Finishing resin or hand-lay-up resin is commonly a waxed resin. When special waxes are formulated in the resin they will move to the surface as the resin cures. This is an advantage if this is the outer surface. If you want to bond to: this, surface you must first sand it thoroughly and then '" prepare, the surface with acetone or polyester solvent.
Polyester resins may be thinned with acetone and styrene. The common polyester hardener is methyl ethyl kettle peroxide (MEK60). -Resin and hardener 'must' be handled most carefully and in strict accordance with the manufacturers -instructions. The amount of hardener or activator in conjunction `with the room or ambient temperature determines the jel time and the cure' rate' of the resin. The jel time is the period that the resin remains liquid until it turns to a jelly just before curing hard. Resin has a "pot life" and is only workable for the time before it jels; this may vary from seconds to several minutes. CAUTION-DO NOT use too much hardener. Styrene will thin the resin' and become chemically part of the cured resin. Acetone will thin the resin but will evaporate during cure. Acetone will change the characteristics of the cured resin and may result in brittleness and other unwanted characteristics.
Polyesters may be filled with a 'number of components from sawdust to pecan shells. Most common fillers are Cabosil and micro-balloons and macro-balloons. This filling may make the resin thixotropic and filled resin may vary from a slurry to a heavy paste. Macro-balloons and micro-balloons are used to make a foam-like putty that will work as a flotation foam.
Polyester will bond nicely to polyester. We stress that surfaces must always. be cleaned and prepared for bonding. The bond between two fiberglass parts, such as keel and shell or hull and deck, will be enhanced if the interface between bonded surfaces is filled with a layer of saturated matt, cloth, or filled resin. Polyester resin is frequently used to bond to wood as a glue. However among wood glues, polyester rates poor. The initial bond to wood may look all right but it has a history of delaminating. We will not rule out its use for model building. However, there are better wood glues and the best of the waterproof glues are better, many epoxies.
Fiberglass is not at its best under tension. Spread or distribute any tension . load over a wide area. The same goes for compression loads that should be spread out also. This fiberglass found in models will tear if pulled on so always spread the load - more on this later.
You must remove all waxes in order to bond to fiberglass and you can reverse this and coat surfaces with hard floor waxes during building to protect surfaces from accidental spills. Also remember to use only resin-resistant tape such as Scotch brand Cellophane tape which is inert to resins; regular masking tape may be used if not in contact with resin or solvents.
Fiberglass has the outstanding feature that when molded in curves it has very high strength imparted to the part because of the curves. On smaller models the curves of the hull provide sufficient strength for the model. On larger models you will need stiffeners. These may be ribs or bulkheads which add support to the hull. These can be of the aircraft framework type. Another stiffening method is to make a sandwich. Here the strength of the GRP is achieved by laminating a light weight core between two layers of fiberglass.
From: "Mitch Martin" 2006 August 1
Working with WEST
from John 2006 August 1
The pot life with the 105/209
combination when doing vac bagging and it allowed plenty of time to wet
out the fabric on a 60" boat, then apply mastic, then the bagging
materials, then pull the air out. I have also done 72" long 10R's and had
no issues with the pot life. Now I am usually about 70 deg, so that slows
it down some too.
Now the 105/205 can be more in the 10 to 20 min range depending on temp.
Also how deep the container is that you mix the epoxy will influence the
cure time. Deeper is faster.
Billie Geisler's comments regarding Epoxy:
I use strips of cardboard scissored from breakfast ceral boxes for mixing and applying the epoxy. I use aluminum beer cans for containers. I cut the bottoms off about an inch up the can with a curved exacto knife. I find that I can get a pretty good mix of resin to hardener by cutting the mixer cardboard the same size, then use them to measure the epoxy and hardener.
I dip the cardboard mixer stick into the resin and scrape off all that will remain on the stick, after I wind up the strings, into the beercan. Then I use another fresh cardboard mixer stick, and dip it into the hardener to the same depth as I dipped the first stick into the resin. I let it drip once before I scrape it into the beer can. The difference in viscosity seems to get the ratio about right, even though it seems that no way is the little bit of hardener that stays on the dipper is going to be enough to work. The cardboard mixer sticks are inserted vertically into the resin and hardener, and scraped on the edge of the beer can.
You can pretty accurately go from a hot mix to a slow mix by simply varying the depth of the mixer stick in the hardener. It works on very small amounts, and about two dips from a half inch wide cardboard mixer stick will be enough for a plank on each side.
I use small jars to contain the epoxy components that I am working with, and label both the jar and the matching lid as resin or hardener. That way, if I happen to dip the used hardener dipper into the resin, or mix up the lids, I don't loose my whole supply. I like horshradish jars from Kraft.
Experiment with your epoxy before smearing it on your hull, as my epoxy is about 20 years old and the ratio of hardener to resin may work differently with yours. Just vary the depth of the hardener dip relative to the depth of the resin dip, until it works for you. It doesn't take long to learn to mix very small amounts with reliable cure results.
Billie Geisler's comments regarding Epoxy:
I use strips of cardboard scissored from breakfast ceral boxes for mixing and applying the epoxy. I use aluminum beer cans for containers. I cut the bottoms off about an inch up the can with a curved exacto knife. I find that I can get a pretty good mix of resin to hardener by cutting the mixer cardboard the same size, then use them to measure the epoxy and hardener.
I dip the cardboard mixer stick into the resin and scrape off all that will remain on the stick, after I wind up the strings, into the beercan. Then I use another fresh cardboard mixer stick, and dip it into the hardener to the same depth as I dipped the first stick into the resin. I let it drip once before I scrape it into the beer can. The difference in viscosity seems to get the ratio about right, even though it seems that no way is the little bit of hardener that stays on the dipper is going to be enough to work. The cardboard mixer sticks are inserted vertically into the resin and hardener, and scraped on the edge of the beer can.
You can pretty accurately go from a hot mix to a slow mix by simply varying the depth of the mixer stick in the hardener. It works on very small amounts, and about two dips from a half inch wide cardboard mixer stick will be enough for a plank on each side.
I use small jars to contain the epoxy components that I am working with, and label both the jar and the matching lid as resin or hardener. That way, if I happen to dip the used hardener dipper into the resin, or mix up the lids, I don't loose my whole supply. I like horshradish jars from Kraft.
Experiment with your epoxy before smearing it on your hull, as my epoxy is about 20 years old and the ratio of hardener to resin may work differently with yours. Just vary the depth of the hardener dip relative to the depth of the resin dip, until it works for you. It doesn't take long to learn to mix very small amounts with reliable cure results.
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