Search for Fiberglass in Topics

I'm really interested in using fiberglass for the body of rc helicopter I'm designing but I've never used fiberglass before and I'm wary about the cost of this. Could anyone with experience in fiberglass help me figure out how much it may cost me?

Hey guys im building an enclosed recumbent motorcycle and i am a bit stuck. im making the outer skin. to get a working aerodynamic shape, complex curves and all i want to use some flexible sheet which i can connect to the strong points of the motorcycle. i am thinking of using that polypropilene chicken wire, and i wonder if it would be good enough to be the base of the fairing and put fibreglass on top. my brother wants to use cedar strips as a base and cardboard strips mounted over them and fibreglass the resultant mess. then bondo the lot. any ideas. i am not describing this very well. a single sheet of a flexible matting will save me the trouble of making a mould of the fairing. thanks guys.

I have a few questions about using fiberglass: what's the difference in weight? i see cloth coming in different weights like 16oz, 20 oz, 1.5 oz, and i'm not sure the difference and what weight i should use for what purpose. does the price go up as the weight go up, or vise versa? as a beginner what weight would work best for me? what's the difference between fiberglass chop strand mat and fiberglass cloth? aside from a resin, a hardener, and a gel-coat (is there any other type of releaser?) what else would i need chemical wise? what's a good place to find all these materials online for low cost? does anyone know a good simple tutorial for making a fiberglass shell from a form?

Hi i was just wondering when people make those awsome cars out of wod and fiberglass how do they get the shapes of the wood right?

I see woven or braided fiberglass (in tube, rope, sheet, band) for use as 1)  a seal where the seal is going to be exposed to high temperature (eg: stove door gasket); 2)  for use as a thermal guard (eg: tubing around electrical wire); 3)  and then used for it's' strength in resin impregnated sheet (egs: roof sheeting; mould making; boat building). My question is whether there's any difference between the fiberglass fabrics available for thermal and resinous uses? Are they interchangable? Fiberglass is fiberglass no?

First off, I want to preface I know the dangers of fiberglass fumes, and will not do anything too stupid: I'll only use it if it works and is safe. Anyways, I live in a studio apartment downtown, so outdoor space to do stuff like this is non-existent. On top of that, I don't have very many good friends in town, as most have moved away, so borrowing a hunk of lawn elsewhere is a bit of a pain. My question is: is there any sort of fume hood I could make/buy (that won't break bank) that would be big enough to work on a helmet in, and would be able to extract the working fumes, along with the drying fumes. Noise isn't a major issue, but the quieter, the better.  Alternatively, is anyone knows of any sort of trick place to work (like a back room in a hardware shop) I'm open to suggestions! Thanks in advance.

I would like to reproduce a hand rail made out of concrete, cast stone; any suggestions as to how I should go about reproducing the cast stone rail and baluster?

I spent a lot of time in the Philippines and saw that they use woven bamboo mats to make the walls of houses. While at the hardware store I saw fiberglass resin and remembered the wired.com article about the guy and the bambo bike. This got me to thinking if there was a way to use woven bamboo mats as a subsitute for fiberglass cloth. Mainly because I am cheap and not for environmental concerns. maybe hand woven bamboo mats laminated together for plywood, or use as a boat hull? maybe housing material?

Hi Guys and girls, I am new to fiberglassing. I am working on custom panels on my car. I like to work with clay being artistic and all, I can sculpt out new body panels,diffusers, Spoilers etc. I wanted to make my own panel but not sure how toget a mold created. I am working with OIL BASED clay which does not dry out over time so I would like to keep the clay undamaged from the resins or whatsoever. I want to use fiberglass as my casting. So My question is what can I use to work with my clay? How is the layer process started? What materials what I need? (Easy setup,which Brand Resins with Plenty work Time) This pic is a general idea I have to start Thanks !

