Fiberglass mat vs. cloth

[DragonCub 10+ year member]

Hey guys I going to be make a enclosure for my subs. It is going to be cylindrical not a box. I did a little search and didn't get a real good answer. What I want to know is should I use fiberglass mat or cloth to construct the enclosure? What's the difference between the two? What thickness (ounces) should it be?

Also how thick should the fiberglass be when it is done? I'm think something around 1/2" should be fine. I going to be using a 12" Type R sub in the enclosure. Do you think this will be fine? Any help is appreciated.

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[Acidburn 5,000+ posts]

personal preference, i find cloth easier to work with

i've heard cloth is more for strength but the matt is to get into tight corners

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

1/2" should be sufficient just make sure to work out all the air bubbles, as they create weak spots.

also I find it to be the opposite of what MR. Acidburn does. For me cloth tends to be easier to work into corners, and mat adds more strength. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[DragonCub 10+ year member]

Any other suggestion on what I should use. I will not have any corner, it is all going to be round, so would I be better off using the mat?

Also where can I purchase the mat or cloth. In one of the tutorials I read, it suggested to go to a West Marine store, LINK. I checked their website and I have a couple store close to me, But I was not able to find the mat or cloth any where. Does anyone know if they carry it or not?

Thanks

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Any marine store should carry it. As should most any autoparts store, Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart, etc...

You can order it online from several places as well. http://www.uscomposites.com comes to mind. I need to order some epoxy resin from them now that I think about it...

I personally prefer cloth over mat, but it is totally a preference thing. In my experience (which isn't all that extensive though I have gotten some really nice results out of my few projects) mat tends to come apart and I end up with random fibers soaked in resin sticking to everything but my project and a big wad of bunched up mat with fibers sticking up making a rough surface for me to sand down later. There are probably really easy ways to keep this from happening, I just haven't found them yet. I Have been using a bunch of layers of lightweight cloth rather than one or two layers of heavy material, but I'm thinking that for my next project, which will be my biggest by a lage margin, I may use two layers of thin cloth (one on either side of the cotton knit material that I use for shape) followed by a single layer of heavier cloth on either side with the weave rotated 45 degrees and finished with another single layer of thin cloth with the weave rotated bact to the original direction. Basically build a composite weave within the structure for maximum strength. Just a thought...

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

changing the angle of the stictch on the weave makes it much stronger i think, this is why matt is a good strength enhancer. all its weaves are random. and this creates a structure in all directions inside the material, as said, the downside is that its not easy to work with. it frey's easily and loves to stick to everything (espically the brush) from what ive done with it.

i like to make alot of think layers on top of my fleece, and then maybe a few layers of thin on the inside, and one nice last heavy layer of matte on the inside (so i dont have to sand)

always rotate your fiberglass, it will make it stronger in the long run, and always overlap too much. it will make it thicker\stronger and usually shorter process.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

If you guys really want to save time and money when building high strength items such as sub enclosures. You really should look into some of the biaxial mats. One or two layers and your done. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[DragonCub 10+ year member]

I will need put the brush in Acetone when I'm not using, but will I have to dry the brush before I use it again or can I just pull out of the acetone and continue to use it. I'll thinking I'll have to dry it up a little.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Dry it, don't mix polyester resin and acetone. Acetone is about the only thing that removes polyester resin. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[kwang125 10+ year member]

why not go with Knytex? i heard it's half mat and half cloth. best of both world....

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

That's what I was talking about two posts earlier. Kyntex is a name brand. Biaxial mats are actually mat and cloth stitched or woven together in one. it builds super quick and really, really strong. The only problem with it, is it tends to be a bit of a pain working the rather heavy material into tight corners. It comes in several different weights, and configurations. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[jellyfish420 10+ year member]

i just built some kicks, and used the mat i had no problems with it. and as for the brush, just use disposable brushes. i got mine for 50 cents a piece at walmart. why mess with it. . . just throw it away and get a new one.

 

[DragonCub 10+ year member]

i just built some kicks, and used the mat i had no problems with it. and as for the brush, just use disposable brushes. i got mine for 50 cents a piece at walmart. why mess with it. . . just throw it away and get a new one.

How did you lay the mat. Did you first put on resin then mat and then more resin or did you soak the mat into the resin first and then layed it? Did you use brush strokes or did you blot the resin?

Also where can I buy a fiberglass roller? I went to home depot and autozone and both of did not have any.

 

[DragonCub 10+ year member]

I'm not looking for an online store to buy the roller, I need something quick, I want to start makeing the enclosure tomorrow.

 

[DragonCub 10+ year member]

anyone know where to buy the roller? I called West Marine and they only have plastic roller. are they ok to use or do I need a metal roller?

Also I bought both the mat and cloth yesterday, is it ok to put cloth first and then a couple layers of mat and a final layer of cloth?