I was really impressed by the ammount of work and

[tauruck]

I was really impressed by the ammount of work and dedication Hooch put into his cooler project. I thought about all the time and effort both he and I have put into projects. How do we learn things. By trial and error (My preferred Method), instruction and on advice of others. Working with Fibreglass or the mere suggestion of it leaves most mere mortals running for the hills screaming. Nobody wants to itch and get sticky resin all over themselves and still end up with an abortion on the work bench. In this thread I want to help those that are interested in the "Black Art" make their next experience with composites a lekker one. Terminolgy first. Fibreglass is glass manufactured like the normal stuff. Melted to a high viscosity liquid and in this case is forced through a die under high pressure. It comes out the other end of the syringe type needle as a very fine hair that is glass but because it's so thin it's flexible. From this all forms are made. The most common one is what most people are used to seeing, CSM or Chopped Strand Matte. General purpose stuff made in different weights and fibre lengths. Then there are woven fabrics in many different forms and weights from 40gr/M up to 600. The big misnomer is that fibreglass eats polyester. Fibreglass does not eat anything at all. It's glass, the same thing you drink your dop out of. The resin is what eats polystyrene. The resin in question is Polyester. The stuff that you find in hardware stores in little tins with a plastic bottle bottle of evil smelling hadener. General purpose stuff at huge cost because the middleman figured a way to buy a drum, decant it and charge more than the price of gold for 500ml. Polyester has it's pros and cons but for the purpose of this little tutorial all I can say in laymans terms is that this resin contains chemicals that break down and destroy Polystyrene. To save those of you much PT with all kinds of barrier coatings like PVA paint etc the anwer is to use Epoxy resin on your Polystyrene coolers. It is more expensive and mixing needs to be more accurate but you will use less than half the material for a lighter, stronger and way better looking finished product.

 This is a photo of the Pattern/plug for the forward hatch I'm doing for my fishing ski. What I did was cut  plywood sourced from a Harley Davidson crate to the desired shape and size. I made the ribs to fit and bonded them to the base with wood glue. Polystyrene blocks were then bonded into place with the same glue and preliminary shaping was done.

 

[tauruck]

After easily shaping the styrene foam with hand tools and a palm sander (air tool) the plug was ready to get a "Glass" skin.

 

[tauruck]

The 163gram glass fabric was laid on the plug ready for laminating.

 

[tauruck]

After lamination the plug is cured at room temp overnight. The red lines you see are in a fabric called peel ply that is removed after curing. This gives the surface a nice texture that eliminates future sanding in order to attain a mechanical bond to the next layer whatever that may be. In this case "Overkill" because the plug will be thrown in the trash once the mould is made but that's just the way I work.

 

[tauruck]

The plug ready for finals. It's been sprayed with spray filler that is beautiful to sand and after repeating the process a few more times this part should be smoother than my chrome dome and ready for the molding process.

 

[SAfish]

Great stuff Tauruck. I just wish I knew this earlier. How is the ski doing?

 

[tauruck]

SAfish wrote:

Great stuff Tauruck. I just wish I knew this earlier. How is the ski doing?

Don't ask. The missus has this thing for Italian cars. She's a collector. Fiats. Uno and Palio. Both white. Both entry level. I don't go to church much but I ask the good Lord everynight why "ME"?. Both of them have lunched their CV joints within weeks of each other. She's got a company car so these are the weekend toys. Nothing wrong with the driver or the cars really. The Uno has 450,000 on the clock, looks like new etc but this is the first time for CV's. Palio, 263,000 same deal. I hate front wheel drive cars, I'm old school. She does all her own servicing like plugs, filters and oils but now "Liefie" has to step up to the plate. I'm sitting here trying to scheme of a way out of this. Have you ever done this repair?. It can't go to the agents because they hit you with a baseball bat before you get the price and the okes that refurb CV's do a lousy job. That's her opinion not mine. Not easy doing this kind of job here. I've got all the tools and equipment to build cars here but anyone with Jack Russels will tell you that if you lie under a car they are going to pull in to help. Being licked to death by dogs under a Fiat is not a way to spend a Saturday. I don't have a life, I never go out, work here 24/7 on my own and don't have friends. The last time I drove on a public road the number plates were still yellow and made from aluminium. To add to that there's RUGBY on today. HELP. Maybe I can convince her to do it herself, she's got the manuals and the guts. Do you think I should make the suggestion? Do you think I could pull it off? Hermann, watch this space. Ski!!! what ski?.

 

[thika]

   on the Liefie story  !!!

 

You mean you just shaping and checking this boat of yours out with the eye so to speak?

...like the oke playing pinball like The Who sang about?

You must have been a naval architect i another life!!

 

Good going

Wilder as die Wildtuin!

 

 

 

[tauruck]

thika wrote:

   on the Liefie story  !!!

 

You mean you just shaping and checking this boat of yours out with the eye so to speak?

