Thread: How to Work Fiberglass Right

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Originally Posted by shine

chopper gun or hand laid means nothing. type of resin is all that counts. there are many different tiers of resins. just like paint there is good better and best with 50 qualities in each. epoxy is the upper tier, vinylester then polyesters. i use epoxy resin for any repairs , vinylester for any mold work , polyester for things like speaker boxes and such. the key to resin work is cure. best way is to wrap in black plastic and set in the sun for a while. exposed to higher temps than normal.

Shine,,I know you have had experience with glass,too,,as has Pat.. We all have different methods,and different ways of approaching things with this stuff.. I was taught in the late 70's,by one of the better guys in the industry,,who did his apprenticeship in a boat factory..He went on to become a leading light in boat repair in West Auckland,,and was actually known by many,as the pox doctor,,cos of his experience in repairing polyester yacht hulls,,some of which had spent a year or two in the tropics..Anyway,, my forte has been,for several years,repairing a lot of automotive parts,,including SMC truck fronts,and bumpers,,and the regular fibreglass truck hoods,,from Kenworth,Mack,Freightliner,etc.. All of my work is done with polyester..I have no problem with it,,and I would prefer to do my repairs,,where possible,with what was used originally.. I have a few dirty tricks up my sleeve,for SMC,,and while it's not 100% foolproof,,they still last..
I use polyester for making molds,,with a good vinylester tooling gelcoat.. As a rule,,I don't even have epoxy in the shop,,but do get tired of grinding out crappy epoxy repairs,from inside some panels laid up in poly... ,,that look like they have been whacked in with a mop,and 4 times more resin than necessary..
I usually set my layups off with an infra red lamp,then leave them to finish.. most of my stuff,that I do in my molds,stays in the mold for two days,or so before I pull them.. Hey,,the black plastic works well,too.. have speeded up the mold curing with that method..
Gunna leave it at that,cos I don't think we need to have too many disagreements in this issue.. One of the reasons I hang back from these threads,,is,that you can guarantee there will be a few differences of opinion..
Gotta say though,,most of the chopper gun layups I have seen,,are either good,,or real bad,,such as the Deco Rides Lincoln Zephyr bodies..Ya need an experienced operator,with his mind on the job,,and a good guy on the roller to finish..