Didn't soak resin like expected

[Cajundude 10+ year member]

The material I used to cover the box I am building (a lycra spandex mix that is thin) didn't really soak the resin like I expected. Gave the box a great shape but it did wrinkle a little during the drying process. This morning is is not hard like it should be. It is dry but not hard enough to pull the form objects from inside. I thought I used enough resin, maybe not. It did however curve to my forms great. Keep in mind that I am going to go into the inside and use a resin and Cabosil mixture to strenthen it (should I add strands to this mixture?). So, here are my options for the outside before pulling the form filling objects from the inside:

1.) Pull material off and use a different fabric,

2.) Slop another layer of resin on top of the fabric, or

3.) Put one layer of chop mat and resin on the outside.

This box will be finished and painted if it makes a difference on the above methods. I'm opting towards three right now. Thanks!

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[req 5,000+ posts]

try and put some matte\weave on the NON-VISIBLE side of the resin - so if you are making a box, or kick panels, put the fiberglass on the inside. also, try and mix a hardener rich batch of resin, and do a light coat on the outside

if that dosnt work, id guess i would rip it off and try somthing else

 

[fo0manchu 10+ year member]

lycra spandex? I guess people use whatever they can get. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif but if the material you are using has too fine of weaves, like im assuming the spandex does, the resin will not soak in. Especially if the material is water resistant or has some kinda water resistant film on it. Doesn't water bead off of lycra spandex? Anyways, I would wait till it dries, bend the corner a little to see if the resin just cracks right off of the stuff. If it does, trash it and start over. If your shaping your box to something in your car right now, just stick with f/g mat. A lot easier, then you can cover it with whatever you want after you pulled it off.

 

[ruckus]

I am going to go into the inside and use a resin and Cabosil mixture to strenthen it (should I add strands to this mixture?).

yes add chopped strands to it.

 

[Cajundude 10+ year member]

lycra spandex? I guess people use whatever they can get. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif but if the material you are using has too fine of weaves, like im assuming the spandex does, the resin will not soak in. Especially if the material is water resistant or has some kinda water resistant film on it. Doesn't water bead off of lycra spandex? Anyways, I would wait till it dries, bend the corner a little to see if the resin just cracks right off of the stuff. If it does, trash it and start over. If your shaping your box to something in your car right now, just stick with f/g mat. A lot easier, then you can cover it with whatever you want after you pulled it off.

Didn't use whatever I could get. I thought it would be good because of the stretchability. This is my first box build. Live and learn. If I knew what stuff was better and it cost $30 a yard I would buy it so that is not the issue. I asked this question on this forum before applying the stuff and was told it would be ok. In any event, it will turn out good, just a little extra work on finishing. I will use a different material on the second box for the car. I am building two, I decided to finish one completely so I could learn from mistakes just like this one.

ruckus - thanks! will do.

 

[ruckus]

What I use is the material thats the long shirts that women use for night gowns is. its like $3 a yard around here and besides the friggin duckies or little angels it works pretty good //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[fo0manchu 10+ year member]

Didn't use whatever I could get. I thought it would be good because of the stretchability. This is my first box build. Live and learn. If I knew what stuff was better and it cost $30 a yard I would buy it so that is not the issue. I asked this question on this forum before applying the stuff and was told it would be ok. In any event, it will turn out good, just a little extra work on finishing. I will use a different material on the second box for the car. I am building two, I decided to finish one completely so I could learn from mistakes just like this one.
ruckus - thanks! will do.

No worries, we all mess up a couple times before things come out right. But like i said in the last post, make sure that the resin does not come off the lycra easily. bend the corner and if resin pops right off then it is no good. Even if you cover it with f/g matt, if the resin didn't stick to the initial layer then everything after that will pop off over time. Especially in a sub box application where there will be a lot of vibrations. Good luck!

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

i used some sort of really thin spandex\nylon stuff for my doorpod. when it stretched out- you could actually see through it it was so thin. the resin soaked right through it and even made a nice bead on the inside edge that i glassed off of. then i put a few layers of matte over the top and wrapped it in suede. turned out real nice. but this was for a doorpod and i couldnt add any more layers.

just make sure the resin adhered to the fabric. if it didnt - rip it and do it with somthing else.

 

[Cajundude 10+ year member]

I think I am good. I checked the inside and it is smooth like the resin soaked through. It just didn't pull much resin since it is so thin. I will reinforce the crap out of it on the inside. The ouside will also have body filler and then painted. It is starting to look like a box finally. I guess not too bad for my first attempt ever at fiber glass. I'll put up a post in a minute entitled "first fiberglass project", standby, gotta transfer and upload some pics.