...like the oke playing pinball like The Who sang about?

You must have been a naval architect i another life!!

 

Good going

Wilder as die Wildtuin!

 

 

I always say "GENIUS is still the ultimate weapon''

 

[tauruck]

Nothing to do with skis or fibreglass. Driveshaft out of Palio. Inner boot torn, no grease on spider gears. New one on Monday. For once I didn't have problems with the Fiat. Must be German design on driveshafts. Took about 40 minutes. Yeah, the 5 Jack Russels are as full of grime as I am but they got in a good licking session between air wrench work.

 

[Freakazoid]

Hi Tauruck

I can add to this and comment that a good general purpose laminating and repair kit for any dude that wants to mess with fibre-glass would consist of the following.

Tools
A small kitchen scale 0-1kg in 1-5g increments.
Paper cups
Tongue Depressors
Masking Tape
Polyethylene gloves, food gloves not latex (if you are worried about getting hands dirty)
Good scissors
A couple grades of sand paper, 80, 120 and 220 should cover you.

Materials
A general purpose epoxy, like AMT LR or if you like SP stuff.
Some 160-200g twill weave.
A bag of cab-o-sil. (Colloidal silica, thixotropic agent)
A Bag of micro balloons (little glass balls)
Nice to have is a tape of 50-100mm wide 45degree stitched fiber.

The epoxy and the cab-o-sil and microballoons are what you will use most. Mix the microballoons in to make a nice filler and add some cab-o-sil to make it non-drip. Any large cracks or holes or corners requiring filleting is done with this. before you even put the glass down this mix can give you a nice smooth surface that is very easy to sand. Then you also have a sealed surface for when you do your lay-up, the foam doesn't suck all the resin in.

Weigh the amount of cloth you have precut and mix the same amount in resin. This is a good ratio to work with. If you go straight on the foam you'll need more resin.

Like any job, preparation is everything. If prepared correctly, you should be able to wash your hands afterwards with warm soapy water and not have a drop of resin on your clothes.

 

[Freakazoid]

The microballoon and cab-o-sil mix with epoxy is also the best and easiest glue and also makes a great filler for plywood.

Just a note, if bonding or fixing anything, use epoxy rather than polyester. The shrinkage is far less and the bond hasn't got any built in stress. The epoxy is also more flexible (actually it has a longer elongation to break) which means it will stick better as a glue.

 

[tauruck]

Freakazoid wrote:

Hi Tauruck

I can add to this and comment that a good general purpose laminating and repair kit for any dude that wants to mess with fibre-glass would consist of the following.

Tools
A small kitchen scale 0-1kg in 1-5g increments.
Paper cups
Tongue Depressors
Masking Tape
Polyethylene gloves, food gloves not latex (if you are worried about getting hands dirty)
Good scissors
A couple grades of sand paper, 80, 120 and 220 should cover you.

Materials
A general purpose epoxy, like AMT LR or if you like SP stuff.
Some 160-200g twill weave.
A bag of cab-o-sil. (Colloidal silica, thixotropic agent)
A Bag of micro balloons (little glass balls)
Nice to have is a tape of 50-100mm wide 45degree stitched fiber.

The epoxy and the cab-o-sil and microballoons are what you will use most. Mix the microballoons in to make a nice filler and add some cab-o-sil to make it non-drip. Any large cracks or holes or corners requiring filleting is done with this. before you even put the glass down this mix can give you a nice smooth surface that is very easy to sand. Then you also have a sealed surface for when you do your lay-up, the foam doesn't suck all the resin in.

Weigh the amount of cloth you have precut and mix the same amount in resin. This is a good ratio to work with. If you go straight on the foam you'll need more resin.

Like any job, preparation is everything. If prepared correctly, you should be able to wash your hands afterwards with warm soapy water and not have a drop of resin on your clothes.

Way to go dude. When I first started using Cabosil in the 80's the only place I could get it was from a company in Pta called Plastimax. When I phoned they said they only sold it in 10Kg lots. I had never used it before so I said what the heck, send it. A truck arrived with 10 huge plastic bags on it. LOl, lasted me about 12 years. You are right about the kit and everything else. You know your stuff. I just wanted to help the guys not go through all the PT with the polyester. Is this your day job?. I haven't used SP for a while now but AMT have some nice stuff and I get everything from them except "Tacky Tape" Look out for a PM.

 

[SAfish]

Sorry, I only came back now and see you had a busy day. I once changed cv's on my old jetta 2. It took me and 2 friends the whole Saturday afternoon. We drank a case of beer and listened to the rugby on the radio. After that I said I'll never touch a cv again. I took my car for a service on Thursday. They said they will have to replace brake pads. R4580. WHAT!!!! Do I get new tyres as well? No, it is so expensive because they need to replace the discs as well. Why?? I phoned my dad and he said he'll come and help me next week. He used to be a mechanic in the old days, before becoming a teacher. He turns 74 next week and he said he'll sort out my car.

