Using Sheet Glass To Lay Up Fiberglass

Work in a well ventilated area.

Using sheet glass to lay up fiberglass.

Lay mat on or in your form and spread the resin mixture over it with a disposable paint brush. The mat or cloth will seem to melt into the resin as you spread it and you can use the brush and additional coats of resin to build up the layer of fiberglass to a thickness of up to 1 4 inch 0 6 cm. Fiberglass is a very durable material that will bond to almost any surface including plastic metal wood and styrofoam. For one square foot use about 1 cup of prepared fiberglass resin.

Lay one of the sheets of fiberglass on the surface. Glass cloth aka bi axial woven fabric aka bi axial. On a small lay up the fiberglass laminate which hangs over the edge of the mold can be trimmed off easily with a razor knife if you catch the trim stage of the period after the lay up has gelled but before it has hardened. This will ruin your project.

The styrene in polyester and vinyl ester resins evaporate into the air during lay up. The list below contains common designations for this material. However this section will cover glass fiber specifically. On a larger lay up it can be trimmed with a saw or diamond blade.

If you must use several pieces line them up next to each other with as little gap between them as possible. For laying up fiberglass on hard. The following video demonstrates the basic lay up technique to fabricate a fiberglass laminate. Too warm and it will harden too quickly.

As noted above the fiber does not have to be glass. Protect your skin and eyes by wearing gloves eye protection and clothes to cover the skin. The fabric to resin ratio was carefully calculated to yield a maximum of 35 resin content and process demonstrate how to produce low porosity or entrapped air bubbles large voids and microscopic porosity within the laminate. Working with fiberglass and resin can be hazardous if you are not careful.

The fiberglass resin is a thick substance that needs a catalyst to harden. Fiberglass consists of fiberglass mat that is saturated with a fiberglass resin. Instead heat up the room to accelerate the process. Fiberglass is the actual cloth or mat made up of glass fibers.

Too cold and fiberglass won t harden.