I'm looking to make a helmet here soon, but, I need to make a visor for it. I know I can use a heatgun to shape Lexan/PETG, however, I have heard that using an oven is a better choice. My question being, if a fiberglass mold/template save to put in an oven? It would be a pepakura process mold. After reviewing some steps, I need to amend another question onto this: would it be better to use another material for a model? Again, I would be using a home oven, and using PETG/Lexan. The new material would have to be castable, as I would make a positive mold of the inside of the visor, to composite for the thickness of the PETG/Lexan.

A couple three or four years back I used a retired surfboard to illuminate my house address numbers. Cutting the fiberglass was a nightmare; it splintered, cracked and was nothing remotely close to precise or clean. I ended up cutting an open area in the deck of the surfboard [section where you'd typically stand]. I then used a jigsaw to carve a design of wood with address numbers inside. As an artist, I wasn't impressed with the outcome, but many, many others who've seen it seem to love it. Including those who purchased the house at our previous address. At any rate, I've been commissioned to create another, similar project. SInce it's going to be for someone else I'd really like it to be perfect; especially since my name will be associated. My question is, what tools are available [reasonable cost not an option -few hundred dollars give or take] in order to cut precision alpha-numeric characters in fiberglass or 1/8 to 1/4 wood completely through? I'd like sharp, nearly 90 degree angle on the characters/numbers. I've already tried a scroll saw on the fiberglass with less than desirable results. And the edges and corners were nothing close to 90 angles. My number '5' looked like the letter 'S'. Any help from you guys will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. The original post which Caitlyns Dad addressed. The link to the images is no longer valid: https://www.instructables.com/community/Cutting-through-a-surfboard

Has anyone made fake rocks or boulders, from fiberglass or other light materials.??

When making a composite anything, what is the advantage of having carbon fiber instead of normal fiberglass? I was wondering because at US composites, the carbon fiber is almost 9 times more expensive that the fiberglass.

I punched a hole in my tub, which is fiberglass, ad I need help patching the hole.

Hello, I have a question about the cloth to use to make a fiberglass hood scoop from a plug. A friend of mine gave me a roll of stuff called Permaglas mesh. Can this be used to construct my hood scoop? It seems to be made from polyester and it is very strong.  Another question can you used hardboard (same material that peg board is made from)  to make the plug? Thank You to all that can help me, Tony

After a decent search, i haven't come up with much.  So, does anyone know if i can put fiberglass into clay to make it stronger after firing? or would it re-melt into a bunch of tiny glass rods with no structural integrity?

I have a 12 ft Phoenix Slipper that my friend and I are reglassing, and I want to put a stow bulkhead and hatch in the stern. Any tips or suggestions?

Hey everyone, I've been thinking about a new project lately. And for that I need a lot of tips. So here is what, why and how. Introduction: I'm currently making a welding helmet out of an old beer keg as in the instructable of bricobart. When I started with it I though about using the keg as sheet material to make a papercraft mask, probably Dr. Doom or the ABC warrior Hammerstein from the first Judge Dredd movie. I quickly realised it wouldn't provide me the result I like to have, so now I'm just making the 'simple' version from bricobart. But I don't give up that easily. I also want to make something out of fiberglass and epoxy resin for a while, just to have the experience and to try it. So my quest for the perfect helmet/mask continued. I found Fallout helmets, which have tubing on which I could attach a breathing device. But finally I came to this Erebor helmet from the Hobbit. The plan: The plan is to make the Erebor helmet with a hinged visor. I am planning on using several pepakura helmet models and combine them to make the helmet suitable for my welding purpose. The hinged visor and all other mechanics like that I can work out myself. The paper helmet will then be covered with epoxy and fiberglass as can be seen in several other instructables. To make it smooth and for details, I will use car body filler. (I already know EVA foam is the better choice for the helmet, but I don't trust is with the temperature of the welding and I read things about epoxy resins not werking properly on EVA foam.) However, I never used epoxy resin/fiberglass/car body filler or any of these kind of materials. So therefor I need al the help I can get from here. What kind of stuff is suitable for my welding helmet due to high temperature (gradient)? What is the best way to go so all parts will connect properly? Is it wise to start this project?(Please don't answer no, because I will probably won't listen). Painting tips, epoxy tips, general tips etc. Thanks in advance.

