I am building a cedar strip duck hunting boat and have some questions. The boat is 4' by 15', a sculling boat. I am just about done stripping the haul, getting ready for the glassing stage and am look for some advice.
I bought 100 yards of 4 oz on ebay, dirt cheap and plan to over lap the material. I had planned on using epoxy, but a local fiberglass store is trying to talk me into using fiberglass resin instead.
The advantage is cost, roughtly 1/3 of the cost of epoxy, but what about strength? Workablity? How well will it how paint?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Use the epoxy. Much stronger and is pretty much waterproof.. Polyester resin stinks more and is not waterproof. Be sure to prime and paint over the epoxy to protect it from UV. Be sure to do a test on some scrap wood using the ebay glass and epoxy to be sure it wets out OK. Some glass is not made for use with epoxy and will not wet out properly.
ReplyDeleteNow you tell me I could have problems with my fiberglass. Damn, should have know this could happen. When you say it won't wet out properly, what do you mean? It won't soak through? Doesn't cure? Or just off color? And yeah I have decided to go with epoxy, the more i got thinking about that guy, probably the fumes over the years have done a little damage.
ReplyDeleteSome glass and coating on them that are not complatible with some resins which doesn't allow for the resin to soak into the glass properly. Just take a sample of the glass and try to wet it out on a sample of wood. The 4 oz glass should become transparent when the epoxy is absorbing into the glass. If the glass is still white looking and still easily visable then the 2 are not compatible.
ReplyDeleteHi, I would suggest that you read over the products of System Three and West Systems. Using a good epoxy intended to be used with your fiberglass is the best way to go. You have spent too much time and effort to not go with the best. Will
ReplyDeleteI called the sellor and they assured me it was completely compatable. I was more than just a little concerned. Will, How much difference is there in epoxy. I have bought the west products before, very expensive (Over $100 a gallon). An I also found www.shopmaninc.com, which has some very good prices. Unless someone says to run from them, I think I am getting all of my epoxy from them.
ReplyDeleteI've used the stuff from the shopmaninc site. It worked OK but I usually get mine thru boatbuildercentral.com. I've used their Marineepoxy brand, the System Three and the Silvertip from System Three. I like the Marineepoxy brand for the price. That's what I used for the last boat I built.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the website. I went out and looked at stuff, seemed to be a bit more expensive than Shopman. Was it better? What makes you like boatbuildercentral better? Not trying to make you defend your position, just trying to learn more. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI can't say one is better than the other. I have used the US Composites thin with med hardner and the hardner definently puts off more fumes that the boatbuildercentral marine epoxy. The 2:1 ratio is more forgiving than the 3:1 ratio not that thans much of a reason. If you can use the slow hardner in your environment then blushing is not a problem with either and it give the best pot life. One of the the most important reasons is the technical service and knowledge base that is provided by the boatbuildercentral.com folks. The link is www.bateau2.com then look at their message board. Years of information that is a real learning source for the diy'ers out there. That service and info is worth a lot and has taught me more that any other source on the web for working with epoxy, fiberglass and stitch and glue building methods. Me buying from them is my way of supporting their efforts and to help keep that info available for others. Plus I have a lot of confidence in their products. Register with them on their forum/message board. I'm gpratt on that forum and let me know your user name there. I'd be interested to hear what you think about there forum and if you learned anything usefull with your project. http://209.190.4.227/gallery/index.php?cat=10009 is a link to some of the work/projects that I have done using the info learned from their forms and using mostly their products. I'm pretty sure that whatever product you buy for your project will be OK. I just like the extra insurance and either way is going to be less costly than the over priced West epoxy.
ReplyDeleteGPCloud, Here's hoping you give them a plug over there for this independent group we have over here. Thank you for being part of WBB, you are an asset to the group and the good people we have here. -Kruez-
ReplyDelete