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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 3/25/2002 12:04:50 AM   
14th_Reaper



Posts: 374
Joined: 2/19/2002
From: Tulsa, OK, USA
Status: offline 		Can anyone point me in the direction of a good site that will teach you about glassing, bias of the glass fabric, how to determine the weight of the fabric, the different types of epoxy to use? I have gotten a bit confused by going to a hobby shop and asking questions, partly because I really do not know what I am asking or talking about!

What I have is a Byron F-16 that I need to start doing some of the glasswork to. I went to the hobby shop and was suggested to buy Z-Poxy. I bought the 2 packages he suggested as well as a package of 20 minute finish cure.

I need to get some type of bady filler for pin holes.

Anyway, thanks for help in advance.

Kevin
       Post #: 1

glass - 3/25/2002 12:54:44 AM   
ProfLooney



Posts: 2413
Joined: 1/18/2002
From: Moline, IL, USA
Status: offline 		well the easiest for glassing i usualy do the standard that most people do and that is 3/4 oz glass for the wings because of all the stress on them and 1/2 oz for the fuse. Now instead of epoxy the latest trend is to get away from heavy and expensive epoxy for glassing and go with urethane. I use Deft brand laquer based polyurethane but a lot of people are using the water based polyurethane because of no smell to it and there is latex polyurethane. i like the laquer based because it is highly fuel resistant with the glow fuels unlike epoxy that some people use for their firewalls thinking they are fuelproofing them well they are protecting the wood kind of but the glow fuels attack epoxy.

with urethane it is as thin as water and easier to work with and lighter.

hope that helps some I had a complete article i wrote about glassing with urethan but my website on rcworl is down for the last week and i get no response from them as to why so if i get a chance will dig it up and send it to you if you want or post it here.

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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 3/25/2002 2:17:47 AM   
GrnBrt



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Joined: 12/5/2001
From: Everett, WA, USA
Status: offline 		I used the water based Polyurethane on a 1/4 scale Cap 21 and it worked great using 3/4 Oz cloth. No smell, easy clean up and strong!!!!


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glassing - 3/25/2002 2:27:30 AM   
ProfLooney



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Joined: 1/18/2002
From: Moline, IL, USA
Status: offline 		I used water based once before art but just on a practice piece but seemed it sweeled my wood and didnt dry as well as the laquer but again i only tried this on a sample I will try the water based on my next small project and give it a second try. what size sheeting you using it on top of? I was using it over 1/16 inch sheeting on a practice wing half

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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 3/25/2002 2:35:22 AM   
Miniair



Posts: 155
Joined: 11/29/2001
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta
Status: offline 		Are you looking for strength or just a way to cover the wood?

Epoxy/resin ads strength, Polyurethane/latex ads no strength; it does hold the cloth in place so you can finish it with what ever paint you want to use.


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strength - 3/25/2002 2:44:37 AM   
ProfLooney



Posts: 2413
Joined: 1/18/2002
From: Moline, IL, USA
Status: offline 		I would tend to disagree slightly as epoxy doesnt wick into the wood as well as the urethane creating a bond between the wood and the glass. When I first heard about this urethane glassing I did some tests and was surprised. I used to be a plant manager at a fiberglass boat factory so was familiar with polyester resins which i used on my planes also for the same wicking effect. if you thin the epoxy down like most people say to it weakens its strength slightlky and also makles it softer. I will see if I can find the link to the article from a guy who did some tests on the epoxy. He supposedly had some background in chemestry. now this article was before the urethane craze and he was just doing tests but between that and my own tests I have to disagree that you dont get strength from urethane. take a piece of 1/8 in balsa and coat it with several layers of each then set them between blocks and add weight to the center and see which breaks first i think you will be surprised. and be sure to measure the amounts of each you use on the wood by weight.

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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 3/25/2002 2:50:06 AM   
14th_Reaper



Posts: 374
Joined: 2/19/2002
From: Tulsa, OK, USA
Status: offline 		Looking to glass the formers in place, then sheet the wings and cover them. Being a ployester kit, what especially do I need to worry about? Will the Z-poxy work on glassing the formers in place??

