SgtMaj
Lieutenant Commander
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2007
- Messages
- 1,997
Re: Reglassing floor ???
Here's how I do mine, first I brush on resin (raw resin, not mixed with the hardener), about the thickness of a coat of paint (doesn't have to be an even thickness at this point, so long as it's coating the entire surface you're working with). That will stay tacky for days... even weeks, so you'll have plenty of time to work with it. Next I lay down whatever material I'm using, usually woven roving or cloth. I smooth it out and make sure it's adhered to the resin, then mix some resin with the hardener and wet out the material... wetting out the material basically means brushing on enough of the resin to completely saturate the cloth or woven roving or mat, or whatever you're using. Then I'll work the resin into the material with a fiberglass roller until I'm satisfied that every fiber is completely coated. Don't worry about the first layer of resin hardening, the hardener you added to the resin that you wetted out the material with will seep through to harden that, too.
At this point it doesn't matter if the resin sets up. You can lay more cloth at any time. However, once you're to your final layer, mix the resin with both the hardener and the wax. Once you have a layer down with the wax mixed into it, you won't be able to lay anymore glass on top of it. If you decide to stop laying down layers after the final layer has been laid down without wax, that's ok too, just paint over it. The layer of paint will do the same job the wax does, and block oxygen from getting to the resin which will allow it to finish curing.
If you accidentally mixed wax into the resin before you reached the number of layers that you desire, you can add more layers, if you first wait for the resin to fully cure, then wash the area in acetone, and sand the surface to rough it up. Then start again with the layer of un-mixed resin.
There will undoubtedly be some differing opinions on this, but this is what I have found to work best for me. By the way, I use polyester resin, and you wouldn't want to use the same methods if you were working with epoxy resin.
In terms of how many layers, that depends on what material you're using. If all you are using is a 6oz cloth, I would say maybe 10 layers... if you're using mat in between the cloth, 3 layers of cloth, 2 of mat. If you're using roven woving instead of cloth, 2 layers of roven woving, 1 of mat. However, each has their use, and it's important to know what's good for what as well. For strength, nothing beats roven woving... but it's not great at sealing, so if I'm sealing something, I prefer cloth. Mat is good for laminating between layers of cloth or roven woving. So since you want to seal the stringers, and provide structural strength as well, I would use a layer of cloth, then a layer of mat, and finally a layer of roven woving. If you're doing the top of the new deck however, then I would do it differently. I would do roven woving, then mat, then cloth, so the deck will be nice and smooth.
Whew, I should have just pointed you toward a reference book instead of writing one, lol.
Here's how I do mine, first I brush on resin (raw resin, not mixed with the hardener), about the thickness of a coat of paint (doesn't have to be an even thickness at this point, so long as it's coating the entire surface you're working with). That will stay tacky for days... even weeks, so you'll have plenty of time to work with it. Next I lay down whatever material I'm using, usually woven roving or cloth. I smooth it out and make sure it's adhered to the resin, then mix some resin with the hardener and wet out the material... wetting out the material basically means brushing on enough of the resin to completely saturate the cloth or woven roving or mat, or whatever you're using. Then I'll work the resin into the material with a fiberglass roller until I'm satisfied that every fiber is completely coated. Don't worry about the first layer of resin hardening, the hardener you added to the resin that you wetted out the material with will seep through to harden that, too.
At this point it doesn't matter if the resin sets up. You can lay more cloth at any time. However, once you're to your final layer, mix the resin with both the hardener and the wax. Once you have a layer down with the wax mixed into it, you won't be able to lay anymore glass on top of it. If you decide to stop laying down layers after the final layer has been laid down without wax, that's ok too, just paint over it. The layer of paint will do the same job the wax does, and block oxygen from getting to the resin which will allow it to finish curing.
If you accidentally mixed wax into the resin before you reached the number of layers that you desire, you can add more layers, if you first wait for the resin to fully cure, then wash the area in acetone, and sand the surface to rough it up. Then start again with the layer of un-mixed resin.
There will undoubtedly be some differing opinions on this, but this is what I have found to work best for me. By the way, I use polyester resin, and you wouldn't want to use the same methods if you were working with epoxy resin.
In terms of how many layers, that depends on what material you're using. If all you are using is a 6oz cloth, I would say maybe 10 layers... if you're using mat in between the cloth, 3 layers of cloth, 2 of mat. If you're using roven woving instead of cloth, 2 layers of roven woving, 1 of mat. However, each has their use, and it's important to know what's good for what as well. For strength, nothing beats roven woving... but it's not great at sealing, so if I'm sealing something, I prefer cloth. Mat is good for laminating between layers of cloth or roven woving. So since you want to seal the stringers, and provide structural strength as well, I would use a layer of cloth, then a layer of mat, and finally a layer of roven woving. If you're doing the top of the new deck however, then I would do it differently. I would do roven woving, then mat, then cloth, so the deck will be nice and smooth.
Whew, I should have just pointed you toward a reference book instead of writing one, lol.