aerotow1

I have a scale sailplane with a 4.2 meter span and would like to glass the wings. I have never done any glass work like this before and have a few questions. I am not looking to add strenghth to the sailplane the wings are foam core with obechi sheeting and ultra cote covering. I would like to have the durability and finish of paint. 1. Here is a material that "Fiberlay" sells and I thought it might be a good one to use, but I am not sure. Should I be looking for a woven product and not a veil type material. It sure seems light, how much epoxy does it take to wet out veil -vs- woven? is one better than the other? 2. If anyone has any input on other materials or if anyone has used this kind of material I would sure like some input. Any suggestions on this project would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan

161 - KEVLAR VEIL 0.4OZ X 39"
$17.28

Non woven aramid veil used as a surface layer giving a smooth finish combined with improved impact and wear resistance. Weight of material is 0.38 oz/sq yd. Sold by the linear yard.

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

First DON'T use kevlar! If you sand and touch the kevlar you'll have something akin to a tennis ball[:'(]

You're glassing for finish not strength so use .58 oz or .75oz fiberglass cloth. The easiest way to do it is spread the cloth out onto the wing put a small amount of epoxy on to it, then spread it with a credit card or something similar, my wife's Macy's card works great! After the epoxy is spread on the glass try to squeegee off all the epoxy you can, if it's shinny it's got to much on it still. Now take toilette paper and roll it backwards to remove more. Let cure. If you do it right you can just see the weave in the cloth and you just sand the excess glass off the edges. Now mix a small amount of epoxy with some finish coat filler, this makes it sand very easy, spread this on very thin. After a light sanding it should be ready for primer paint.

marc s

You will get lots of advice on this, but as mentioned above do not use kevlar - just a good light glass cloth.

I found applying the glass first and then the resin can result in 'dragging' of the glass fibers as you spread the resin, so I recently tried applying the resin first using a small decorators roller (foam type), this gave a really even thin coating to the wing, the next job was to 'roll' on the glass.

I used a length of cardboard tube, and rolled the glass up on it, then rolled it out along the wing, the result was a very smooth application with even wetting and very little scraping.

Which ever way you go, take time, and have all the gear to hand before you start.

Here' a link to a very informative site on all things modelling, glassing as well.

[link]http://www.airfieldmodels.com[/link]

As for paints, Klasskote, highly recommended.

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Here's a source for supplies if you were not already aware of them. In your general area as well. Just across the river from Hood River, OR, and will do online orders. They carry all the good stuff like light weight glass, C/F, kevlar, and the good laminating agents. The owners name is Pat Weaver and the pricing is better than average.

Fiberglass Supply
314 W. Depot, P.O. Box 345
Bingen, WA 98605
509-493-3464 Fax#509-493-405
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.fiberglasssupply.com