First Fiberglass Project

[jasonw30]

thats what i dont get. cloth has a heavier oz rating, but mat is stronger? is that how it is?

cloth is stronger.its woven tighter.mat is thicker,but is looser.either one is fine.just depends on how much time you have..lol

[ChevyBoy]

i think someone like gp should make a post on different types of fiberglass resins, and cloths and what not.

[jasonw30]

i think someone like gp should make a post on different types of fiberglass resins, and cloths and what not.

x2

[kbreudi]

x2

x3

[Tremor1127]

x4

[jcm1689]

x5.....looking good so far

Edited June 2, 2007 by jcm1689

[LSN2meBoom916]

Woven "cloth" is for getting "finer" details of an area or "form".

Mat/chop mat (crazy strands everywhere/all directions) is for less "exact" stuff.

Either will be very strong WITH ENOUGH LAYERS, but chop mat is generally "thicker/heavier" and with resin will be stronger than woven mat/per single layer.

Think of it this way: If you wanted to make an exact copy of something with a very irregular surface like your keyboard with lots of peaks (keys/buttons) and valleys (space between the keys/buttons) you would want to use the woven mat, OR CHOPPED mat-chop mat seperated into individual strands that you can push down into the cracks (not to confuse w/ chop mat), and then soak w/ resin.

Chop Mat/heavier mat is used when you DON'T need lots of detail, like on a flatter surface or one w/ less variation to it like the trunk floor/sides/floorboards/etc.

When I do a spare tire well I usually tape & foil off the well and floor, pour in some resin BY ITSELF first to get the most EXACT copy of the small ridges of the area, then I move up to woven mat, then once it's pretty flattened out I'l layer it up w/ the heavier chop mat.

GP can/should fill in anything I missed.

?

[monoxide]

how about on the top of a sub box? with 2 10s raised out of the box and tilted a little? would u use cloth or mat?

[LSN2meBoom916]

NIETHER.

At first, you want a nice large piece of material that is stretchy and absorbant like T-shirt material or similar bed sheets or FLEECE.

You should make your "skeleton" out of wood (your 3/4" MDF mounting rings and anything you need to mount/position/secure them in place) and stretch your fleece/material over that skeleton. Make sure that material is tacked in place either with glue/hot glue, or staples along the edges.

Paint that material thoroughly with resin and let it harden.

Repeat that process a few times and if you want to make it easier on yourself, add fiberglass from the "back" or inside of that structure.

If you look at GP's stuff he's good enough to reinforce it from the front too but the more you add to the front, generally the more "gross" or "un-uniform" the front will get and the more sanding you will ultimately have to do to get it nice/perfect.

The easiest thing is, once you have the material stretched and painted with resin, and it has the nice "pretty clean surface" that you want, reinforce it from inside or the back side if it's accessable and then "skin" the front side w/ a few coats of body filler or other surfacing material that will be easier to sand smooth. (most will say Rage gold/extreme sand the easiest)

Let the inside be ugly since no one will see it or make it only as nice as it NEEDS to be if you plan on having any plexi windows and let the inside be seen. Spend your time sanding the outside as nice as you have patience for.

STUDY the F-Glass section in particular GP's section,EpicenterDesigns, and BaggedBirds work.

[kingsuv]

Woven "cloth" is for getting "finer" details of an area or "form".

Mat/chop mat (crazy strands everywhere/all directions) is for less "exact" stuff.

Either will be very strong WITH ENOUGH LAYERS, but chop mat is generally "thicker/heavier" and with resin will be stronger than woven mat/per single layer.

Think of it this way: If you wanted to make an exact copy of something with a very irregular surface like your keyboard with lots of peaks (keys/buttons) and valleys (space between the keys/buttons) you would want to use the woven mat, OR CHOPPED mat-chop mat seperated into individual strands that you can push down into the cracks (not to confuse w/ chop mat), and then soak w/ resin.

Chop Mat/heavier mat is used when you DON'T need lots of detail, like on a flatter surface or one w/ less variation to it like the trunk floor/sides/floorboards/etc.

When I do a spare tire well I usually tape & foil off the well and floor, pour in some resin BY ITSELF first to get the most EXACT copy of the small ridges of the area, then I move up to woven mat, then once it's pretty flattened out I'l layer it up w/ the heavier chop mat.

GP can/should fill in anything I missed.

?

I would like to see that please.