Re: Fiberglass layup part project***UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS!!***
Re: Fiberglass layup part project***UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS!!***
Finally the confluence of three factors came together to allow me to go to the final phase of my project. The three factors were a) it was not grey, ugly, cold and wet outside b) I did not have to work today so I had several hours to play with the project c) Mrs Boomyal's car was not in the garage.
The bagging was an unqualified success. I had my doubts at the outset that I did not have enough vacuum and that my bag did not fit well enough. Neither was the case. After some heat assisted curing time, I just peeled back the edges of the bag and you can see that the vacuum sucked down the glass, gave it a thorough uniform wetting and gave excellent adhesion to the 4 layers.
In the first picture, I finally unpacked my 66 yards of $2.02 sq yd (shipped) 10 oz fiberglass cloth. What a deal, so far any imperfections are very minor.
The next picture shows four layers of patterned cutouts for application to the plug. I decided that I would make seams that I would augment with glassfiber peanut butter. This I did before I bagged the part.
The next picture, I am applying the layers. I used a 4" roller to apply the resin, layed the glass then used the roller, wetted as necessary til the glass was wet. I then applied the next layer of glass and repeated the resin application and pressing. When I was done with the four layers, I mixed up the glassfiber putty and applied it to the seams. Then I carefully applied and taped down the green bag then started the vacuum pump.
I did not want to have to run the vacuum pump for a prolonged period of time so I built one of my handy little drying ovens and placed the little heater in front of the opening. This little heater/oven combo has speed dried more painted parts than I can count. Now it has fast cure fiberglass added to its accomplishments.
After an hour, I removed the part from the heater, removed the bag and trimmed the edges of the still lightly cured part.
The results are quite heartining. There are a few minor wrinkles and some sanding will be necessary on the forward corners where I applied the paste. I will probably do 4 more layers to get the thickness I want. I am, however, out of resin so it will be a while before I finish it.
The four layers are so much better layed than the previous two, singlely applied layers. The bagging really fully wetted out and compressed the layers. If you had to do this on a flat surface patch, it would be a breeze.
Now I have to find some 3.5" diameter tubes to lay up the two cup holders.
I'll post as I progress.