I am just trying to find an easier way to mold fiberglass at a very large scale. I am thinking that duct tape would be just as good fiberglass cloth but i have never had any experience with molding or with fiberglass. If it does not seem very realistic, could someone point me to something that is a bit more reasonable?

When a neighbor's whirlpool brokedown they decided they no longer wanted the tub. they took it up and threw it away. Being into recycling I took the tub and buried it up to the rim in the ground and using all the steps used to put in a pool liner. I have my rocks and have banked the sides so that the tub will work as a pool but now I'm not sure what is the best mortar to use to adhere the rocks to the rim and the upper foot of the tub walls. Please answer as quickly as possible as I want to finish before my family reunion this summer. Thank you.

I need help on this, I'm wrapping a wood 2x4 frame in 3 yds of fiberglass cloth and some glass tape. I've never worked with it in my life and I don't know how much I should use.

Im using 3yd of 50" wide 10oz fiberglass fabric and some 2" wide glass tape. I've never done any fiberglass work before, and I have no idea how to do it. The resins are expensive and I don't want to buy more or less then I need.-how much resin/epoxy with or without vacuum bagging-where would the most cost effective place be to buy it from All Suggestions Welcome!Update: the part that is going to be fibergalssed is a bike frame made of 2x4sif you dont really know, could you point me it the general direction of the answer?\I have a very limited budget by the way

I got a fiberglass canoe for free, the catch is that the yoke is broken free from the body of the canoe, this makes 1 man portaging a little tricky and leaves the canoe itself a little wobbly. The canoe is fiberglass like i said, as is the yoke and it's broken off clean at the seam where it joins the canoe.

Hello, I am working on a project in Togo, West Africa whereby we make information commercials in the local language. Africa has roughly 3000 languages, and this device called "Mama Says," attracts the locals with films, then educates with announcements every 5 minutes in the local language. Most aid organizations do not seem to understand the locals do not speak the lingua franca language. I need a box made out of Fiber Reinforced Plastic, or something light, I need suggestions on how to find companies to do this? I need a step by step explanation on how to make a prototype, and estimations of cost? This is also for brainstorming, I am looking for ideas. Thank you, Andy Lee Graham of Hobo Traveler Com.  

I know they sell fiberglass mats that u use with epoxy for making things out of fiberglass but im wondering if i can use fiberglass insulation in place of the mats because i can get insulation for free and the mats r too expensive for me. and also, please dont answer my question by telling me where i can buy the mats or other ways of making a bow, instead, just answer the freakin question or dont reply to this question at all. thanks :)

I recently started making a helmet doing the pepakura and fiberglass process. I have the helmet made, and three coats of resin coated on the inside. But now, I need to put the cloth on the outside. SO question at hand: how do you get fiberglass cloth into tight edges? Here's a picture of the helmet to see what I have to deal with. The ear bits are where I'm having the concern at.

Just purchased an older Rinell inboard boat. Hull is fiberglass and in very nice shape but i want to clean and polish it before shutting down for the winter. It is on a trailer and will be stored under a tarp for the winter. With sooo many products on the market can someone with experience tell me which product will clean up the hull and what product to then wax it with. Thank you in advance. John

I have a large fiberglass rod about 3/4 of an thick one way, and an inch and a half the other, ye-shaped, with stainless steel wires down the points of the eye shape. it's about three feet long, and has a 3/8" hole bored about 5 inches into one end. what would be the best way to attach a handle to the bored end? i am looking to make a sortof sword out of it. my dad reccomends using a threaded rod, and threading the inside of the hole, with a wooden handle, but i'm concerned that a threaded rod would be prone to breaking, like a budK sword, and i would really like to be able to use it for combat, since i have two of them. does anyone have any ideas about how to make the handle as sturdy as possible?

