Resins????

[Hydrodreams]

What is the best resin for laying mat while I am restoring my viking? I will also use it on the floor prior to carpet. So it must be compatible with carpet glue. Any suggestions on where to purchase the resin? Thanks in advance!

[XstreamVking]

Vinylester resin a good resin for anything. It has a better bond strength than poly. But, If you want to save a few bucks general purpose poly resin would be a good choice also. Grinding the surface clean is the key for any glass work. As far as where to buy search for a local place (not wal mart or a auto parts place) that sells a decent amount of materials so you get some fresh product. If nothing close, hit the inter web, several big places that carry various resins. James town, composites one, fiberglast, etc....

[hsbob]

if you want to do it once then use epoxy or Vinylester resin for the coat that will bond to the "old resin". i prefer to use epoxy for all repair coats.

[LakeFever]

I was recommended epoxy as well. Is this the best solution? Only gripe Ive heard is washing it off after each cure

[Forkin' Crazy]

Vinylester resin a good resin for anything. It has a better bond strength than poly. But, If you want to save a few bucks general purpose poly resin would be a good choice also. Grinding the surface clean is the key for any glass work. As far as where to buy search for a local place (not wal mart or a auto parts place) that sells a decent amount of materials so you get some fresh product. If nothing close, hit the inter web, several big places that carry various resins. James town, composites one, fiberglast, etc....

General purpose I assume would be the same a laminating resin, I agree. And those places mentioned will have a 5 gallon pail and plenty of MEKP.

I HATE epoxy. That is some NASTY stuff!!! Strong, but unless I was vacuum bagging, I wouldn't touch it.

Have you ever worked with glass before?

[LakeFever]

Sorta, only in body repairs and bike/sled cowls and whatnot. Have a lot of auto body experience. I am planning to bag and was thinking slow cure epoxy might be the better way for me to go. Dunno for sure about much of this yet

[XstreamVking]

If your gonna use epoxy then use something other than mat for glass material. Like a 10oz cloth or a 1200 bi axial weave.

[LakeFever]

When I get to that stage Im going to list up the materials and process Im planning and ask for the yay/nay on all of it. I really did not know there was so many different glassing approaches until I joined here. Really enjoying learning all this tech, thanks all!

[flabum1017]

When I did my Baja, I used the boatyard resin from the local hardware store and biax. As said before, prep is the key..... gotta have a good surface to grip to with any type of resin. I did the Baja about 8 years ago and it's been run hard.... very hard and have no issues (except that one time my lard ass friend sat in the passenger seat, but that's another story)

[MattGreen]

Listen to what Xstream says, he will steer you in the right direction (not that the other folks were off base, did not mean that).

Having used both vinylester and epoxy in the applications you’re talking about, here’s a couple other considerations:

- Pre-promoted vinylesters (as you would buy them) have poor shelf life - max about 18 months. So make sure you will have time to get the job done, or you’ll do what I just did - toss a $150 viinylester “paperweight bucket”. Epoxies are only slightly more expensive than a good vinylester and have shelf lives of more than 3 years.

- Vinylesters are styrene-diluted and hence stink like hell and are a fire hazard you should keep an eye on. Modern epoxies on the other hand release much less vapors/odors.

- As mentioned above, if you go epoxy, it changes what types of glass you want to use. For laminating, look for an epoxy with as low a viscosity as you can so it’s easier to wet out the fabric. This is where vinylesters are really nice to work with.

And Fiberglast as mentioned has great product support and website to help with your project.

Matt

[LakeFever]

Great tips and yes indeed Xstream is on point with the tech I agree and appreciate it.

Fortunately Im good at finishing, not always good at starting because Im still finishing the previous project. I grew up with hundreds of half built dreams and too much junk around and as Ive aged I seriously limit what Im willing to own or work on so I can keep finishing projects. I dumped off some other juink this year because they had stalled. I did the buying,, but not the building so off it all went. I bought this stream not running and now its running mint with mods planned ahead so we're good there. I'm probably looking at two years from right about now starting the hull rebuild with the idea that if I commit solid hours to it I can wrap it up in 3 weeks to a month. Thats my hope anyways, we'll see. Until then im keeping a very watchful eye on the hull and will certainly be looking for smooth as glass waters to run on and avoiding chop and taking it easy mostly go cruising. It is in fine shape im sure its ok but all the other threads on hull issues make me want to restore and upgrade it before adding much more power. This winters project list is already pretty full

There a chance in early spring I might be able to squeek it in though so Im reading all these threads I can while I have some time to think on it more. It gets clearer every time I get into one of these talks

[Hydrodreams]

Thanks guys, I am going with an Epoxy Resin. I picked some up today. Got a good jump on wire wheeling and sanding this afternoon. Tried a small test spot to see how the epoxy works.

[Gordon02]

There are huge differences in the epoxies out there. You want a "laminating epoxy" for wetting 1708 biaxial fabric. I use only the 3:1 and buy all of mine from US Composites. It wets the fabric easily and gives you a lot more "working time" than Polyester Resins. The cured Epoxy laminate is just incredibly strong. 1708 and 3:1 Epoxy are my favorite boat material. Use "Peel and Ply" and you'll be very happy with every lay-up.

http://www.uscomposites.com/epoxy.html

Two things to remember about epoxy -
1) You must grind the blush away before adding additional layers to cured laminates.
2) Fiberglass Mat does not work with epoxy - it is designed for use with MEKP hardeners as used with other resins. The non-woven fibers in mat use "binders" to hold them together. That binder breaks down and makes a smooth layer when dissolved by the MEKP. 1708 glass is stitched together and does not rely on the MEKP. Gordon

[Hydrodreams]

There are huge differences in the epoxies out there. You want a "laminating epoxy" for wetting 1708 biaxial fabric. I use only the 3:1 and buy all of mine from US Composites. It wets the fabric easily and gives you a lot more "working time" than Polyester Resins. The cured Epoxy laminate is just incredibly strong. 1708 and 3:1 Epoxy are my favorite boat material. Use "Peel and Ply" and you'll be very happy with every lay-up.

http://www.uscomposites.com/epoxy.html

Two things to remember about epoxy -
1) You must grind the blush away before adding additional layers to cured laminates.
2) Fiberglass Mat does not work with epoxy - it is designed for use with MEKP hardeners as used with other resins. The non-woven fibers in mat use "binders" to hold them together. That binder breaks down and makes a smooth layer when dissolved by the MEKP. 1708 glass is stitched together and does not rely on the MEKP. Gordon

The 1708 and 3:1 epoxy from U.S. Composites is exactly what I am using. My small test spot looks great! To what extent do I need grind or sand between layers? Just scratch it up so it bonds or do I need to take off a thin skin layer?

[Gordon02]

The cured epoxy will have a shiny film/surface that I remove. If I'm adding more than just a final lay-up, then I'll grind away the shine with 40 grit. If it's the final lay-up, I'll use 80 grit and and give the surface "teeth" for grip. I then vacuum and wipe with a damp towel, let dry, then it's ready for additional layers. Using peel and ply makes this blush less of an issue and easier to prepare for the next lay-up.
One last suggestion - we found that wetting out the 1708 layers on a flat table until they are completely wet (transparent)- building the layers as thick as you want gives us tight, bubble-free lay-ups. We wet the surface that the laminate will go on with the same epoxy (vertical and horizontal) just before that laminate is applied. We then roll the laminate and remove the air. Vacuum bagging is not something I've done, but I would love to try it. My point on this is that I do not put dry 1708 down on the boat and then try to wet it out. I want fully saturated fabric applied to a wet surface. Gordon