Fiberglassing hull

[Dave]

I'm building an old balsawood model of the schooner Emma C. berry and would
appreciate any info about how to fiberglass the hull.(Never done it
before).Thanx

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

It's pretty much the same as laquering a hull, except for
the products, and that you are "squeegee'ing in some fiberglass.

The most difficult part is getting the air bubbles out.

Have a look here for some products, and technical information, and downloadable brochures.

http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/index.html

[Greg]

Hi Dave:

I built a scratch, planked wooden model of a fat 1700s single masted
boat about 25 years ago, with thoughts of making it radio controlled.
Anyway, I decided to fiberglass the hull. Bad mistake, as it turned out.
The bare wood was workable with sand paper and filler, but once glassed,
getting rid of imperfections was like sanding steel. I would avoid it if
possible.

Wayne

"Dave" <dkudla@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:ayadnTf2EbXiU0ujXTWcog@comcast.com...
> I'm building an old balsawood model of the schooner Emma C. berry and
would
> appreciate any info about how to fiberglass the hull.(Never done it
> before).Thanx
>
>

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

You should try to get the hull as close to your finished shape as possible. That will minimize sanding.

With the right tools anything is possible.
Typical Hull construction using two project examples. (http://groups.msn.com/ModelersAndHobbyForum/typicalshiphullconstruction.msnw)


And the results can be so nice. :)

[Towboat Joe]

Once you get your hull as close as finished as possible get some
fiberglass mat that is thin, almost like thick pantyhose. I believe
it's 16 ounce. Buy epoxy resin not polyester resin. It's not as good
and really smells. Buy some spray on adhesive and spray on the hull.
lay the mat down so it sticks to the hull and cut to fit any contours
and cut off excess. Now coat on a layer of epoxy resin and make sure
it soaks the mat good. Now here's the secret!!! Take an old credit
card and scrape off the excess resin following the contour of the hull
and work out any bubbles and lines. Scrape it off good and make sure
there's no bad places left. Let it dry and give it a very light
sanding and coat againg with epoxy. You can coat as many times as you
like as long as you sand between coats. I find two to three coats are
sufficent after the initial epoxing of the mat.

[Paul Davenport]

I found a set of old playing cards useful...cheaper and you can just bin
them when finished

Davers

"Towboat Joe" <jbrown@dragg.net> wrote in message
news:59f016ae.0307121618.fac4478@posting.google.co m...
> Once you get your hull as close as finished as possible get some
> fiberglass mat that is thin, almost like thick pantyhose. I believe
> it's 16 ounce. Buy epoxy resin not polyester resin. It's not as good
> and really smells. Buy some spray on adhesive and spray on the hull.
> lay the mat down so it sticks to the hull and cut to fit any contours
> and cut off excess. Now coat on a layer of epoxy resin and make sure
> it soaks the mat good. Now here's the secret!!! Take an old credit
> card and scrape off the excess resin following the contour of the hull
> and work out any bubbles and lines. Scrape it off good and make sure
> there's no bad places left. Let it dry and give it a very light
> sanding and coat againg with epoxy. You can coat as many times as you
> like as long as you sand between coats. I find two to three coats are
> sufficent after the initial epoxing of the mat.