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Fiber glassing question.

Old 03-21-2013, 02:59 AM
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stevegauth30
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Default Fiber glassing question.

Ok, so today I plan to fiberglass my first set of floats. Not only my first floats, but my first real fiber glass job too. I was wondering about all of the screw holes for mounting the aluminum frame work. Do I just glass over them and then drill them out? Do I wait till the glass fully cures, then drill them out?
Old 03-21-2013, 04:06 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

((((((((((Bristol))))))))))one of my old stomping grounds, (back in the day)(60s)
If it were me,,an what i do,(because the drill will dance around an try to go into the wood, I would take a "all" if you have one, or a finishing nail after the epoxy gets really sticky an simply use it to reestablish the hole,unless you have blind nuts , in that case youll need to fill the holes with clay of something you can dig out after epoxy sets..
I flew years ago at a water meat at "Brim-field dam"
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Old 03-21-2013, 04:19 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.


ORIGINAL: [email protected]

Ok, so today I plan to fiberglass my first set of floats. Not only my first floats, but my first real fiber glass job too. I was wondering about all of the screw holes for mounting the aluminum frame work. Do I just glass over them and then drill them out? Do I wait till the glass fully cures, then drill them out?
What I've done,,
Tape over the holes, then carefully cut the holes, cover the hole with some candle wax, , cut the excess wax flush and remove the tape,, then glass, when done I just cut the holes out and run a tap through.

Just be careful not to get the wax on the wood you want to glass,,

Good luck
Old 03-21-2013, 04:35 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Thanks for the replys. Scale only, can you explain the tape part a little?you tape over the hole, cut the size of the hole, then what? I'm sorry, just trying to picture it. Thanks again. And falcon, what kind of clay? Where do you get it?
Old 03-21-2013, 04:36 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Hey falcon, what's that, north field dam?
Old 03-21-2013, 04:40 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.


ORIGINAL: [email protected]

Hey falcon, what's that, north field dam?
no, I have flown there, its off 84 the other side of Hartford..not sure just where. Hell "Elvis" was alive,,,so It was a few years back..
Old 03-21-2013, 05:08 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.


ORIGINAL: [email protected]

Thanks for the replys. Scale only, can you explain the tape part a little?you tape over the hole, cut the size of the hole, then what? I'm sorry, just trying to picture it. Thanks again. And falcon, what kind of clay? Where do you get it?
Yes, just trim the tape back to expose the holes, then cover with the wax, once you trim the extra and remove the tape you're left with a wax plug in the hole, the wax is very easy to clean out later

What size holes are we talking about here?
Old 03-21-2013, 06:22 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Ok, I got what your saying. Just small 4 40 holes for mounting. My epoxy and hardener just came in, I think I'm going to mess around a bit first on a piece of scrap. I'm sure ill have more questions coming up. Thanks again, Steve.
Old 03-21-2013, 06:36 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.


ORIGINAL: [email protected]

Ok, I got what your saying. Just small 4 40 holes for mounting. My epoxy and hardener just came in, I think I'm going to mess around a bit first on a piece of scrap. I'm sure ill have more questions coming up. Thanks again, Steve.
Steve if this is your first time at glassing, what i do is with a small stiff tool , like a piece of hard balsa, or pine 1/8 "thick an 1" wide tapered to a edge, use it to spread the epoxy . i lay the glass on the wood (after a good vacuuming)an spread through the cloth, I never use a brush it dosent spread evenly, I never put it on the wood first, always troul it on over the cloth working from center out. use many small batches rather than one large mix.do the bottom first they are smaller an ease to do.also rember to keep the chines sharp when finishing sanding.
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Old 03-21-2013, 07:26 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Sounds like good advise falcon. What would you do where the water rudder servo hole is?should I try to find another way to rig it and move the servo?id rather not but I don't want to make my first glass job any more difficult than it has to be.
Old 03-21-2013, 07:33 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.


