What type of fiberglass and resin ????

[LVANGEE]

Just starting to install new stringers in my resto project .. I am not sure what type of fiberglass to use and what type of resin or epoxy to use. This is very confusing to me . Any help is greatly appreciated !! Also where is the best place to buy this stuff ??

 

[ondarvr]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

It won't make a real difference in which type of resin you use, in the end it will be a usable boat that will last many years. Doing a good job is more important than resin type.

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

Epoxy resin is around 3 times the price of polyester resin but has working time of a couple of hours and has almost no smell. It is stronger than polyester but both will last for years. Polyester resin is cheaper in price, stinks to high heaven and has only a working time of sometimes minutes.

 

[jonesg]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

Epoxy resin is around 3 times the price of polyester resin but has working time of a couple of hours and has almost no smell. It is stronger than polyester but both will last for years. Polyester resin is cheaper in price, stinks to high heaven and has only a working time of sometimes minutes.

or ...

you don't have to wait all nite for poly to cure, it will not attack your central nervous system or liver like epoxy, it works with mat and it smells more professional.

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

or ...

you don't have to wait all nite for poly to cure, it will not attack your central nervous system or liver like epoxy, it works with mat and it smells more professional.

or....

wear a good mask and make sure you have lots of ventilation. LOL jonesg. The beer will take care of your liver.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

Check out the US Composites website ( www.uscomposites.com ). I used their 635 Epoxy and found it to be very good to work with. You likely could use 1708 fiberglass cloth, US Composites sells it in 38 and 50 inch widths, as well as 6 and 12 inch tape.

Yes, epoxy costs more than polyester resin, but in the great scheme of things it doesn't add a horrible amount to the cost of a project. It has many advantages over polyester - it has 5 times the adhesion, has 10 times better water absorption, and is more forgiving for people with limited experience.

 

[chrishayes]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

Now after spending a considerable amount of time using epoxy I have some REAL expierience to share. I have found the working time a blessing and a curse. THe good thing is that you can do multiple layer large layups with it without worrying the whole time if you will get half through and the thing starts to get rock hard on you. However, when doing small areas it sucks having to basically babysit the thing for hours making sure that you dont have any surprises like stray bubbles or the cloth letting go if you just call it a night and come back out the next day

The other nice thing is that I cant begin to tell you how freaking strong the stuff is. It will make a piece of wood and some limp cloth PART of your boat! you could bash it with a sledgehammer(some on here including myself have done that) and it will not so much as dent it. THe smell is another nice thing. I have been around MEKP (poly resin hardener)fumes a few times in my life and I can tell you that that is not something I want to have around in my garage where my wife and animals and myself are wandering around during and after use. Epoxy has a definate smell and over time once it starts to kick(harden) it WILL mess with you. I have done my build without the use of a respirator while working with the resin but I keep my back garage door and main garage door open with a fan blowing across me as all times. Only a few times have I felt any effects after long layups with little air movements.

I think in the end I couldve done my build with poly and been happy with the results and money saved, but I could not have done it in shorts and a t shirt (in Ohio in the summer a tyvek suit and respirator wouldve killed me just as quick as the fumes). The main question is in your abilities and drive for good prep. If you know yourself to be a skimper or a corner cutter, then use epoxy but if you KNOW you are a dedicated type with good mechanical skills poly resin would be the way to go, just remember you have to protect yourself from it at all times.

 

[jonesg]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

while poly reeks to high heaven,

epoxy will trigger a reaction over time until you can't go near the stuff again. My freind developed an allergy to epoxy, nasty stuff.

 

[LVANGEE]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

Thanks for all the great advice and links ! It really helped sort some stuff out for me , that I wasn't really sure of .

 

[NetMatrix]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

I'm using fiberglass cloth and 3M Bondo Fiberglass Resin Jelly from Wal-Mart. I have had extremely good lick with these products on my boat project. I did do a "TEST" piece of wood before I started to use this product on my boat by taking a 12" piece of 2x4 Pine. Coated the entire board like it was a stringer let it dry and harden. I then put it in water for 3 days. The wood is still in perfect dry condition. This stuff is a cheaper product, but I would recommend using it on your boat.

 

[HookMaster]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

Just a side note about using poly resin..........When you want to do your stringers in multiple layers, start with UN-WAXED resin. You can continue to build up layers of cloth and it will not completely harden. When you do your last layer use standard WAXED resin and cover all of the un waxed areas with a coating of the waxed stuff and it will make the unwaxed stuff harden off. In order for resin to cure it needs to be cut off from the air. The wax seals off the resin from the air and thus it cures hard. Just my 2c's

I still use epoxy on occasion like laminating and filling with a coloidal silica filler.

Don

 

[chrishayes]

Re: What type of fiberglass and resin ????

Here is my list that I have used in my project and a brief description of each item I have purchased. See sig below. Hope this helps. My boat is 16.5' long and about 65" wide with the deck being 14' from bow to stern for reference.

6.5 gal of thin medium set epoxy(maybe should have went with normal set, this is a bit slow to cure...) (Add 3 more gallons...chaching. USE POLY FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR WALLET)
metering pumps (couldnt live without them)
10 yrd of 8.5oz twill fg (dont know how this works yet, its just for the deck)
10 yrd of 1708 biax (im at 38 yards now the stuff is silly strong but chugs resin like there is no tomorrow and is also difficult to work with due to having to use it on its proper axis)
roll of 8.5oz cloth 6" wide for tabbing (extrenly helpful stuff to have, my only gripe is that it has a thick stitch at the edges which makes the layer of glass that you put over it have air bubbles unless you grind or sand this stitch down first)
2 fg rollers (really only used one so far, if you clean it after use it will last)
2 rollers (dont like them, they leave micro bubbles)
10 roller covers (for sale!)
25 squegees (best thing ever along with making a rounded edge paint stick)
a mixer ( a must have)
50 quart size mixing containers (get more!)
corner roller ( doesnt work worth a damn)
and a partridge and a 600 dollar pear tree! (hah, man am I funny, i was upset about 600, hahhhahahhaaa seriously, double it if budgeting)