Hackster Blaster
- Thread starter Roachey
- Start date
Tyler Zane
Open Your Eyes
- Location
- Panama City Beach, FL
Hell ya, just keep it thin and reinforce it all at once.
Vumad
Super Hero, with a cape!
- Location
- St. Pete, FL
You have to wrap the edges unless you plan to do all the reinforcing inside. Really 1-2" of overlap isn't really much when youre replacing about 4 square feet of high stress potentially high impact area.
Tyler Zane
Open Your Eyes
- Location
- Panama City Beach, FL
On the outside I would use a couple layers chop strand. It sands smooth and will give you a little bit to do the final shaping. Do all the reinforcing on the inside.
Tyler Zane
Open Your Eyes
- Location
- Panama City Beach, FL
It bonding agent that holds the strands together isn't dissolved with epoxy based resin. This makes it less conformable but doesn't mean it will not work with epoxy. It absolutely will and west systems says so in their f.a.q.
I use it on the outer most surface for finishing and reinforce with biax.
I use it on the outer most surface for finishing and reinforce with biax.
Vumad
Super Hero, with a cape!
- Location
- St. Pete, FL
You can use epoxy with chop, but it's going to take a lot to get it wet, won't be particularly pliable and will probably hold a lot of excesses resin. I already hate using chop with poly resin. I used chop with epoxy one time and won't ever again.
I use 1208 for almost everything. 10oz when I need something lighter. I use conform cloth, which is 6oz missing a strand in one direction, to cover my glass when im looking for a cleaner finish than I normally get with the biax of etc to reduce the need for body filler and sharp edges.
I use 1208 for almost everything. 10oz when I need something lighter. I use conform cloth, which is 6oz missing a strand in one direction, to cover my glass when im looking for a cleaner finish than I normally get with the biax of etc to reduce the need for body filler and sharp edges.
Tyler Zane
Open Your Eyes
- Location
- Panama City Beach, FL
I myself have used yards and yards of mat with epoxy for many different applications. It's not hard to wet out with thin epoxy resin (which should be used with biax as well). There are different weights mat just as any fiberglass, and the heavier, the harder to wet out. I just like the way mat sands smooth for finishing. To each their own.
To make chop strand mat more comfortable I roll up the piece and roll it between my hands. You can also pull it apart for corners and curves.
To make chop strand mat more comfortable I roll up the piece and roll it between my hands. You can also pull it apart for corners and curves.
Tyler Zane
Open Your Eyes
- Location
- Panama City Beach, FL
Here is an example of using chop strand for finishing. I only wet out the area I need it to bond too and grind the excess off after it cures. The second pic is after using a air grinder with 40 grit.
In your case, I'd hit the back with a air grinder fitted with a 3 inch 40 grit disk to smooth out the entire surface . I use a 3 in disk on a 2 inch base so the edge of the disk is flexible. 3m roloc is the name of the disks I use.
Then i'd cut 2-3 pieces of 3/4 oz chop strand mat bigger than the entire back of ski. Loosen them up a little by rolling them up.
Wet out the back side of ski, lay a layer of mat, wet it out, lay 2nd layer of mat, wet it out, etc.. Let the excess hang off all the edges, wetting out just a little further than the edge. Cover with one large piece of wax paper and roll out excess resin and air.
Once cured the wax paper will peal right off leaving a nice smooth finish. Take the excess that's over hanging the edge off with air grinder, leaving a 1/4 in or so. Finish the edges by hand for your final shape and hand sand the rest of the rear for a finished smooth surface that will need very little filler.
This will tie in the edge of the hull to the edge of your work so far leaving a nice seamless transition, giving you a smooth edge oem look.
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Vumad
Super Hero, with a cape!
- Location
- St. Pete, FL
I think ill give that wax paper method a test run. Ever done the same thing with bagging film or other type materials? I have the materials, but have not used them without a vacuum.
Tyler Zane
Open Your Eyes
- Location
- Panama City Beach, FL
I haven't tried bagging material. The wax paper thing was something random I tried because I got tired of cleaning rollers. It does leave the wax behind but it is such a thin layer so it never bothered me. The surface get sanded for whatever the next stage is anyways. I do wanna step up my fiberglass game in the near future with more variety of material and gel coat. I would like to try bagging film as i think it would conform to compound curves. Wax paper does great with one curve but you have to crease and fold it for compound curves.
Got the chop strand layer on there. Drilled a pilot hole for my vacate valve and the layup looks nice and thick. Can't wait to finish this thing up and get it in the water. Thanks guys! Had no previous fiberglass experience before this ski. And all the ideas and pictures are greatly appreciated.
Attachments
tom21
havin fun
- Location
- clearwater FL
pardon me for asking, but isn't 1208 a combination of chop and cloth? so you are only using poly and no epoxy?
its not a question of what he can use but what material is best suited for his needs? chop is very strong when laid thick it has no directional strength because it is not laid in a uniform pattern. uni, cloths, biax, triax and so on are orienting the material to have strength in one more directions. so if you need do spread the load in a certain direction the orientation of the material is what allows you to do that by attaching it so it bear the stresses and spread or transfer them. at least that's my rudimentary understanding. so epoxy bonds the best to old hulls, chop works best when the binder is dissolved by the proper resin to allow it to become more completely a part of the resin where epoxy will encapsulate the material. and cloth will allow you to lay it in a direction that allows you to say tie the top deck and bottom together. If you look at the original hull its a lot of chop and some biax and sometimes woven roving held together with some sort of ester based resin.
you can probably make any combo work if you apply enough of it and tie it back far enough. I have repaired x2, square bottoms, and an sxi. I last did an sxr rocker that had been done previously not so perfect. and I used epoxy and 10 oz cloth. I had to build up the outside and inside so I was able to tie together thru various holes in the hull and the rocker kit. and since the sxr is over a 1/4" thick or more I was able to really build it up and make it super strong.
if it was me I would do that same thing. lay 3 layers then cure, then 3 more cure and see where it is then. make all the layers overlap further and further out up to at least 6-8inches into the hull. if you are worried about a crack showing on the outside, grind down the glass til you hit your glass and taper that aways back this way your overlay will wrap the corner and blend. again start with 1/2 overlap and maybe do 2 -3 layers each one extending further. 6-9 layers might be overkill but it will be bullet proof.
that's what I would do but opinions vary. looks like it gonna be fun ride.
Vumad
Super Hero, with a cape!
- Location
- St. Pete, FL
Splitting hairs a little here Tom. You taught me better than that.
You know when I refer to chop that I am talking about mat held together with starch, not 1208 which is sewn together. I almost exclusively use 1208 with epoxy on all my projects (but do use other weaves or heavier biax as needed). I only use chop (mat held together with starch) on plugs/molds/parts where shrinkage is not a concern. I use vinyl ester with visual carbon.