first time fiberglasser (on the Clermont "pool boat&quo

[Forrest Scott Wood]

Hey Y'all;

My little "pool toy" Clermont-inspired sidewheeler has sat for a few weeks while other things took place; now, time to get back to her!

I am wanting to try my hand at covering her balsa wood hull with fiberglass.
For other boats and submarines to come I need to know how to do that.

Plus, it will make a sturdier and more durable boat too.
(Gotta have *something*  :wink: to leave to my stepchildren and their kids!)
 

Closest I've ever come to fiberglassing was the covering of stick and tissue rubberband powered airplanes wa-ay back in the adolescent and twenty-something years.

Who all can tell me what I need to know about covering a wooden hull in fiberglass?

thanks,
Forrest Scott Wood

[thewharfonline]

for the benefit of the future PS Alexander Arbuthnot if I ever want to make it a working model I would also like to know how to do this!

Sean
3 Weeks to Go!

[towboatjoe]

I've come up with a neat little technique for fibergalssing a hull.
I use 3/4 ounce fibergalss mat and cut it to fit the hull.
Then I use spray adhesive to hold the mat on the hull.
Next I use epoxy finishing resin from Hobby Lobby to brush on the mat.
I take an old credit card and use as a squeegee to rake any wrinkles and bubbles out of the mat and to make sure the mat is making good contact to the hull.
After it dries, I give it a light sanding and brush on another coat of finishing resin. Let that dry then do another light sanding and another coat of resin. I find about three coats to be suffcient for me, but you can repeat the coats until your satisfied with the finished product.
I have always had a nice smooth hull and just given it a light sanding before painting whatever color I want it to be.

[Forrest Scott Wood]

Hi Joe;

Thanks for the info!

Would the 5oz. cloth from Hobbico that I bought yesterday be overkill?
Or hard to work with?

As it happens, I work in a hobbyshop, but it is mostly RC Cars and Plastic Models: no one there has ever fiberglassed an RC boat or even an RC plane model.
Several customers and one employee have done fiberglass on autos though, and I asked them.
Model size stuff seems like it is going to be a bit different from automobile body stuff.

By the way, I was all through your Towboat site today looking at pictures and info: starting a 28inch long by 9inch beam twin motor hull to be considered 1/48 scale and will be fiberglassing it too.

later,
FSWood

[thewharfonline]

wow Joe that deos sound easy...is it expensive though?

[towboatjoe]

For my taste, 5 oz cloth would be too heavy. You'll have to soak it good with the resin to get it to adhere to the hull good. 3/4 oz is about as thin as pantyhose. Epoxy Finishing Resin is a 50/50 mix so it eliminates the guess work, unlike figuring how many drops of catylist to add to polyester resin while estimating the humidity that affects setup time considerably, not to mention the smell. Epoxy finishing resin can be applied indoors if needed because it doesn't have much of a strong smell to it.

Here's where I get my finishing resin. Don't buy regular epoxy resin used for adhesive purposes, it's not the same. The finishing resin has the consistency of water and is resistant to water unlike regular adhesive epoxy that will break down in water after a length of time. I've used the z-poxy, but next time I'm going to try the north East or Great Planes brand since it is cheaper and they didn't have it at the time. I like the z-poxy really well. You'll probably have to cut and paste the full url....
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0095p?FVPROFIL=++&FVSEARCH=resin&FVPROFIL=++&search=Go

Here's the fibergalss cloth I use. Scroll down to Hobbico 3/4 oz cloth item # LXL491
http://www.towerhobbies.com/listings/cat-cat-r.html

I buy my radios here too. Here in the states I think they have the best deals.

[scotfriend]

Hello Forrest Scott Wood, and all the others here at PD,

I have more than 20 Year's experience in working with all kind of fibers and resin, I have made bodywork for Porsche and Audi race cars, Gliders for the DG-Flugzeugbau company and since three years i work for the Swiss Formula1 Team Sauber.

A few years a go i wrote a little book with the title "Laminieren Leicht gemacht" ( Easy Laminating) but unfortunately  it is in German.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask and i will try to give you an answer in english.

[Eddy Matthews]

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask and i will try to give you an answer in english.

Only one question, can you get me a couple of tickets for next years formula one grand prix in England? :-)

[thewharfonline]

Eddy.....*hangs head in shame*

Wow what an interesting career though

[Walter Snowdon]

On a small balsa  model isnt fibreglass a bit of overkill? I have always found that 2 layers of heavyweight  model aircraft tissue doped on to the balsa gives a very strong and lightweight finish which is easy to sand and paint. It is also a great saving in weight. I would use this on any hull up to about 50 inches.  Regards, Walter.

[Khephre]

I'm inclined to agree Walter, although I prefer a couple of coats of glassing epoxy - the first thinned down with epoxy thinners to soak into the wood, the second less dilute and with microballoons added to fill any surface defects. Admittedly a little more weight than your dope and aircraft tissue, but much the same effect.

Having said that  our club has a couple of clowns who have that rare ability to turn our pond into an all-in wrestling ring at times. The added strength of a layer of 3/4 oz glass cloth around the bow and any hard chines can be a real comfort.

kind regards
Tony

[axel_ess]

For my model of the moyie, which is planked in basswood I am using marine expoxy over a layer of silk. Has anyone tried this before?

[PJ]

Hi there:

What brand of Marine Epoxy are you using?  The West System works fine on most cloths and can be sanded for a very smooth finish.  Other catalyzed "cold cure" resins will also work fine.  If you have not used a particular material before it's always advisable to experiment on a test piece before you apply anything on your model.  Very light (thin) materials such as 1/4 oz and silk can buckle or wrinkle while you're applying the epoxy and that's a real pain.  Towboat Joe talks about spraying the hull with a contact adhesive to tack the cloth to the hull  while you're applying the epoxy and, alhough I haven't done it, that would seem to be a very good idea.

What scale are you building your "Moyie" and can you post more details of your model and what plans or reference you are using?  Bert Learmonth of Nelson, British Columbia, Canada is probably the most accomplished (and prolific) modeler of CPR Inland Lake ships and he has built beautiful models of many, if not all, of them.

Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Regards

PJ
Victoria, BC Canada

[axel_ess]

I am using plans I purchased from the SS Moyie national historic web site (http://www.klhs.bc.ca/). I emailed them and they informed that plans were available. The plans are a single sheet in 3/32 inch scale, while the model I am building is in 3/8 inch scale.

I am going to use Bondo marine epoxy, as I have it on hand and have worked with it before it before. I will do several tests before applying anything to the hull.

I wonder about applying spray adhesive to the hull to hold the fabric in place. Wouldn't it weaken the epoxy to wood bond? Is there a particular one to use?

I am also thinking of trying some nonwoven synthetic fibre matting I have available. This stuff is very light, thin and open, yet incredibly strong. I can't tear it in any direction. The only thing is that it is in strips about 4 inches wide so I would have to lap it. Also, since I don't know the type of fibre (I suspect it is an Olefin), I will have to test to see how it bonds with the epoxy.