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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> RC Warbirds and Warplanes >> glassing hatches
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glassing hatches - 10/11/2004 11:27:54 PM   
tedster



Posts: 247
Joined: 2/6/2002
From: Houston, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Is it better to glass a wing with the hatches in place or glass around the servo openings and glass the hatches seperately. Also, when glassing the wing, should this be done in sections or in a single piece?

The plane in question is a TF GS P-51.


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RE: glassing hatches - 10/11/2004 11:36:55 PM   
grbaker



Posts: 2470
Joined: 12/12/2001
From: La Porte (near Houston), TX, USA
Status: online 		Ted
If your hatches are plywood, you really don't have to glass them. A couple of coats of primer and you will be able to sand them smooth and they will be ready for paint. If you have any balsa hatches, then I would glass them on the airframe, if possible. You will have to be real careful to keep from glueing the hatch on to the airframe.

Hope this helps.

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/11/2004 11:39:03 PM   
BobH


 

Posts: 4491
Joined: 4/1/2003
From: Springfield, VA,
Status: offline 		I glass with the hatches in place and then cut them free. You can do it either way but glassing with the hatches in place helps get the proper alignment. You will still need to sand the edges for a good fit. Try glassing one half of the top and bottom of a wing at a time. It's easier to manage the glass/resin with just half of either side being done at one time. Maybe if I had more room I might do the entire bottom or top but I don't have that much room.. One thing that does work well is to use a small roller to apply the resin. Works very well and leaves a smooth even coat.

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/12/2004 12:23:37 AM   
tedster



Posts: 247
Joined: 2/6/2002
From: Houston, TX, USA
Status: offline 		thanks for the replies. I practiced on an aileron and i did not have a roller. I used a brush and a roll of toilet paper to pick up any excess resin. It apears to have worked very well from what I can tell at this point. I am only dis-satisified in I am using EZ-Lam and this stuff takes an awful long time to set up and be tack free.

< Message edited by tedster -- 10/12/2004 12:41:22 AM >


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RE: glassing hatches - 10/12/2004 12:48:42 PM   
BobH


 

Posts: 4491
Joined: 4/1/2003
From: Springfield, VA,
Status: offline 		Epoxy takes some time to set up and be dry to the touch. I plan my glassing as the last thing in the evening and let it cure till the next evening. Polyester resin cures a lot quicker but you have the odor which some find to be a problem.
The rollers can be purchased at Home Depot. They are foam and you can get refills. There are Hobby people who sell them as well and they are made a little different, more like a regular paint roller but smaller. I think Aero Composits may carry them.

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/12/2004 1:03:37 PM   
grbaker



Posts: 2470
Joined: 12/12/2001
From: La Porte (near Houston), TX, USA
Status: online 		I just tried the paint roller method, myself. It works very well. If you get too much epoxy on an area, all you have to do is keep rolling over a larger and larger area. As you do, the roller gets drier (less epoxy) and it picks up the excess. The finish ends up very uniform. This was my first time using the West Systems epoxy and I really like the pump system they use to dispense the epoxy. I used their slow hardener and I had to wait overnight for it to cure. I used a small paint roller (4" handle and I took 9" rollers and cut them into 3 - 3" rollers on my bandsaw. It comes out cheaper than buying the 4" rollers and worked great.

< Message edited by grbaker -- 10/12/2004 1:09:28 PM >

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/12/2004 7:13:54 PM   
tedster



Posts: 247
Joined: 2/6/2002
From: Houston, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Great Idea on the rollers. I'll stop by HD tonight and get a couple. I am assuming a short knap is best? Do you use a small tray for mixing your epoxy or just a clean empty butter container? I checked my test aileron this morning and all set very good. Looks like I'll be busy tonight.


