How many layers of fiberglass in a day?

[trabadoor22 10+ year member]

I'm getting ready to do some fiberglass and I'm wondering if I can do 2-3 layers in a day provided the dry times allot for it. Thanks.

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[Jared530 10+ year member]

If your in a rush you could just put as many layers as you want. I put like 4-5layers in one session just keep building.

 

[BassMechkanic 10+ year member]

i do 4 layers at one time, let dry over night and then do another 3-4

 

[hornedfrog1985 5,000+ posts]

Good question

 

[tylork92 10+ year member]

all depends on how hot you make the resin..when i did my door pods i just did one layer ata time but the batches were pretty hot so it cured fast.

 

[trabadoor22 10+ year member]

Thanks. So for the people that did multiple layers in a day do you have to wait for each layer to set up 10-30 min., or can you just keep applying layers along with more resin? I thought I heard somewhere that if you apply too many layers at one time it can affect the strength because of the heat.

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

You can do quite a few layers without any problems. Try 3-4 layers at a time, let it cure (shouldn't be more than 2 hours), and re-apply.

 

[BassMechkanic 10+ year member]

because i am in florida, with the heat and humidity, i use 1/2 the mek suggested, gives me a little more working time until gel, and does not get to hot, but gets real strong and not brittle, i have learned that spending a little extra on my resin the better resin wets the glass faster and laminates better.

 

[cj407]

yep you get what you pay for..also dont use bondo or rage gold..go to an auto paint store and pick up this body filler called Z-Grip. so easy to work with, goes on smooth, sands easy and less time spent.

 

[trabadoor22 10+ year member]

How is Evercoat resin? That is all I can get locally besides bondo and from what I've heard bondo isn't very good. I would order from uscomposites, but I would like to start working on it asap and I can get it today locally.

 

[WOT]

Bondo resin isnt the best, but it works. If you have a fiberglass marine store locally, just get something without wax in it.

I do 3-4 layers at a time, but mix small "hot" batches of resin so the cure time is usually less than 2 hours to completely dry

 

[trabadoor22 10+ year member]

Sounds good, thanks. I just ordered some biaxal mat from uscomposites since I don't need it right away. I already have about 3 square yards of the regular mat so I figure I can get started while I wait for the other to arrive. I went with Evercoat boatyard resin because it was available today. I got it at a local marina, however it was pretty exspensive at about $50 a gallon. Hopefully it is okay to work with.

 

[Ryan1126]

i was at home depot yesterday buying wood and nails and some new clamps and what not and i thought ide check the fiberglassing stuff out and after i looked at it for a minute i said **** it, one day i will try it. that shit looks hard though.

 

[18inchjeepin 10+ year member]

I've bought the stuff at walmart and same stuff i just picked up at Menards.

Ive done it before, pretty easy, pour resin then hardener, mix, and spread. I think I put too much hardener in last time, it was sticking to my container before I could get it all applied

 

[tylork92 10+ year member]

Fiberglass isnt hard to work with at all...Ive used the $56 per gallon resin that you get at auto stores and the $35 Bondo resin and i liked the Bondo better....just seemed like it easier to sue for some reason....idk but my pods are strong as chit so oh well...one thing i will look into next time is some other body filler other than Bondo brand.