fibreglass in genneral new builds and repairs !!

[tunnels]

I have had a quick look and cant find where anyone is asking about glassing of any sort !!
I have been in the boating industry for more years than I care to remember . built mega yachts down to small single handed performance sail craft and most everything in between, spent time working for and with a tunnel boat designer and manufacture , apart from tunnel family boats were also into F1 ,F3 AND SST 45 BOATS , designed and built a 45 that was very competitive and was still racing and in the top few after more than 10 years . speed on water is what I love most of all . have even been know to enjoy sail boats at odd time !! recently I am involved with the manufacture of family power boats in china , the company exports and I am QC for the company ! glass in general is my forte and where I have been adviser for a few people that have got into difficulties with composite engineers with no practical experience just programs and computer predictions that get it wrong more times than I care to count . so that's me !! :cool:

[Fast Fred]

hey, so you good with glass................. got a project goin . i'll get some shots , see what you think

[tunnels]

Hello
Fibreglass is what I do Making boats , repairing boats refurbishing and redesigning interior structures etc etc !
Its my full time job ! Powerboats to 7 mts is what the company makes mostly, family boats but glassing I make sure everything has to be done properly .
Past I was a project manager making 36 foot match racing yachts in South Korea , before that a super yacht 147 foot long 6000 hp!!, BEFORE THAT making F1 boats and offshore powerboats with triple EFI mercury out boards , tunnel boats of all sizes !!
Tunnel boats is where I am at my happiest and have designed and built sst 45 that used to fly like the wind !! have also made a range a smaller everyday family tunnels with cuddy cabin from 5.1 mts to 7 mtrs these were awesome boats and no mono of any design could come near for performance , handling , or useable space inside . and out in the rough left monos far behind in the wake and could not keep up !! . in a few weeks will be set up in my own business here in china ! why china ? because it a get up and move it kind of place and its also where a high percentage of the glass materials used comes from . can get any thing made specially or just run of the mill everyday buy off the shelf materials . so current project ! inbetween jobs !!:D

My philosophy is boats are beautiful and speed on water is the ultimate and even sex doesn't come close to the exhilaration and ever lasting excitement of travelling 100 mph over water !! :cool:

[Fast Fred]

pics today, hope you are still hear...........

[tunnels]

yes am still here but Pictures ??

[Fast Fred]

they did not get it to stick vary well, bubbles . so i ground it down, will be going side to side about 1 meter wide wet it out and roll it, any help on gettin it to stick to the wood would be awesome thanks

[tunnels]

WOW AN ORIGANAL CLASSIC !!
ok explain better what your intentions are and what you hoping to achieve and what materials you intends to use !where how and why ??
if what ever was put down didn't stick well then it needs to be removed as in total !!, like 100% gone ! laying new over the top of old is a challenge on its own, but over crap that some one else had do is senseless ,pointless and waste of time, money and materials !! hit one decent wave with a thump and the lot pops off !

[tunnels]

after a really close look at the picture no wonder it never stuck its over the top of a woven roving glass and never sticks well !!ever so if you get a chisel under the old glass on top it could simply rip off rather than having to grind it all off !!If you do grind be very careful not to damage the course woven glass underneath as its the whole strength of the layup that's there already !!
Old style laminating simple not that good but Typical of the era of that boat was manufactured !! Its made from Polyester resin and so is advisable to use a better resin such as Vinylester or best a epoxy but its expensive !! so give some better pictures of what you have and the size of the area !! it has a wooden keel so glass need to go up the side of I all way level with top !

[Fast Fred]

got a shot of the glass weave, its about 1 meter wide, lookin to glass the keel down so i can glue the deck on, they are sure to fly it off the biggest rollers they can find

[Fast Fred]

the bond is weak around the bubbles. thinkin DA sand with 36 or 80 over the lose stuff
thanks

[tunnels]

You really need to get rid of that olds glass 100% !! the new glass need to be over a sanded surface anyway so grinding the old stuff off is absolutely vital !!. use the coarsest grinding discs you can find !! 24 grit or 36 grit 80 grit is way to fine !! and get rid of all the old loose glass that is there . when you done that post a reply and lets have a look at what you have please !
To get a acceptable bond to the old surface it need scuffing thoroughly all over and really really clean !!! have you thought a about what resin you going to be using with your glass ???

[Fast Fred]

hi, hope you are still out there, snow has melted, almost done cleanin the crap glass off.............thanks

[JohnsonM50]

Fred, your PM's are full.

[JohnsonM50]

You really need to get rid of that olds glass 100% !! the new glass need to be over a sanded surface anyway so grinding the old stuff off is absolutely vital !!. use the coarsest grinding discs you can find !! 24 grit or 36 grit 80 grit is way to fine !! and get rid of all the old loose glass that is there . when you done that post a reply and lets have a look at what you have please !
To get a acceptable bond to the old surface it need scuffing thoroughly all over and really really clean !!! have you thought a about what resin you going to be using with your glass ???
Agreed, scraped, ground & free of all the problem junk. The wood, maybe it was still green at manufacture time? A problem of some glass boats is constant wetness & stagnant air under the floor.

[JohnsonM50]

I've done this before, rotted floor, bad glass work & another that went up on rocks. What I took away from that was manufacturers are sloppy where they know the sun don't shine. The supporting woodwork can be pathetic & the rushed post mold glass work can be even worse. Maybe it's just the boats Ive seen. Anyhow I found that to take a stiff bladed scraper & grind a slight round out of it so the corners won't dig you can get alot of the added glass off. Tap it in at a good angle & you'll hopefully find that it tears away fairly well. Saves alot of grinding. For linear cutting a 4" grinder w/a diamond blade will cut the glass well & will resist tearing deep into the wood. The same grinder tool will take layered sandpaper discs that surface grind pretty good & is small enough to get in close.
Resin, I'd say epoxy is worth every dollar, especially if this will be 'driven'. It will work over polyester & is ok on cedar too.
Glass, for difficult bends where it resists laying down Ive used blue painters tape, wax paper, etc. There is sheeting made for this if you look into vacuum bagging. The trick being to get it to lay down & be saturated initially. An idea to consider would be a fiberglass deck installer once prepped, gets materials in bulk & is used to handling large applications. Oh yeah preparation, needs to be clean, free of dust, dirt, fuel &/or oil spills, low humidity dry & did I mention clean? I hope I never talk myself into another but admire your effort. Good Luck

[Fast Fred]

she is cleanin up good with a 4" layered sandpaper wheel, just lookin for the best epoxy or resin for the best bond, she will be flyin.............

[JohnsonM50]

Ive used 2 brands, West & System 3, both seem good but West is thicker. There is an old comparison discussion on HR, would be a good read.

[Tiller guy]

I've been playing around with the West epoxy and I love it. I can't believable how well it bonds to old glass. I'm still unsure about covering it with gel coat? I haven't seen an epoxy based gel coat yet.

[zul8tr]

Epoxy over cured sanded polyester works well, polyester over epoxy generally not recommended.

[ice_spy]

Started out with polyester on my jetski days. Cheap and nasty that stuff. Rebuilt a 10ft mercub tunnel with vynalester and it stuck good. But after using epoxy, although expensive, I will not use anything less these days. High strenght, best bond and nowhere the fumes of the other two.

[JohnsonM50]

Polyester is strong but brittle while epoxy is stronger & more flexible. West is considered one of the better if not the best but is expensive. I do find however the cost varies, a local lumberyard recently started selling it & it's significantly cheaper than the local West Marine store. There's a good variation of additives & a clear coat hardener available. A good UV resistant varnish goes on nicely for a longer lasting finish.