Thank you very much for all the good info on epoxys. Now that this job is done that ichey mat is going directly into the trash. Thanks again Rick Erickson of EXK
I wonder how the "whole arm" veterinary exam gloves would work for a job like that??? http://www.agri-pro.com/GlovBoot.html
I did a few repairs on some canoes and made a seat pan for a friends bike last year, I try to stay away from that kind of work.
I'm wondering if the mat doesn't provide a dimensionally thicker part that doesn't flop in the wind. I was looking at a couple of 32 Ford roadster deck lids, and one was made out of woven with no internal support (easily deformed by pressing on it), and another made from three layers of mat, which was solid. Of course the mat version weighed more, but it didn't deform. Does the foam work with epoxy? I think there are different types of foam (to add dimension and rigidity). For example core-mat: does that work with epoxy? One of these days almost never arrives
The company was Plastic Fab. The built stuff for everyone. It's been over 25 years. We build a lot of helicopter parts, Stuff for Lear, Beech, General dynamics. Martin Marietta. We used everything. I remember making marker light housings from epoxy and bullet proof enclosures out of Kevlar for Sikorsky.
You guys make it look so easy, always so flawless!! I tried to tell you at SM that i love your work but you really didnt seem to care!! It's OK!!! Ian
I can agree with James427. I made a shitload of '23 T-bucket bodies, where you basically had to crawl inside of the mold and stay in it for hours. By the time I made the 4th body, I was totally immune to the itching. The thing that offended me most was the resin, or more specifically, glassing..., or lets just say GLUING my pants to my legs, my shoes to my socks and then my socks to my feet, my shirt sleeves to my hairy arms, etc,etc. If you've never spilled a quart of resin in your lap and then had it kick...., well you just haven't lived!!!
worked in a fiber glass shop for 6 years and after a while it dosn't really bother you any more but once you stop whatch out your iching for weeks
Oh great... I just built a set of rear fenders for my Divco this last week. I really didn't like the mat much and wished there was a better way. I wore a painter suit when grinding the flashing off. I'm glad it was in the low 80s and not 107 like it could be here. Fenders turned out great for a first time project. So are you saying with the epoxy system I need some kind of vacuum bagging system, oven, and/or other special equip? Female mold and the new fender...
My shop partner and I used to have all our pinstriping done by Ed Roth. We would go to his house in La Mirada to drop off and pick up work. I was fortunate enough to see his last cars being fabricated and glassed in his garage and more often the driveway in front of his house. It was really kinda funny to see Ed come out white as a ghost from the garage. A particle mask is all I ever saw him work with! God bless the crazy old ways of doing things. I've been a metal man and painter now for 33 years, one day it'll catch up to me....but not today!! HAH HAH - Larry
Sorry about that Ian I do not rember who you were. We went there and back all in one day. I was real tired that day 2.30 was just to early for me and then once we parked i was just over welhmed with questions. Hope to talk to you at another show soon. Rick Erickson
one thing to watch for with mat is it has a shelf life, if you can fold it back on itself and not have the fibers break then its still good, if its been sitting around the fibers will break, then its no good anymore, its the same with string for a chopper gun. the more thin layers you do in a build up, the stronger your parts will be, only use enough resin to soak the part, to much resin and you have peanut brittle, use a roller to remove the air.
The Jalopy Journal
