fiberglass do's and donts? i wanna hear some mistakes!

[tank65 10+ year member]

Well after my box is done im going to cover the front part of it and the side of my trunk walls with fiberglass. ordered 1gallon of resin and 10lbs. of fiberglass mat. i just wanna hear some typical mistakes so i can avoid them.

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[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

dont swat at bees on the back of your neck while holding a brush covered in resin that you mixed really hot

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

don't mix too much resin and hardner at once, work with small amounts at a time. the sticky in the enclosure forum has a lot of good stuff

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Do: Use small pieces of fabric. Take your time. Try religiously to get rid of air-pockets/bubbles.

Don't: Use huge sheets of fiber glass. Follow the resin/hardener mix instructions as printed on the labels....you will burn your house down.

 

[enzowho 10+ year member]

A mistake I made was mixing too much resin together. I had fiberglassed about 1/2 my enclosure and thought I was getting experienced enough to mix more resin. It began to form into chunks which created a lot of future air bubbles and a crappy surface. I know its been said a million times over this forum, but take your time otherwise you will end up sanding forever (which sucks...badly)

 

[acold7dusta 10+ year member]

work in a well ventilated area. keep some tylonel (sp) around and take as many breaks as you need. crazy headaches man

 

[bjfish11 5,000+ posts]

If you can, lay all your matt on the INSIDE of the enclosure-- ie. through the sub hold, leave a panel off, etc . Less sanding this way.

 

[Big Dee 10+ year member]

Work in small batches.....

wear a respirator.....

work in small batches....

use chopmat, not weave....

and finally, work in small batches.

 

[ajm 10+ year member]

Not for the fiberglass in particular but if you do decide to slap some filler on it and smooth it out be sure to fold not stir/mix the filler as well as spend the money for some higher quality stuff. I had always used bondo or bondo premium on my own work. Up until a few months ago at school where we use evercoat z-grip the difference between how well they sand is like night and day.

As for why the folding > mixing/stirring is a big deal. It will cause pin holes out the --- if mixed/stirred.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Don't work within reach of hairy animals , specifically cats as they are notoriously nosy .

Wear a long sleeve shirt , as it's a lot easier to throw away a shirt than to get dried resin off of hairy arms . //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Don't work within reach of hairy animals , specifically cats as they are notoriously nosy . Wear a long sleeve shirt , as it's a lot easier to throw away a shirt than to get dried resin off of hairy arms . //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I hear baby powder is great for keepign glass fibers off your skin.

White pasty arms > itchy glass fiber

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Do not add sawdust to the mixture.

Work in the sunshine

If you **** at sanding, carpet is your friend.

It is actually easier than you think.

Make sure your measurements are good.

 

[PowerNaudio 10+ year member]

have a gallon of accetone handy for cleaning. if you get some resin on you, the accetone will help get it of very easily, altho its not suggested to make contact with the skin. but a little wont kill. wear a long sleeve shirt to avoid using the accetone. you can clean anything with the accetone before the resin dryes, thats including your bruch or roller so you can reuse them.

wear a mask designed for fiberglass fumes, etc. you dont want to inhale none of that crap, very bad for the lungs.

when mixing your resin till you get used to how the resin reacts to the hardner, mix in 8oz batches. you can use plastic cups. they are cheap and you wont have to clean them to reuse them.

cut your fiberglass mat or cloth to 4 x 10 piece or smaller depending on the job, it make laying it down allot easier.

if youre using a brush poke, not brush, that will get the bubbles out. and wont pull the hairs out of the mat.

dont wear any cloth that you may want to wear later. so use the ragiest shit you have. wear snikers not sandles, if you wear sandles wear socks.

dont over wet out the fiberglass. you want to use the least amount of resin and the most fiberglass. thats where the strength is going to come in to play. but make sure that there are no dry patches of fiberglass.

make sure you stir, shake, mix the resin inside the can well before poring it into a smaller container or one batch will cure faster then the other.

tape anything you dont want resin on.

you can get free mixing sticks at home depot paint department. lol

if you have any high spots on the area youre working on. make sure you knok it back down by sanding before you lay your next layer down, or youll have some air bubles no mater what.

 

[bumpweLL.nYc 10+ year member]

Just covering an mdf box? thats easy.

2 ways

Before you do anything cut the mat in pieces the same size as the panels of the box. A little spray adhesive on the mdf, roll the mat up, then unroll it across the panel starting at the longest edge so it lays right with no air underneath. Then mix your resin and work it. A roller to apply the resin followed by stipling with a brush is the best method.

You dont really want to use alot of pieces of mat because then it will build up higher in some areas, which will leave low spots that have to be filled because sanding fiberglass is a nono.

An easier way, if you have a DA sander, is just fleecewrap the whole thing. Mix your resin 1/2 gallon at a time in a pitcher with a spout. Pour it on and distribute with the brush. If it is soaked correctly it will leave a glazed finish which shouldnt require alot of sanding to get it straight. 5 mins with 100&180 grit on a DA.

 

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

thats for giving that glossy glassy look, isnt it?