Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

[karrick]

I have started this winters project. A friend of mine bought a 1970ish 18' Duo Tri-hull. I have started work on the engine to make sure we have something to push the boat before he starts shelling out the cash for boat repairs. I can easily determine the costs of the lumber and harware needed, but since my last and first hull up restore was Aluminum, I have no idea how much glass material I will need and how much he should expect to spend. The boat needs the works: transom, stringers, front deck, and floor. I know this may seem vague, but I have no idea on pricing and where the best place to get the materials are. Any kind of ballpark idea would be helpful. I'm sure more questions will follow. Wish me luck. I'll get pics as soon as I can.<br /><br />K

 

[Wimperdink]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

check http://raka.com/ decent prices<br />auto parts stores... and Lowes $28 per gallon of poly resin & hardener $5 for 8 square feet of cloth or mat<br /><br />ebay has decent prices on cloth or mat in larger sizes.

 

[sdunt]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

I found very good prices at US composites: http://www.shopmaninc.com/index.html <br />$18 to $30 a gallon for Polyester Resin <br />$6.95 per linear yard for 7 1/2 oz cloth in 50" widths. They also have really good prices on epoxy products. <br /><br />I have not, but I am planning on checking with local auto paint suppliers, etc for those 'extra' supplies needed.<br /><br />One thing I read said that fiberglass cloth will take as much resin, by weight, as the fiberglass cloth weighs. So 7 1/2 oz is weight of 1 Sq FT of a particular type of glass clothe, so 1 square YD would weigh 67.5 oz, or 4 1/4 pounds and would supposedly take 4 1/4 pounds of resin to wet it out? How you convert that to gallons of resin, I don't know.<br /><br />I also read a spec for Epoxy resin that says: "If using fiberglass cloth, one gallon (of Epoxy Resin) will cover about 45 sq. ft. for the required three coats." Polyester resin should be about the same coverage.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

Hand layed fiberglass (finished) is about 35% glass and 65% resin by weight. Resin weighs about 8 to 9lbs per gallon. Cured fiberglass weighs about 1lb per square foot, per 1/8th inch of thickness. This is for polyester resin.

 

[Wimperdink]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

mix up a cup... slosh in some hardener and mix... start spreading.. in a few min your cup 1/2 empty gets hard... start mixing another cup cause ya put in too much hardener and be a lil more careful this time... oh and set the other cup outside before the cup melts Thats my weights and measurements scale

 

[karrick]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

I guess I'm still a little lost an amount I will need to finihs my project. Say the total amount i need to glass is a 17' by 6' 102sqft. Do I only need one layer of cloth or two layers crisscrossing?? Mabye a dummys guide to glassing is what I need

 

[dolluper]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

You have different types of cloth<br />mat: for floor,transom laminating<br />woven roving: for strength,to tie transom with hull,floor to hull<br />regular cloth : different weights for smooth finish and backing for filling holes<br />If you were doing the floor and transom you would be looking at about 6 to 7 gallons of resin ,just the floor [stringers?] about 5 + gallons of resin<br />I just did my transom 1 layer of mat to the hull, piece of ply,mat, ply ,mat,1layer of woven roven half way up transom and six inches on hull and on sides 6 inches to a foot on transom,then a final layer of mat. Before I laid the woven roven on I filled the gaps completly around the transom with a mixture of short strand fiber and resin,500 ml of resin used there to make mixture[gallon=3780 ml]For this it has taking 1 and a half gallons of resin and I have half gallon to put in the 2 feet of floor I took out.It's going to be close might need more .So 5 and half feet by 24 inches for the transom and 2feet by 4 for the floor<br />I bought 3metres of mat cloth [metre=39 inches]x50 inch wide cut in half<br />2 metres roven woven by 50" wide cut in half ,just for the transom and 2feet of floor....<br />2metres 10oz cloth for other fixes,stringers,deck,holes in hull

 

[karrick]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

Thanks Everyone!

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

If you are using polyester resin, don't use cloth as the first layer, the bond will be poor, use mat first, it will work much better.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: Fiberglass cloth/resin costs??

I can vouch for US composites... All their stuff is first class, and the prices are unbeatable.. If you do have a problem, I'll walk over there and ruff em' up for ya (6 blocks from my house).. <br /><br />Seriously.. They move alot of product, and their resins and accellerators (catalist) have not been sitting on the shelf for years, unlike what you'd find at the "home improvement centers" or even the boating retailers.. <br /><br />Other than what the rest of the gang have said, all i have to offer is, "when in doubt, over-build it!"...