I have Z-Poxy qucik set formula (5 minute), and Z-Poxy finishing resin, and standard five minute epoxy as well as the Finish Cure 20 minute epoxy.. thanks for the quick responses..

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epoxy - 3/25/2002 2:59:37 AM   
ProfLooney



Posts: 2413
Joined: 1/18/2002
From: Moline, IL, USA
Status: offline 		Reaper for glassing formers to a glass fuse I would reccomend the 20 min or better yet the 30 minute epoxy. you want it to cure slow and be able to adjust if necessary. if you use the 5 minute you dont have much time to wet the strips and lay them in the fuse. I never used any slower than 20 minutes when working with epoxy. as for the formers you can tack them in place with a little hot glue then they will stay in place so you dont need the epoxy to cure fast. same thing when glassing with it use something like 30 min epoxy to give you plenty of time to work. especially if it is your first time using it to glass.

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fiberglass tutorial - 3/25/2002 6:50:17 AM   
majortom-RCU


 

Posts: 1583
Joined: 12/11/2001
From: Merrimack, NH, USA
Status: offline 		If you are serious about learning to handle composite materials, check out http://www.aircraftspruce.com. They have a "Composite Practice Kit" that comes with a self-training manual. They are suppliers to aircraft technicians and the home-built full scale community, but the same principles apply--especially when you start moving beyond quarter scale. Kit goes for maybe $65--money well spent if you are going to fly a thousand dollars worth of engine/servos/fancy stuff.

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aircraft spruce - 3/25/2002 6:52:33 AM   
ProfLooney



Posts: 2413
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From: Moline, IL, USA
Status: offline 		and tyheir catalog can be used as a lethal weapon as huge as it is hehehehehe

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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 3/25/2002 8:33:00 AM   
14th_Reaper



Posts: 374
Joined: 2/19/2002
From: Tulsa, OK, USA
Status: offline 		What a valuable site! There are links to an R/C Model covering site... [url]www.stits.com....[/url] thanks guys.... you probably just saved a bad finish on a jet... thanks again

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Glassing - 3/25/2002 9:54:35 AM   
Mike James



Posts: 2464
Joined: 1/19/2002
From: Anchorage, AK, USA
Status: offline 		I have a lot of info on plug and mold making on my non-commercial site, below. Just go the "Design and Building Tips" page.

There's also a lot of freely downloadable info available at http://www.fibreglast.com


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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 3/27/2002 5:13:25 AM   
Rkymtnqman


 

Posts: 1
Joined: 3/11/2002
From: CO
Status: offline 		You could try Areospace Composite Products, they have a pretty informative web site
[url]www.acpsales.com[/url]
I've had good results with their products

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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 1/12/2003 12:58:38 PM   
pat the pig


 

Posts: 6
Joined: 1/11/2003
From: Australia
Status: offline 		polyurethane is good stuff! sixteen years ago when i was a lad i couldn't afford epoxy to glass my model. My father suggested using urethane (floor finish) which after testing i used. Everyone said it would n't work cause it was to thin (like water). well after sixteen years it is still perfect. I am just getting back into the hobby and am glad i seen this thread cause i would have probabbly gone back to epoxy.

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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 1/17/2003 5:40:18 AM   
GSNut



Posts: 408
Joined: 3/22/2002
From: Thornton, CO,
Status: offline 		For a Tutorial on fiberglassing check out Dan Parson's site at

[COLOR=red]http://www.geocities.com/condorsrc/tipinfo/fibrglas.html[/COLOR]

Works for me tho I may try the polyureathane method.

Cheers

DinD


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Good Tutorial for glassing and types of Epoxies? - 1/17/2003 10:50:25 PM   
A.T.


 

Posts: 591
Joined: 7/20/2002
From: Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		refer to the information available under
"Fibreglass, Carbon, Resin Molding & Casting Cowls, Spats,Canopies etc."

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