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

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.

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!!!!

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

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.

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.

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..

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.

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.

and tyheir catalog can be used as a lethal weapon as huge as it is hehehehehe

What a valuable site! There are links to an R/C Model covering site... www.stits.com.... thanks guys.... you probably just saved a bad finish on a jet... thanks again

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

You could try Areospace Composite Products, they have a pretty informative web site
www.acpsales.com
I've had good results with their products

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.

For a Tutorial on fiberglassing check out Dan Parson's site at

http://www.geocities.com/condorsrc/tipinfo/fibrglas.html

Works for me tho I may try the polyureathane method.

Cheers

DinD

refer to the information available under
"Fibreglass, Carbon, Resin Molding & Casting Cowls, Spats,Canopies etc."

Composites Information
Covering Models With Fibreglass Cloth by Jim Ryan
Fibreglass Techniques & Information
FibreGlast.Com
How To = Ironsidz
How To Articles = The Composite Store
Model Car Tech - Resin Casting etc.
Molded fuselage pictures
The Cheap Little Sucker - make a vacuum pump
Vacuum Bagging Wings
at http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~atong/
in particular the article by Jim Ryan rec covering models =
http://www.ezonemag.com/articles/1997/jimglass.htm

regards
Alan T.

Does anyone know if there are any water based polyurethanes that are glow fuel proof? I know from experience that Minwax Polycrylic is definitely not fuel proof. Thanks.

I may be the only one here that does.... but I love using polyester for all my glass finishes! I know it smells terrible, but it's quick drying, sands superbly and is easy to repair or 'touch up'. I also think that it sinks less than epoxy. Anybody else out there a fan?

I am interested in trying the polyurethane method of glassing. My problem is deceiding between the worse of two evils. I am in Cincinnati, OH (outside temp around 20 degrees for the next couple of months). I can not use the laquer based in my garage because it is too cold. I build in my basement and am concerned about fumes (not to mention the open flame w/ the gas hot water heater). I am using it on a part taht is covered wtih 3/32 balsa. I have read that water based polyurethane sometimes warps and buckles 1/16 balsa - how is it with 3/32. Also, how much drying time should I allow between coats (basement temp around 65-68 degrees).

Thanks,
Keith

Fuel proof your engine\fueltank compartment with epoxy.
Outside of that... why worry if the polyeurathane is fuel proof? You're going to paint the model, your paint needs to be fuel proof.
Nelsons Paint is fuel proof to 10% nitro(Check with Nelson to be sure) . Anything higher then that requires their "Cross linker" additive.

I have used the water based poly method of glassing and find it to be the only way to go. If your wood is warping and pulling away from formers\ribs?(As I have heard some say)... Your glue method is wrong, both in amount used(or lack of), and type of glue used in the construction.
Just my 2cents.

-Mustang51

Fly 4 Fun the can on deft says allow 2 hrs between coats and do not sand between coats. laquer based "MELTS" together the layers as it is a chemical bond whereas epoxy is a mechanical bond. the laquer at 65 deg will be dry to the touch in abt 10 mins but you need to let it air for 2 hrs to evaporate the carrier which is all the weight.

Joe

Reaper,
I dont think any body adressed the pinholes,their is a polyester putty called "Icing" its extremely light weight and does the job.It comes in a tube and is made by USC I think . You can purchase this at an auto body supply store.
It takes 5 min.to dry and you can wet sand it 600 or 800 wetsand paper.
hope this helps, blacvet

I have used water based poly and found it to be very good. I give one coat to attach the cloth. Then I add some talcum powder and give it a couple coats and sand sand sand It leaves a silky smooth surface. I then apply a light primer to seal it and then paint.

With laquer based Poly U there is no pinholes as this stuff is as thin as water so it flows together nicely leaving a glass like finish that you only need to sand to rough it up for painting and to show any low spots you may have.

Joe