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Covering a model with fibreglass question.

I've about finished a top flite Sea Fury and I would like to try covering it with a fibreglass then paint combination. I would appreciate any tips on the fibreglassing. I have 1/2 oz woven f/g cloth and epoxy finishing resin as a start point. So far I have been given the following following tips/ideas and would appereciate any comments, web sites that the group members could supply.

  1. Stick the glass cloth to the job with spray photo adhesive then apply resin.

  1. Seal the balsa first ( I think he said with dope) to limit soakage of epoxy and therefore weight.

  2. Scrape off all excess epoxy with 'credit card' scaper.

  1. Roll off excess epoxy with a roll of toilet (washroom to americans?) paper.

  2. Thin the epoxy with.....many suggestions from acetone to alcohol to laquer thinners.

  1. Don't fill the weave totally with further layers of epoxy, use dope and talc powder as its lighter.

Discussion on the above ideas would be a great help and any others you may have will be appreciated. Bob Tomlinson

Aussie RC Enthusiast and Rugby Fanatic.

Thank heavens the USA hasn't discovered and packaged Rugby.

Reply to
adder
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Use water based polyurethane wherever you saw dope and you will be a lot happier. The polyurethane is a lot less expensive, tougher, less smelly and easier to clean up after. You can also use the polyurethane to attach the cloth. It will also be lighter than the epoxy.

For painting, I would invest in a small compressor and automotive touch-up gun. The Home Depot would have those for less than $200 for the set. You can then spray all of the great automotive finishes available. Use an automotive filler/primer (I used Dupont Feather Fill) over the cloth and sand until you can just make out the weave. Use several coats to make sure you fill the weave completely. Clear coat/base coat systems are lighter and seem more durable than spray can stuff plus you can get any color you want mixed. Any of the polyurethane or acrylic clears will be about as fuel proof as you can get.

I can send you a picture of my Tsunami for an idea of how nice this stuff is.

Reply to
Paul McIntosh

Reply to
A.T.

I've put some comments on my website about epoxy/glass finishing recently... look in "what's on the building board" and scroll down a bit...

-- Philip Rawson

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Reply to
Philip Rawson

Hi,

The following comments are just my way of doing it and I'm not trying to start a flame war ;-)

I found the 1/2 oz stuff to be very hard to use, it seemed impossible to get it to lay straight ert the weave and it snagged and the edges frayed. I use the 50 gsm stuff instead and find it much easier. It's not too heavy for something like a 60 size warbird IMO.

What I do is lay the cloth on the bare balsa surface and dribble a small amount of epoxy on top. Then spread it out using the credit card scraper. Make sure it all wets out with no white areas but don't leave any epoxy on the surface or it''ll be hard to sand to get an even finish. Make sure there's enough epoxy by visibly checking that ll the weave has some on, but there should not be enough to form a level surface at the top of the weave.

I only ever apply a single coat and finish with hi-build car body primer. This is much lighter than more coats of epoxy and extra epoxy over the bare minimum doesn't add much if any strength.

If you apply the epoxy in an even dribble over the surface this isn't necessary. I never seal the balsa surface and haven't suffered from excess weight. Excess weight is IMHO more likely to occur if you apply several coats of resin after the first.

Yep. Use the scraper to get the epoxy through the weave of the cloth and to spread any excess to areas which have not wetted through.

Speed is of the essence !

Sounds messy, wasteful and unnecessary but some people swear by this technique. I've never tried it - a credit card scraper works very well on its own IME.

Methanol. Acetone is "a bit hard on the resin" according to the chap I spoke to at Fibretech

Never tried that - spray on cans of high build car body primer work great IME.

Once again, I'm sure there are many other ways of skinning this cat and the above is only my experience. Works for me though...

Reply to
Boo

I have used polyurethane varnish with great success. There is also a water based pux varnish if you are putting glass over foam. It's easier to apply than epoxy, can be thinned easily, and yields a more flexible film than you may get from epoxy, especially if excessive hardener is added to the epoxy mix.

Reply to
Charlie Funk

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