ORIGINAL: [email protected]

Sounds like good advise falcon. What would you do where the water rudder servo hole is?should I try to find another way to rig it and move the servo?id rather not but I don't want to make my first glass job any more difficult than it has to be.
I would go over it as if it weren't there, then once the epoxy was hard ,(a day or so)I would cut it out with a small razor saw.an then coat it with whatever paint your going to use..its a box right, like a servo box not a hole looking down into the float?
Old 03-21-2013, 07:40 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

No, pretty much just a hole. I can look at the bottom. Should I make a box? Like I said, that's how I got them. I'm trying to post some pics, but for some reason it won't let me today.
Old 03-21-2013, 07:47 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Yes you need a box ,,otherwise you'll fill them with water...you be surprised how wet it will get...also i would think about(what I am planning is to make a box with a hatch that can be sealed. an bury a push rod to move the water rudder..
Old 03-21-2013, 08:02 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Hmmm, lots more to think about. Is that pretty much common practice, or do a lot of folks take the easier route and mount the servo in the fuse with bell cranks or something?i don't want to skimp out and make cheesy floats or anything, but that's a bit of work. I guess you get what you put into it. Steve.
Old 03-21-2013, 08:26 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.


ORIGINAL: [email protected]

Hmmm, lots more to think about. Is that pretty much common practice, or do a lot of folks take the easier route and mount the servo in the fuse with bell cranks or something?i don't want to skimp out and make cheesy floats or anything, but that's a bit of work. I guess you get what you put into it. Steve.
Its winter,,,take your time,,,I have seen a golden rod bent from tail wheel to water rudder...another is to use pull pull from nose gear,,or pull pull from tail wheel...another is to soder a water rudder to the tail wheel , if its a tail dagger.
for the one i am working on now it will get a servo burried with a hatch...an run servo wires along the wire landing gear.
Old 03-21-2013, 11:04 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Post those pics when you get a chance,, Hitec has a line of waterproof servos now,, you might just be able to silicon them in if it doesn't look too tacky.

Post a pic with the servo in and out so we can see what you're dealing with.
Old 03-21-2013, 01:03 PM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Ok' I'll try in a few.
Old 03-21-2013, 01:16 PM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Now it let me. I'm not sure what I want to do. The cub that it is going on really isn't a crazy scale model or anything. Just a plain cub. I'm really considering just using a pull pull from the rudder or tail wheel. I have too many other projects right now, and to be honest, the main reason I am glassing these right now is so that I'm not learning on the giant scale corsair that I'm going to be glassing next. That's my main project, just practicing on the floats. That being said, I do want a nice , smooth looking pair of floats for my cub. Just not to take that much time away from other projects.
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Old 03-21-2013, 02:38 PM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

If that's the case, I'd just fill in that servo hole and use the nyrod method until you have time to rig a pull pull system, it works fine and doesn't look that terrible, easy system to set up.

Have fun.
Old 03-21-2013, 02:51 PM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Cool, thanks for the advise. Steve.

Old 03-22-2013, 05:30 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

Don't know what you plan to use to fiberglass your project. The easiest method is 1/2 oz cloth with Zap finishing resin.Brush on the two part Epoxy resin, use an old credit card to squeege off most of the excess epoxy. Let dry for A few hours then apply A second coat of resin and squeege off the excess. Let dry for A day, sand with 80 gritt to break the surface, then sand smooth with 150 gritt. Don't have to worry about the screw holes, they can be easily opened with A pick or drill bit. Good Luck, jmpups
Old 03-22-2013, 06:45 AM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

I'm actually using a high quality marine epoxy called Mas epoxies. Pretty expensive, but a friend of mine who is like the glass guru speaks very highly of it. I figure being that I don't have any opinion yet, I will trust his.i glassed the bottoms with 2 oz cloth, maybe a overkill, but I had it, and figured a little thicker on the bottoms won't hurt. I plan to use 3/4 oz for the rest. The bottoms seem to be doing ok. I only laid it 45 minutes ago. The test pieces I did yesterday came out good. I tried on one, filling the weave with epoxy, and with primer on the other. I like the epoxy better. Thanks again, Steve.
Old 03-23-2013, 12:32 PM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

I have another question. I put on a second coat of epoxy, scraped off all od the excess, and let cure for 24 hours. Then I pick it up and look at it, and it looks like it barely filled the weave. Did I remove too much?i would have thought it would have been a lot smoother. Do I try and skim it again? It was pretty heavy cloth for the float bottoms. Or do I fill it smooth with the primer?
Old 03-23-2013, 02:19 PM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

It's your call, building it with primer is always an option If when you sand it fibers are coming up then you may need more resin.

Good luck
Old 03-23-2013, 02:41 PM
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Default RE: Fiber glassing question.

t is it normal for it to not fill all the way on the first (actually seconc ) coat? or is it the norm to have to add another coat to fill the weave?

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