I was thinking of somehow doing the tape mold of a child then covering it in cement slurry or fiberglass cement.  Ideas?  

I found this while i was taking apart a broken pool water heater, it looks like fiberglass but it also kinda looks like asbestos, i took a small sample of it, here is a picture: EDIT: it is also very fine and fibrous, the picture kinda sucks but, i hope someone can help me

I have a bunch of old PCBs laying around from various electronic projects, things I took apart and re-purposed, etc...Seeing as copper is roughly $0.25 per ounce, I would like to remove the copper from these PCBs, and sell it to a local coin shop that buys various scrap metals. I plan on sanding the solder mask off first, but after that, I don't know how to remove the copper from the fiberglass. Maybe just electroplate it onto another piece of copper? Please give me suggestions, thanks!

My house is set relatively far from the road and I'd like a large address display. I was looking to punch out the numbers [5 digits] down the center of an old surfboard, but not sure about what tools to use to get through the resin and then the foam; without shredding or splintering it. I have variable band, scroll, recip and jig saws; and a variable speed Dremel. I'd like for it to be as detailed as possible [hard edges]. I'm of course planning to illuminate it. Any suggestions, recommendations, ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

My question is after cutting a fiberglass sheet cloth , can the cloth take shape using ironing spray and some heating before applying resin , because im going to fiberglass a rc boat, but it is very slippery and there is no level between  the fiberglass patches  some details are deformed, so im thinking to put one or two complete sheets that cover every thing then resin it . is it possible?????

How to remove or clean up fiberglass/polyester resin that accidentally spilled on a rug, photos and computer (about half of 32 oz)? I am new to using the resin and I accidentally spilled it while walking near one of my desktop computers, some photos and a rug. The resin that I mixed will never cure because I didn't add enough hardener.

I'm thinking of building a small canoe by making a cheap mold and spreading the fiberglass stuff on it and popping it out. However, it is sticky. Anyone know what the stuff DOES NOT stick to. And perhaps and ideas on making a mold.

I need a way to connect these pieces very securely but 2 of the rods are off at about 25 degrees to either side of the middle one so i cant use PVC and i dont know if fiberglass would work.

I am building a robot. It will be about 1.5 meters long, about 30 centimeters high, about 40 centimeters wide ( all dimensions excluding wheels, tracks, etc.). It's body will be a metal frame with an outer fiberglass shell. The frame needs to be strong, lightweight, and rugged. It would also be nice if the frame could be welded with a homade stick welder, but that isn't a primary concern. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

So I'm building my first prop and I have a lot of duct tape used... and I mean A LOT, so I was planning on putting a layer of resin on it. But my question is would the resin work with the duct tape or would I have to put another layer of something before I can put the resin.

Hello all this is my first post on Instructables so thanks for taking the time to read ! I am looking for ideas on how i could manufacture a perfect, hallow, fibreglass sphere measuring around 4 metres in diameter (BIG) :) I have experience with using fibreglass but I am running out of ideas for how to make a plug on this scale and get it to be perfectly spherical... It has to be made from Fibreglass so i am really asking for help on making the mould. ANY help or suggestions would be gratefully received no matter how wacky ....I am willing to try anything. If your idea works I will be more than happy to name the first of these epic spheres after you !! All the best  Ben

Ibuilding a custom car body out of polystyrene foam. Any advice on what to cover the foam with to strenghten it. I was thinking abot fiberglass but was really hoping to avoid it if possibe. Any suggestions on a strong alternative to fiberglass would be appreciated.