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RE: glassing hatches - 10/12/2004 7:37:21 PM   
Warbirdz01


 

Posts: 232
Joined: 1/15/2004
From: Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Ted....I've had the best results by putting the resin on with a brush and sqeegeeing the excess off with a body filler applicator....it also helps keep the weight off...........I just make the panels and glass them separately......using the same method.........you'll find a number of ways to do this.....and all work pretty well....just have to pick the one that your most comfortable doing........Bill......

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/12/2004 7:38:14 PM   
BobH


 

Posts: 4491
Joined: 4/1/2003
From: Springfield, VA,
Status: offline 		You can buy the small, white foam rollers when you go to HD. They are the short nap variety. I didn't use a pan to put my epoxy in. What I do is mix the epoxy in a normal cup and then I pour the mix right down the middle of the wing. I then use the roller to spread the epoxy evenly across the wing. When you're finished you'll get a nice even, level finish.

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/12/2004 9:47:31 PM   
nauticom


 

Posts: 105
Joined: 5/30/2002
From: Gibsonia, PA, USA
Status: offline 		tedster
I would like to add a comment or two about your glassing project.
First off I experimented with different methods, polyester resins, etc. before settling in on Aerospace Composite Products EZ-LAM.
I talked to them and got their 30 cure version. I believe it cure rate is tied to ambient temp's. Anyway, the thing I wanted to describe was the use of thinning agents to this glassing thing.
I had noted a number of RCU posters describing getting very light glassing results using thinned EZ_LAM and water based urethane (min wax). I can tell you, after going half way through a 1/6 scale bird that the results were unbelievable; smooth, light. Try this on your next surface: mix your EZ-LAM, say 1/2 oz and 1/4 oz. MIX. Then add 3/8 oz of 91% isopropyl alcohol to this, apply with a brush. You need do nothing else till it cures. I usually leave it over night like the other posters have mentioned. This thinned application (I also should mention I use 1/2 oz glass cloth from ACP) will be like milk when you are applying it and it goings on very thin, wetting the glass and wood. To finish the glassing, I go to HD and get the aforementioned water based urethane, again it is thin and goes on very thin, filling the rest of the cloth weave. Light sand (320grit) between coats. Two or three coats of this stuff does it. Prime it with automotive body primer (scratch and fill primer), sand that off, and you have a finish that is as smooth as glass, light, ready to prime and paint.

Try it , you will not believe haw easy this is to and haw little sanding is involver and haw smooth a surface you end up with and best of all light---light.

Bob Masterson
nauticom

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/12/2004 10:06:02 PM   
grbaker



Posts: 2470
Joined: 12/12/2001
From: La Porte (near Houston), TX, USA
Status: online
quote:

I didn't use a pan to put my epoxy in. What I do is mix the epoxy in a normal cup and then I pour the mix right down the middle of the wing. I then use the roller to spread the epoxy evenly across the wing. When you're finished you'll get a nice even, level finish.


I used the same method as BoBH. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/13/2004 4:40:16 AM   
the-plumber


 

Posts: 1390
Joined: 8/3/2004
From: East Cobb County, GA, USA
Status: offline 		Since you're going to The BORG anyway, why not nab a gallon of denatured alcohol ?

Has less water than isopropyl and you can thin the epoxy up to 50% for skinning. That makes the epoxy _really_ easy to apply and even easier to get the excess off.

Increases the cure time by 4X or so, but when cured it's as hard as a rock.

Lower thinning rates work well also, but I'm in hotLanta and prefer the slower cure time of the 50% mix because it gives plenty of time for entrained moisture to evaporate. Sometimes the RH down heah is _primeval_, y'know ?

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Fred McClellan

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RE: glassing hatches - 10/19/2004 4:05:04 PM   
tedster



Posts: 247
Joined: 2/6/2002
From: Houston, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Bob,

Thanks for the info. A couple more questions if I may?

How long do you let the EZ-Lam cure before surface sanding? And do you wipe the oily feeling surface down before sanding and applying the poly? If so, what do you use to wipe it down?

I noticed the parts really becoming lighter in color as time goes on. I'm sure this is just the resin continuing the to cure.


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TIA, Ted

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