Oasis Floral Foam.....Where can I find a good deal?

[choppinczech]

If you had say small 6"X 6" X 1/8" thick laid up samples of both E glass cloth and Biaxial, the E glass would flex. A lot. The Biaxial would be very stiff due to the way it's made.

I don't want to overwhelm anyone. That 2x2 Twill will be fine. It just takes more layup time to build it up.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's different types of "weaves" made for specific reasons.

Most of the time I just use 1.5oz. to 3oz. mat.


There's also milled fibers to make your own fillers,


and chopped fibers to fill voids.

 

[choppinczech]

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's different types of "weaves" made for specific reasons.

Here's an example.

When I made my drive shaft tunnel I used 5 layers of a Biaxial weave resulting in about 1/4" thickness. If I had used say 12 layers of E glass cloth or 6 layers of plain mat, the shape would have ended up the same, but the end product wouldn't have been nearly as rigid. All still 1/4" thick, but the Biaxial is made for rigidity.


Does that make sense? Not all glass is the same.

 

[choppinczech]

Not all glass is the same.

One more example, then I shut up.

This radiator shroud is 1/8" thick.


Now to get to that 1/8", you could use 2 layers of 2 oz.mat, maybe 5 layers of a 6 oz. cloth, or even 1 layer of a 24 oz. woven roving. Each of those choices giving different results.


Because of the small radiuses, rounded corners and overall strength needed to hold that fan, I chose to used 8 or 10 layers of 1.5 oz. cloth. It's about the weight of your favorite t-shirt. Used a lot in RC planes and easy to conform to shapes.

So that 1/8" is made up of lots of plys. The number of plys is what gives it rigidity.

 

[kcline40]

Thanks for your insight on this. It has been a huge help. I wish we could put together a guide on here to help each other on just the exact type of material to work with when you are glassing. I switched my order to the 17 oz as you recommended. I am putting the 4th layer on the firewall today. This is what it currently looks like. I used the bondo to make a smooth surface around the edge of the firewall, to fill gaps but also to make sure there were less possibilities of AIR BUBBLES.

This is under the dash view. Rollers are a huge help here, very wise investment.

 

[choppinczech]

Looks good to me.

 

[choppinczech]

Rollers are a huge help here, very wise investment.

Wherever I room to use them, I'll buy 10 packs of cheapo 9" paint rollers and cut them down to 3" on my band saw.
So I end up with 30 for $9.00.


In tighter spots the more expensive but smaller OD 4" work well.

 

[kcline40]

I was referring to this air release roller. But that's a great idea to cut down paint rollers to get more uses out of them.

 

[kcline40]

So choppinczech my partner in crime made a mistake and refilled my spray can with ACETONE instead of Wax & Grease remover. He then proceeded to spray the recently fiber glassed body down. Needless to say the resin started to become stickey and I could not figure out why. It does not seem to have penetrated any of the fabric. I resprayed the panels with Wax and grease remover and then wiped down. We then let that dry and then reapplied a thin layer of resin and allowed that to harden. Do you think the layers will be fine going forward to work with?

I plan on sanding that resin again so I can put another layer of Bi-axial on the box of the body. Thanks for the recommendation of that product, it works like a dream and we really do get about a 1/4 inch thickness in 2 layers.

 

[choppinczech]

No sweat. I use acetone or MEK as a wipe down all of the time. You didn't hurt a thing.

I often do it right before adding glass for that very reason. To get the previous glass a bit gummy for good adhesion.

All it's doing is releasing the wax in the very outer layer of the cured resin.

I prefer to use non-waxed resin, and add wax when I choose. Like on a final layer for curing.

 

[kcline40]

So here's how the box turned out with 2 layers of Bi-Axial. I think this was great to work with. It does not look real different than before but it is a good 1/4 inch of thickness.

The sides sanded down well and the so did the corners where the box attaches to the body. We will move to the inside of the box and tub next.

I was wondering if I should Gel-coat these areas after the final product is completed?

 

[choppinczech]

I think this was great to work with.

I was wondering if I should Gel-coat these areas after the final product is completed?

You're right. It is easy to work with. Looks good.

You don't need gel coat. Rough it up good and use a high build primer.

What I like to do as part of the lay up is right after laying up the glass I'll spray, roll, or brush on polyester high build primer. I like to use Feather Fill. It helps cure the glass and leaves you with something easy to finish out.

 

[choppinczech]

What I like to do as part of the lay up is right after laying up the glass I'll spray, roll, or brush on polyester high build primer. I like to use Feather Fill. It helps cure the glass and leaves you with something easy to finish out.

Here's a pic. You can use a 3/8" nap paint roller to apply high build primer right after laying up the glass. It's essentially liquid Bondo. Don't be afraid to lay it on heavy. It sands easily, and makes finishing out the peaks and valleys much faster.

My go to is Feather Fill G2. It comes in black, buff, or gray.

 

[kcline40]

Here's a pic. You can use a 3/8" nap paint roller to apply high build primer right after laying up the glass. It's essentially liquid Bondo. Don't be afraid to lay it on heavy. It sands easily, and makes finishing out the peaks and valleys much faster.

My go to is Feather Fill G2. It comes in black, buff, or gray.

So the resin was still wet when you put this the high primer on in this photo?

 

[choppinczech]

So the resin was still wet when you put this the high primer on in this photo?

Set up enough to leave a fingerprint.

 

[kcline40]

OK good to know. I will look into it and see what we can find. Does it knock down the smell of the resin in the air after applied or is this worse?

Do you do this on every coat or just the final coat?

 

[fletcherson]

You don't want to leave feather fill in a spray gun.... I learned that the hard way, lol... It's not like primer, as far as clean up.

 

[choppinczech]

OK good to know. I will look into it and see what we can find. Does it knock down the smell of the resin in the air after applied or is this worse?

Do you do this on every coat or just the final coat?

It's also a polyester based material and uses the same MEKP catalyst. Just a different smell.

Just the final coat. On something you want a nice final finish or to be painted.

 

[choppinczech]

It's also a polyester based material and uses the same MEKP catalyst. Just a different smell.

Just the final coat. On something you want a nice final finish or to be painted.

It just saves a step. If you plan on painting a glassed area, it gets the primer on there now. Rather than having to smooth out the glass and having to spray primer later.

 

[fletcherson]

Where are you guys getting your fiberglass supply's? I ordered a bunch of stuff today, and couldn't believe the cost of shipping..... I tried to get it from several manufacturers, ended up getting it through eBay because it was much cheaper due to shipping. I don't know anyone local that has everything I wanted, and didn't want to spend time running all over town.

 

[kcline40]

US Composites in FL

Polyester Resins