out,

Edited November 23, 2009 by OBI

[The Performer]

Personally I say the hell with glass cloth, it's more of a pain in the ass and when you use chop mat correctly it's just as strong. Use chopped mat and after time you'll see why it's much better. A side note to that don't cut your mat into pieces, instead TEAR them into strips and pieces you'll use. Don't use fleece if you can help it, use ponte, it wont soak up and waste as much resin thus not being as heavy in the end.

Kitty hair? Depending on what you're filling you shouldn't need. Most likely your design will use mostly glass to form the shape you're going for. Kitty hair is for building your shape when something does not need to be built up, but instead needs to be filled. (specific tweeter pods in A-pillars for example) You will most likely need some sort of body filler, but your main goal is to use as little of it as possible. You want your glass work to be the most of the build. Use your filler to smooth out your low spots and fill pin holes only. If you're going to be painting, look into working with a milkshake to work out all of the pin holes.

Other things you will want are ALOT of cheap chip brushes that you wont feel bad about throwing away. (Cut the bristles shorter to give yourself a stiffer brush to work with) Get them from harbor frieght or so, pick up a box of latex gloves to wear when working with the resin. Look into some heavy grit sand paper while you're at it. (32 for knocking down the glass and filler, then up to 200. 400-800 if you're going to be painting them) Also pick up a few paint quart cups from home depot (the plastic kind, to mix your resin in. After the resin cures in the cups you can peel it out and reuse the cups), some acetone, and a few paint stirring sticks. Save a few tin cans to set your brushes in acetone. Buy or borrow a respirator from someone for when it comes time to sand on the glass.

*CA glue and activator can be a lifesaver when it comes down to attaching your ponte to the panel or speaker rings, but dont forget the age old stapler as well.

*You're working with plastic and glass together if I'm understanding correctly. Drill 1/8 holes around the areas where you want your glass to meed the plastic to give the resin a better chance at gripping. Even at that, dont depend 100% on it, try to work the glass to where it will be 100% attached as itself around the panel or else over time it will separate.

*Never brush your resin ONTO the glass, instead stipple it INTO the glass.

*Catch the body filler at the right stage while it's curing to roughly shape it and you will save yourself from alot of over excessive sanding.

*Use baby powder on your skin before you sand glass, and it will prevent alot of itching.

*Even more important than everything here, read and watch as many threads as you possibly can from others who have done it before, and especially note what the pro's are doing. There's a reason their work comes out the way it does, and just because they've been doing it forever, doesnt mean a newbie can do just as good as long as you plan out your process and know the right tips and tricks. Glassing is something you have to be fast AND even more precise with at the same time.

Take a look at my build. That's my very first time working with FG, and I must say it wouldnt have came out half as good if I hadn't looked at every picture there was about glassing from guys before me and learning tips and tricks.

http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/ind...showtopic=26547

www.fiberglassforums.com (Sign up and absorb the knowledge before hand)

Am I forgetting anything epicenter???

[EpicenterDesigns]

I think you got the majority of it.

After that, it's technique.

[OBI]

Personally I say the hell with glass cloth, it's more of a pain in the ass and when you use chop mat correctly it's just as strong. Use chopped mat and after time you'll see why it's much better. A side note to that don't cut your mat into pieces, instead TEAR them into strips and pieces you'll use. Don't use fleece if you can help it, use ponte, it wont soak up and waste as much resin thus not being as heavy in the end.

Kitty hair? Depending on what you're filling you shouldn't need. Most likely your design will use mostly glass to form the shape you're going for. Kitty hair is for building your shape when something does not need to be built up, but instead needs to be filled. (specific tweeter pods in A-pillars for example) You will most likely need some sort of body filler, but your main goal is to use as little of it as possible. You want your glass work to be the most of the build. Use your filler to smooth out your low spots and fill pin holes only. If you're going to be painting, look into working with a milkshake to work out all of the pin holes.

Other things you will want are ALOT of cheap chip brushes that you wont feel bad about throwing away. (Cut the bristles shorter to give yourself a stiffer brush to work with) Get them from harbor frieght or so, pick up a box of latex gloves to wear when working with the resin. Look into some heavy grit sand paper while you're at it. (32 for knocking down the glass and filler, then up to 200. 400-800 if you're going to be painting them) Also pick up a few paint quart cups from home depot (the plastic kind, to mix your resin in. After the resin cures in the cups you can peel it out and reuse the cups), some acetone, and a few paint stirring sticks. Save a few tin cans to set your brushes in acetone. Buy or borrow a respirator from someone for when it comes time to sand on the glass.

*CA glue and activator can be a lifesaver when it comes down to attaching your ponte to the panel or speaker rings, but dont forget the age old stapler as well.

*You're working with plastic and glass together if I'm understanding correctly. Drill 1/8 holes around the areas where you want your glass to meed the plastic to give the resin a better chance at gripping. Even at that, dont depend 100% on it, try to work the glass to where it will be 100% attached as itself around the panel or else over time it will separate.

*Never brush your resin ONTO the glass, instead stipple it INTO the glass.

*Catch the body filler at the right stage while it's curing to roughly shape it and you will save yourself from alot of over excessive sanding.

*Use baby powder on your skin before you sand glass, and it will prevent alot of itching.

*Even more important than everything here, read and watch as many threads as you possibly can from others who have done it before, and especially note what the pro's are doing. There's a reason their work comes out the way it does, and just because they've been doing it forever, doesnt mean a newbie can do just as good as long as you plan out your process and know the right tips and tricks. Glassing is something you have to be fast AND even more precise with at the same time.

Take a look at my build. That's my very first time working with FG, and I must say it wouldnt have came out half as good if I hadn't looked at every picture there was about glassing from guys before me and learning tips and tricks.

http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/ind...showtopic=26547

www.fiberglassforums.com (Sign up and absorb the knowledge before hand)

Am I forgetting anything epicenter???

Thanks man! That was alot of useful info there.