40thRubyRed

Hey guys, i was wonding if anyone had a good fibreglass tutorial that i could check out. I did a search and found one but that link is semi-dead now.

Much thanks ahead of time.


Ciao

EatRice

I do not know of any tutorials but will answer questions for you.

40thRubyRed

Thanks a bunch, but unfortunately I know nothing about how to use fibreglass let alone what products I will need.

Im looking to create a fibreglass tub to fill the rear storage compartment in my 2000 vert. I have decided on wheather or not to build the top section out of fg or mdf.

But any tips would be great to get me started.

MSIP

Try this for a start:

#113 here: http://www.bcae1.com/

40thRubyRed

How hard is it to do the fiberglass work ?

EatRice

cool site

Fiberglass is not difficult as long as you take your time and plan ahead.You want to do a tub in your well...ok no problem. First you will need to mask the area of the tub and at least 6" around the tub area. Also I would mask the rear bumper to keep all drips off. Next is the fiberglass mat material. You want to cut all your pieces and lay them in dry. Making sure to get good coverage to all the areas needed and I try to keep it around 4 layers thick. Once that is done you start with your mix. You have to mix polyester resin with MEKP. The ratio varies with temperature, lay up time, different resins, and humidity. Check the label on your products for the ratio and lower it a little. Doing so will give you a little longer layup time. It will take longer to dry but that is ok. Now you will want to coat the masking material with some kind of release agent. There are alot of mold release products but you can use PAM or Wesson cooking oil from a spray can. I do all the time. Give the area you are going to glass a nice coat. Next wipe some of your mixed resin onto the area to be molded, use a disposable paint brush. I start at the top and work my down. Then start laying the dry cloth into the well ontop of the resin you just painted on. Get a few pieces down then coat them with resin. It is very important that the mat is saturated with resin. Also you do not want air bubbles. You can see if there are air bubbles because they will be almost white and stand up a bit. Stab them with the brush to get them out. You can also tell if there is enough resin in the mat when the mat is almost transparent. Now move onto another section until the entire well is molded. Once it dries you can pop it out.
I make my baffles out of wood. It is easier than fiberglass and makes for a better mounting area. You can make the baffle after the mold or before. And there are many ways to atach it to the mold. Sometimes I use a flap method where i make a bunch of flaps on the inside of the box going to the wood and sometimes I flush the wood into the glass and then fill the edges with resin. Your choice or you might find a better way for you really depends on how you want the enclosure to look.

Hope this helps.

Also for the products. Check to see if there are any local boat supply shops in your area. They will carry the best fiberglass. Next is auto parts stores. Last you can order it off the internet but I believe you have to pay a haz mat charge but you can check out www.selectproducts.com

srobinso11

I agree with Eatrice on the above tutorial. The only thing I would add is that when applying the resing to kinda stab at the mat to saturate it. If you brush it on like paint, the fibers in the mat will just spread and create weak spots. Here is a nice site with good pics and instructions...
http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/proj/main/