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Occasionally we need to make a flat sheet of fiberglass for something or other. One simple way is to lay out a piece of wax paper, put the cloth/mat over it and brush/roller in some resin. After the resin sets up you have a fiberglass sheet that is really smooth on the wax paper side but can be rough on the other. You can get the upper side smooth by merely dumping the resin in the middle of the matt, place a second sheet of wax paper over that and use a squeegee or roller to work the resin around in the matt.
There are some issues using wax paper, it is easily torn, and the size is limited. A better alternative is to use heavy-duty polyethylene sheet (aka VisQueen). Polyethylene has a lot of the same properties as it’s popular cousin, poly-tetra-floro-ethylene (aka P.T.F.E. or Teflon); not much sticks to it. The only problem with it is that it usually comes folded and rolled. The rolling isn’t a problem, but the creases from folding will show in the finished product.
The rolls are often 15 feet wide and 50 feet long, there can be a dozen creases in the 15 foot width that you want to get rid of or at least minimize. One method that sort of works is to cut a piece that overly wide and longer than needed and tack it up to the rafters or what ever, with the creases running horizontally. Then staple a 2x4 to the bottom edge for weight and use a heat gun to soften the creases in the sheeting.
Of course a better way would be to find a supplier with a roll wider than what you need and completely avoid the creasing problem. One possible source is greenhouse suppliers; they have rolls that are as much as 8 feet wide. ULINE also has polyethylene sheeting, which may be wide enough.
Although this only explans how to make flat sheets, it’s also possible to make more complicated ‘L’ and ‘U’ type shapes, just not compound curves. The trick even works if you’re covering over some other surface with fiberglass and want a smooth outer surface
There are some issues using wax paper, it is easily torn, and the size is limited. A better alternative is to use heavy-duty polyethylene sheet (aka VisQueen). Polyethylene has a lot of the same properties as it’s popular cousin, poly-tetra-floro-ethylene (aka P.T.F.E. or Teflon); not much sticks to it. The only problem with it is that it usually comes folded and rolled. The rolling isn’t a problem, but the creases from folding will show in the finished product.
The rolls are often 15 feet wide and 50 feet long, there can be a dozen creases in the 15 foot width that you want to get rid of or at least minimize. One method that sort of works is to cut a piece that overly wide and longer than needed and tack it up to the rafters or what ever, with the creases running horizontally. Then staple a 2x4 to the bottom edge for weight and use a heat gun to soften the creases in the sheeting.
Of course a better way would be to find a supplier with a roll wider than what you need and completely avoid the creasing problem. One possible source is greenhouse suppliers; they have rolls that are as much as 8 feet wide. ULINE also has polyethylene sheeting, which may be wide enough.
Although this only explans how to make flat sheets, it’s also possible to make more complicated ‘L’ and ‘U’ type shapes, just not compound curves. The trick even works if you’re covering over some other surface with fiberglass and want a smooth outer surface