 

[tauruck]

SAfish wrote:

Sorry, I only came back now and see you had a busy day. I once changed cv's on my old jetta 2. It took me and 2 friends the whole Saturday afternoon. We drank a case of beer and listened to the rugby on the radio. After that I said I'll never touch a cv again. I took my car for a service on Thursday. They said they will have to replace brake pads. R4580. WHAT!!!! Do I get new tyres as well? No, it is so expensive because they need to replace the discs as well. Why?? I phoned my dad and he said he'll come and help me next week. He used to be a mechanic in the old days, before becoming a teacher. He turns 74 next week and he said he'll sort out my car.

 

I'm glad the motor trade's getting it now. They can't sell cars so they wack you in the workshop. I changed discs and pads for under a grand a month ago. If I was there we coulda done it in less than an hour. What car do you have?

 

[SAfish]

Jetta 4 They qouted me R641 for the rear brakes (without labour). I can get ferodo pads for under R200. Crooks!! 

 

[Patrick]

Mike quality work from you again, as usual.

Excuse my questions as i'm a novice at this, but if i was building a hatch, what is the best material to use as a mould to shape the fibreglass/resin around? If i use polystyrene, will the fibreglass/resin stick to it. Or should i build the shape out of wood instead and coat it with something so that it doesnt stick?

 

[tauruck]

Patrick wrote:

Mike quality work from you again, as usual.

Excuse my questions as i'm a novice at this, but if i was building a hatch, what is the best material to use as a mould to shape the fibreglass/resin around? If i use polystyrene, will the fibreglass/resin stick to it. Or should i build the shape out of wood instead and coat it with something so that it doesnt stick?

Yup it will adhere but you must use Epoxy. Wood prepped right with a good polish and PVA release agent will be your best bet. Use wood that's not porous. Should get a nice part like that but multiple coats of polish are a must on prep. Do the wax on wax off thing. The PVA is water based and will be absorbed by rubbish like chipboard so a good polish barrier is essential. Remember that water is used to remove the release agent. PM me if you need help and thanks.

 

[tauruck]

SAfish wrote:

Jetta 4 They qouted me R641 for the rear brakes (without labour). I can get ferodo pads for under R200. Crooks!! 

Like I said. Took me half an hour tops to get the CV out but I do have air tools etc. Parts from Fiat came to R700. The gearbox oke wanted R2800. It was a torn boot that caused it, something came up off the road. Could have lunched the box. Ferodo Platinum bru.

 

[tauruck]

tauruck wrote:

SAfish wrote:

Great stuff Tauruck. I just wish I knew this earlier. How is the ski doing?

Don't ask. The missus has this thing for Italian cars. She's a collector. Fiats. Uno and Palio. Both white. Both entry level. I don't go to church much but I ask the good Lord everynight why "ME"?. Both of them have lunched their CV joints within weeks of each other. She's got a company car so these are the weekend toys. Nothing wrong with the driver or the cars really. The Uno has 450,000 on the clock, looks like new etc but this is the first time for CV's. Palio, 263,000 same deal. I hate front wheel drive cars, I'm old school. She does all her own servicing like plugs, filters and oils but now "Liefie" has to step up to the plate. I'm sitting here trying to scheme of a way out of this. Have you ever done this repair?. It can't go to the agents because they hit you with a baseball bat before you get the price and the okes that refurb CV's do a lousy job. That's her opinion not mine. Not easy doing this kind of job here. I've got all the tools and equipment to build cars here but anyone with Jack Russels will tell you that if you lie under a car they are going to pull in to help. Being licked to death by dogs under a Fiat is not a way to spend a Saturday. I don't have a life, I never go out, work here 24/7 on my own and don't have friends. The last time I drove on a public road the number plates were still yellow and made from aluminium. To add to that there's RUGBY on today. HELP. Maybe I can convince her to do it herself, she's got the manuals and the guts. Do you think I should make the suggestion? Do you think I could pull it off? Hermann, watch this space. Ski!!! what ski?.

I never want to see another FIAT in my life. Even more I don't want to know anything about Arnold Chatz Fiat in Hyde Park. Guys, if you live in the area and own Fiats steer well clear. The wife has an ultimatum. Either the Fiats go or I do. You try do stuff yourself because you just know leaving it to someone else is recipe for disaster. The spares dude couldn't even supply the right parts after being given the VIN number. I waited for 5 days for the call that the spares were there only to find out that they arrived on Wednesday and now they sent me the wrong stuff. Liars of note. The wife goes there to ask when the parts are coming and she gets told that they arrived on Wednesday but in the meantime another oke jumps on the phone to give me the great news. This Palio has been sitting in my workshop on jacks since last Saturday and I can't use my workshop because you don't want to get all sorts of dirt, sparks etc on it. Been sitting here picking my nose for almost a week. Not on.