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Step 6Fiberglassing
Now that you've resined the outside of the piece, it's time to fiberglass the inside. This is the most crucial part of the whole process, because the fiberglass, applied to resin will make your pieces very inflexible.
Start off by cutting the fiberglass sheet in half. then cut that in half, giving you 2-square foot pieces. Cut these smaller pieces into strips you can arrange in the bicep(or whatever other piece). If the pieces won't stay on the inside, dab glue on the fiberglass to make it stick to the insides. It's important to try and cover all the paper on the inside. if some of the fiberglass overlaps, it's no problem. overlapped fiberglass will add extra(yet unnecessary) strength to your piece.
I know I said resining the outside would be messy. Looks like I lied. What you'll be doing is spreading resin over these fiberglass pieces, thoroughly saturating them. And in this process, strands of fiberglass will stick to anything, i.e. your gloved fingers, causing them to stick to each other too.
Mix resin as usual, and spread it all over every piece of fiberglass. you'll notice that some of the fiberglass will develop bubbles between it and the paper. Smooth them out as best you can, you'll find they can be a pain when you get to sanding. But in the event you can't get bubbles out before the resin sets up, you can cut out the fiberglass that isn't attached to the paper, and patch it with resin and fiberglass.
You'll notice that as the resin cures, the fiberglass heats up. I'm not sure why, but I think it's a chemical reaction between the fiberglass and resin. That's just something I thought you should keep in mind while working, so you don't find yourself running out the door scared like a little girl.
So once everything is set (you can handle it in a few hours), the end result will look like the main photo. If the fiberglass hangs over the paper, you can cut it out. A Dremel works best for cutting hardened fiberglass. To finish the inside off, cut any strands hanging/sticking out, and trim any fiberglass that isn't touching paper. Don't forget your extremities will be in these pieces, so any protruding fiberglass could quite literally be a thorn in your flesh.
Start off by cutting the fiberglass sheet in half. then cut that in half, giving you 2-square foot pieces. Cut these smaller pieces into strips you can arrange in the bicep(or whatever other piece). If the pieces won't stay on the inside, dab glue on the fiberglass to make it stick to the insides. It's important to try and cover all the paper on the inside. if some of the fiberglass overlaps, it's no problem. overlapped fiberglass will add extra(yet unnecessary) strength to your piece.
I know I said resining the outside would be messy. Looks like I lied. What you'll be doing is spreading resin over these fiberglass pieces, thoroughly saturating them. And in this process, strands of fiberglass will stick to anything, i.e. your gloved fingers, causing them to stick to each other too.
Mix resin as usual, and spread it all over every piece of fiberglass. you'll notice that some of the fiberglass will develop bubbles between it and the paper. Smooth them out as best you can, you'll find they can be a pain when you get to sanding. But in the event you can't get bubbles out before the resin sets up, you can cut out the fiberglass that isn't attached to the paper, and patch it with resin and fiberglass.
You'll notice that as the resin cures, the fiberglass heats up. I'm not sure why, but I think it's a chemical reaction between the fiberglass and resin. That's just something I thought you should keep in mind while working, so you don't find yourself running out the door scared like a little girl.
So once everything is set (you can handle it in a few hours), the end result will look like the main photo. If the fiberglass hangs over the paper, you can cut it out. A Dremel works best for cutting hardened fiberglass. To finish the inside off, cut any strands hanging/sticking out, and trim any fiberglass that isn't touching paper. Don't forget your extremities will be in these pieces, so any protruding fiberglass could quite literally be a thorn in your flesh.
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May 22, 2010. 6:41 PMmaha raja
says:
you can fiberglass the outside as well, its just an option. I like to anyways
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Jun 9, 2008. 11:24 AMwizel
says:
do you only fiber glass the in side?
Reply
1
Mar 11, 2008. 9:38 AMspecial Edd
says:
so do you put fiberglass over the entire project, or just over the taped or glued over connections? sorry i'm kinda unsmart when it comes to stuff like th
Reply
May 6, 2008. 9:04 AMkadidlehopper
says:
no you put the fiber glass all over the INSIDE of the project
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