I just draped and spread out the fiberglass on my Chesapeake 16lt. I noticed some sharp creases in the cloth. From being folded in the shipping bag. Should I let the cloth rest awhile? The actual smoothing took me longer than expected and it has gotten a bit warm (85j to epoxy anyway.
That is fairly normal. Some folks put it on a roll to reduce wrinkles. I didn’t though. My feeling is the more I handle it the more frays and loose fibers I’ll have. I just smoothed it out with my hands. If you gently slide your hand at 45 degrees to the bias it works well. Once you wet it out the wrinkles basically vanish. I think my results are reasonably good.
Looks pretty good. I’d just smooth as best I can with my hands. I’d work from the center outward with wetting it out, drive any wrinkles from the center out, all the way to the edge where they fall away. When you get to the bow and stern if you have excess cloth you can cut a dart so it will all smooth down nice.
I formed the cloth around the bow as in the video and was going to add a patch in the stern. I assume a “dart” in a long thin piece of cloth. Does it go over or under the existing cloth?
To me a dart is a slice in the cloth. Instead of a big gob of cloth at the bow you slice it a little in a wedge shape so the pieces of remaining cloth will lie flat. You can also overlap them there but that might show up through varnish. I really don’t know. Think of it like a piece of paper, it’s flat and you want it to be a 3 dimensional shape, your options are to fold it, or cut a piece out, then join the remaining pieces and now it it makes a 3 dimensional shape.
The cloth is fairly tight around the bow but It could get pushed away from the wood in the process of wetting the cloth from the center of the boat. Is that what you mean by “gobs of cloth” at the bow?
It looks pretty flat and smooth in the photo. This is one of those things that you just kind of get a feel for as you go. Once you begin wetting the cloth everything may stay just where it is in it’s dry form but you may also find you have a little excess from doing things like smoothing wrinkles and chasing bubbles out. Don’t cut it till you know you have too much. It’s slow cure Epoxy, you have time, just move methodically and work your way from the center outward. If you see an issue just work at it patiently till it’s not an issue anymore. I bought some fancy bubble rollers but as yet, never needed them. A simple chip brush with the bristles cut down to about a 1/4" and a plastic epoxy spreader have been totally sufficient.
Jon,
I tucked the extra cloth under the bow and gently folded and taped the stern so they would stay put overnight. I will get up early tomorrow and start with the epoxy. I was going to use a chip brush at the bow and stern anyway. Thanks again.
Rob
You will want to just mix small batches, especially if it’s hot out. Get it from the cup to the boat quickly and get it spread out, this will slow the cure which is what you want.
You are welcome! It’s going to be great! Smart to start in the morning when it’s coolest out. If you want to get some practice in you could glass a piece of scrap or something tonight. This will teach you more than 100 forum posts. “Fear is an untested thought, test it, test it, then test it again.”
Concerning darts - yes, it is a cut made in the fabric to allow the displacement of excess material that doesn’t want to follow a curve naturally. It’s a standard technique used by tailors all over the world since time immemorial and is just as applicable to clothing a boat. I’ve never removed any cloth when I cut a dart, I just folded one piece on top of the other. That results in a double layer of glass over a sharp area, which is usually a good thing. With a little care and sanding, the overlap and edges end up invisible, even finished bright.
I’d also like to second the idea of smoothing the glass with your hand, but suggest that you wear elastic gloves (latex, nitrile, etc.). This is to protect your hands’ skin from the glass fibers and to protect the glass from your skin oils and sweat. Those tiny little glass fibers could get transferred to your eyes, nose, etc. and the oils and sweat could keep the epoxy from saturating the glass.
Laszlo
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I prefer a very soft bristle brush over using my hand. Doesn’t move or distort the cloth at all. It is probably one of my most useful tools on my workbench also great for removing dust off off everything all the time.
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Laszlo,
Thanks. Yes, of course, I should have worn gloves.
RobSent from for iOS.
Doug,
How do you get the dust out of the brush? No matter what I do some stays in mine and gets deposited onto the next surface that I try to clean with it. I’ve now use a vacuum on surfaces I want thoroughly cleaned. What’s your trick?
Laszlo
Laszlo,
You meant this for Doug?
Rob
Yes, I don’t know why the forum software sent you a personal note.
I use my shop vac with no attachment to clean the brush, vigorously. I would still use the brush attachment with the shop vac to prep for applying finishes. I mainly use the brush keep the daily dust buildup on surfaces down to a minimum. The secret would be a “clean room” but I’m never going to get that in my shop. I hate dust just as much as the next OCD guy.