Fiberglassing techniques

[Commander 147]

One thing I have felt like this forum could use more of is explainations on how to do some of the repairs we find ourselves doing. When I came here for the first time I had not done any fiberglass work at all. And I have made plenty of mistakes in learning what I have learned so far. So I thought I would share one of the techniques I learned recently in case there are others like me reading this forum that could benefit from it.

I had struggled with a good method of putting thickened epoxy into an inside corner so I could do a fillet. Now I use the following method and it works for me like a champ.

Picture #1 below shows the tools I use to do a fillet. The real key to this method is the plastic bag inside the coffee can. I push one finger into one of the corners of the bag and push it down into the coffee can to hold it until I can put the thickened epoxy in it. Then I mix up the epoxy and scrape it out of the mixing container and into the bag. I pull the bag out of the coffee can and twist the top of the bag and force all of the epoxy down into the corner of the bag that I initially pushed down into the coffee can. At this point it looks like picture #2 below.

Then I snip the corner of the bag off with a sissors and I have a bakers bag (named for the way bakers squeeze frosting onto baked goods like cookies) with epoxy and all I have to do is point and squeeze and I get a nice bead of epoxy right where I want it. See picture #3 below.

Then I use the short piece of PVC pipe with the 45 degree elbow on the end as a tool to make the fillet. Afterwards I use the drywall knife to scrape away the two ridges of excess epoxy on each side of the fillet. Picture #4 below shows the end result.

[Stephan]

great idea!

[Rico]

Hey Jerry - Beautiful work... I am still procrastinating on the genoa track installation (and the fill job visible in your pics) - Summer is here now so I will not need them until next winter...
What brand epoxy do you use? (Non blushing?) And what is your experience with it so far?
Is it Cheaper, or more expensive than wests?
What volume ratios does it require?
I'd like to find a good alternative to West System...
Thanks!

[Commander 147]

First thanks Stephan I was beginning to wonder if anyone other than me appreciated this technique.

Rico

I have switched to Raka epoxy. I really like this stuff. It is non-blushing and when it's dry I cannot feel ANY residue from blushing at all. And it is MUCH less expensive than the West epoxy. I also do not seem to have any allergic reactions to the stuff. In addition the epoxy seems to have a pretty long pot life but when it kicks it kicks quick. I use the 127 thin resin and the 350 non-blushing hardner. I buy it in the 3 gallon kit because the mix is 2 parts resin to one part hardner. Which is very easy to measure without pumps. Here is the website if you are interested.

http://store.raka.com/3gallonepoxykit.aspx