Is fiberglass matting necessary?

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

y?

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

haha you NEED the matting if it will be enclosing a speaker. I dont even think you can cal lit fiberglassing if you dont use fiberglass, it would just be resining... or something. Although it seems hard, you will probably get flexing with just resin. Trust me, slow down, take you time, and USE THE MAT!!!

****it, you gave me the wrong answer!! ha ha i guess ill try again with the mat.

why is fatmatting over the glass bad?

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

I'll give you a "cheating" way to do it, may not be the best way, but I've done it in the past and it has not sacraficed any strength...

The technique:

Before each new layer of glass (after the one before is completely dry), spray down spray adhesive (3M brand works good) on the entire thing, wait for it to tack up, then cut pieces of mat and lay them on it, using more glue for overlaps. Get the entire area covered and stuck, then apply resin and saturate the mat. This technique will keep the mat in place as you apply the resin, it works well.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

I'll give you a "cheating" way to do it, may not be the best way, but I've done it in the past and it has not sacraficed any strength...
The technique:

Before each new layer of glass (after the one before is completely dry), spray down spray adhesive (3M brand works good) on the entire thing, wait for it to tack up, then cut pieces of mat and lay them on it, using more glue for overlaps. Get the entire area covered and stuck, then apply resin and saturate the mat. This technique will keep the mat in place as you apply the resin, it works well.

i hope i got some spray adhesive...

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

nope, dont have any. will spray paint or super glue work?

or hot glue gun?

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

nope, dont have any. will spray paint or super glue work?
or hot glue gun?

Never tried those, but it seems to me they would be a pain to work with and not give as good of results. Personally I'd only use spray glue.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

i found some spray glue, but my mom says it never fully dries (just stays tacky). is that a problem?

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

ok screw it, im gonna use it anyways. 1 last thing...

y is it bad to put fatmat over fiberglass?

 

[AzGrower 10+ year member]

ok screw it, im gonna use it anyways. 1 last thing...
y is it bad to put fatmat over fiberglass?

You wont be able to cover them, maybe add a few layers INSIDE the kicks, not on the outside. It will look like ass. But it seems like you dont really care anyways since you seem to like to cut corners on projects.

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

i found some spray glue, but my mom says it never fully dries (just stays tacky). is that a problem?

nope, all you need it for is to hold the mat in place while you resin, its not meant to ever provide strength in the final product

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

You wont be able to cover them, maybe add a few layers INSIDE the kicks, not on the outside. It will look like ass. But it seems like you dont really care anyways since you seem to like to cut corners on projects.

no need to be so mean. i dont cut corners, i just dont know what to do. i was just asking if the matting was necessary.

anyways, no, i dont care what it looks like cause its all gonna be covered by my midpanels anyways. so if looks is the only reason not to put fatmat over the glass, then ill do it.

i put another layer of glass on. the spray adhesive thing worked pretty well, thanx for the tip juju.

 

[temposs 10+ year member]

I've been doing fiberglass work for about 7 months now, I just this week made a custom rollpan for my 97 Explorer using foam, followed by cloth for the flat areas and mat for the corners. Here are some tips in addition to what Req was saying:

- Paint a thin layer of resin across the surface you are about to glass. This will allow the mat/cloth to stick in place, so you aren't forced to hold it down with your hands.

- Purchase an extremely cheap angle grinder with 80 grit flap wheels. Makes leveling the final product, or cleaning up edges a breeze.

- If working with matting, lay as large a piece as possible, so long as it covers a flat surface. Bending mat around corners and curves should be done in smaller pieces. If you use too big of a piece, the mat will tend to pull itself up when you are jabbing the resin in. Req's advice on ripping the mat helps around corners a lot, too.

- If a particular area of matting won't stick right away, do a heavy load of resin on it and come back in a minute. The resin needs time to break down the stuff which holds the actually fibers togeter in the mat. Should stick then.

- Grind air bubbles out after each layer with the angle grinder.

- I hate putting tons of body filler on my projects. When I am done glassing and beginning finishing, I first use the angle grinder and knock down all the high obvious spots. After this, I take a sanding block with some 40 grit and sand evenly across the entire thing for about 30 minutes to an hour. You will now see all the low spots. Take resin and mix it up with the proper amount of hardener. Use a paint brush and paint a thick coat of resin all over the surface. Quickly, before it dries, take a putty knife and run it all the way across the surface and wipe the excess off the knife and repeat. This will get the resin in the low spots, saving you a lot of filling later.

- Demand perfection. If it doesn't look good, take the angle grinder, grind it back, and try again. It is worth the extra effort to make it look perfect.

 

[AzGrower 10+ year member]

I wasnt being mean, just realistic. Every other reply states to take your time and use the matting, and every reply from you was looking for a way around it. You asked for advice, we gave it, and you dont seem to want to use it.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

do NOT skip using matting.

use it - or it will break. period.

if its a problem, rip tiny pieces off, and stick them in a layer of resin thats on the surface. then cover with a layer of resin, and repeat. if you have to do the whole thing with 3" ripped pieces - so beit.

practice makes perfect, and you wont get better\faster at it if you stop trying. it took me a while to get it down to a rythm, but once you do - it goes incredibly fast.

now does anyone wanna send me some flush baffles (router'd)? lol. i need a router //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[TPABlazer 10+ year member]

I'll throw in another reccomendation for "nut up and learn to use the matte"