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WHAT IS THE BEST WEIGHT TO USE WITH EPOXY & GLASS

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WHAT IS THE BEST WEIGHT TO USE WITH EPOXY & GLASS

Old 01-12-2006, 08:22 PM
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marwen1
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Default WHAT IS THE BEST WEIGHT TO USE WITH EPOXY & GLASS

Well, some time ago, I'd asked "how to cut glass". There was quite a variety of answers.

At this point I have laid down quite a few pieces of it and all seems to be working fairly well. At least I thought it was untill I actually sat down for an extended time and came up with all kinds of questions.

The first of which has to be: WHAT WEIGHT OF GLASS DO I USE?

Then I realize that I have all kinds of sub questions.

1) Do I use the same weight for wings as I do for a fuselage?
2) Are there primary weights to use for specific areas?
3) What is the best way to actually "apply" the epoxy?
4) As careful as I am "applying" my epoxy, there still seems to be some minute air bubbles --- Do I leave them alone or do I sand them out? --- If I do:
5) How do I "repair" the small areas that no longer have glass in the sanded out areas?
6) How do I get rid of the "excess" epoxy? and for now,
7) What grade of sandpaper should I be using prior to finishing?

... and that brings up another whole set of questions that I'm not at yet.

Such as: Do I paint over the glass or do I Monokote?

all suggestions are absolutely MOST welcome.

This project I am on has been almost a year - no big deal -- after all, this is a HOBBY.
I made a small 36" version of the AIRHOPPER and I covered it in MonoKote.
I made my share of mistakes in its construction but I find that having done that, I have a good "heads-up" as I close in on putting the 96" version together.

By the way, Bruce, I new there was a lingering problen with the bell cranks travel in the 96" -- so with the aid of my sweeties Christmas present - the DREMEL KIT - I was able to go into it last nite and was actually able to increase the travel by almost 3/8" .

comments to questions please


marwen
Old 01-12-2006, 09:47 PM
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TLH101
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Default RE: WHAT IS THE BEST WEIGHT TO USE WITH EPOXY & GLASS

Ther are some really good tutorials on:
http://www.rcscalebuilder.com/
Just click "tutorials" on the upper left of the page, and I think you will find all the answers you are looking for and much more.
There is also some good glassing info at Bayou Boy's R/C: http://members.cox.net/1454s/BBRC/BBRCx.html
Click on the "tips" button.
Hope that helps.
Old 01-12-2006, 10:41 PM
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kdheath
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Default RE: WHAT IS THE BEST WEIGHT TO USE WITH EPOXY & GLASS

<The first of which has to be: WHAT WEIGHT OF GLASS DO I USE?>
0.5 ounce

<1) Do I use the same weight for wings as I do for a fuselage?>
Yep. All you are doing is making a solid base for paint.
2) Are there primary weights to use for specific areas?
Nope.
<3) What is the best way to actually "apply" the epoxy?>
I mix small batches and pour it on. Acid brushes or foam brushes also are fine.
<4) As careful as I am "applying" my epoxy, there still seems to be some minute air bubbles ---
Do I leave them alone or do I sand them out? >
Add a drop of epoxy to the dry spots and pat them down with toilet paper or paper toweling.
Or poke them down with a brush.
<5) How do I "repair" the small areas that no longer have glass in the sanded out areas?>
Sand down and apply a little glass patch. Sand and feather it in when dry.
<6) How do I get rid of the "excess" epoxy? and for now,>
I mop it up with rolled up pieces of toilet paper. Keep mopping untill ALL the excess is gone
and the cloth is down on the wood and wet through.
<7) What grade of sandpaper should I be using prior to finishing?>
Like anything else, you start coarse and go to the fine. I rough sand the glass with 100-150
grit and finish with 220-320 WD before applying filler.

Such as: Do I paint over the glass or do I Monokote? Paint.

Other odds and ends: Remember that all you are doing is building a stable base for paint. The resin is HEAVY, so use as little as possible. Then fill the cloth weave with lighter weight materials. I am playing now with West System epoxy and #410 filler. This filler is like 1/8th as heavy as talc. A half gallon of it weighs 5 ounces, I think. Neat stuff. sands wonderfully. Some guys use auto primer as the filler. It works great, but again, sand every bit of it off that you can to save weight.
Hope that's some help. I've glassed a lot of models and been very pleased. I am very happy with carbon fiber veil and nitrate dope, too. Easy, if stinky, and dries hard as a rock. I suspect it's lighter than glass and just as good from a paint standpoint. Needs almost no filler.

Oh, whatever you use, buy lots of good sandpaper and use it freely. It's cheaper from auto paint suppliers.

Old 01-12-2006, 11:22 PM
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Default RE: WHAT IS THE BEST WEIGHT TO USE WITH EPOXY & GLASS

I pat (or roll) the whole bloomin' thing down with toilet paper as soon as I put the resin on. It soaks up the extra resin as well and helps save weight. I actually prefer glassing and painting to plastic covering on the larger models. I burn myself on the iron more times than I would like to admit when using plastics. I have yet to burn myself using paint. Burned myself yesterday. Ouch! Yep, I'm using plastic on my Pica T28. Good luck!

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