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I saw a 'How It's Made' episode where they revealed how to make honeycomb core simply by making a paper accordion, expanding it, dipping it in resin then sawing it into cores. I WANT TO DO THAT! They said they used a thermoplastic paper as well as a heat-activated glue. But why couldn't I use a cheaper more readily available material? Does the resin provide ALL the structural strength, or does the thermoplastic paper itself provide the strength? I would assume it's like fiberglass, whereby after it's infused with resin it's super tough... but the fiberglass itself provides strength too... What kind of material could I use for this? Straight up craft paper & elmer's glue? After the cores are cured and cut, I'll sandwich them between various layers of either wood laminate, plastics, fiberglass, or carbon fiber. Thanks!

I want to glue hard plastic brackets to the inside of a fibreglass pond. Contact area will be around 18" x 2". They will be continuously underwater. Is Araldite the best glue to use for this or is there something better?

HALO 

My friend and I want to take a trip downriver but have no money we also know that many of you are experienced with fiber glassing.  The kayaks we would like to build would be sea kayaks or close to them they need some hatches in them in order to access storage areas and its important that we be able to get a bike on top of the kayak without causing too much instability.  we have a pretty good idea how to do it i was just wondering if any of you guys had any better idea or suggestion on where we can get cheap fiberglass material and tips on building it.  thanks a whole bunch.

Ok so I'm makeing a cardboard and baseball helmet daft punk mask, I could maybe seal it with something or use fiberglass but I don't know what the best option would be. I want it to look somewhat nice. If anyone could give some advice that would be great. I need it to be shiny like the original. Thanks

I am building a bullpup stock for my little brothers Tippmann A-5. I have a rough model coming together using pink insulation foam board and some lexan for the trigger group. I obviously need this thing to be strong enough to take some punishment since it will be used in paintball games, but I have never fiberglassed anything before, and I'm clueless as to what kind of sheet/cloth to use and if the resin I use will melt the foam core. Any help is definitely welcomed.

Well i'm pretty ambitious in wanting to cosplay a charcter from from favourite tv show Xena : Warrior Princess, no matter how camp and cheesy it is :-P Most of the sewing and basic pieces such as armbands wristbands and the corseted dress are easy enough to do....the difficulty will be in replicating the 'metal armour' especially the breastplate Xena wears...and possibly the  Chakram (that round frizbee like throwing thing :P ) So i've been looking around at different methods trying to get an all round idea of the best way to go about it, keeping in mind i'd want to keep this costume forever if possible (with a $2000 price of a Xena costume from Todd's costumes not being ideal) ...i want authenticity, with the armour being a strong and sturdy as possible with a DIY. Saying that the various instructables for Halo seem to be the way to go: Having seen three awesome tutorials that i could definitely see myself end up using: https://www.instructables.com/id/Halo-ODST-Armor-Helmet-Part-1-of-6-of-ODST-Armo/ https://www.instructables.com/id/Using-Paper-Resin-and-Fiberglass-to-be-the-Maste/ https://www.instructables.com/id/Build-Halo-Armor/?&sort;=ACTIVE&limit;=40&offset;=40 Going the Halo armour route honestly seem the easiest. As while i would love to get as close to authentic metal battle armour as possible....there is time, money, and skills to consider. Also through looking here: http://www.therpf.com/f24/need-help-xena-armor-85017/ I've seen that it might be quite possible to create a two piece mould to cast the items. This would involve making a paper mache cast of my chest...creating the shape of the breast plate onto that....removing the breast plate...probably shaped out of nice sturdy lay (or not). From there.....a  mould could be cast from the breastplate....probably by something simply enough to mould around the front and the back of the breastplate....pressed to take on it's form and shape. One side would have to be done and dried/cured...the the other ensure the shaped of the breast plate is imprinted correctly and that non of the resin will seep through the mould... Now. I would love ideas for methods, materials, best way to paint to cast as i am a total noob just throwing around ideas at this stage. Some questions: Would it be possibly to use some as a finish so that the breastplate and other items actually feel like they are made of metal (never mind that there filled with resin)? How hard and how brittle would the resin be? Is it just like plastic? Will it break easily? If there is say a bit of side spillage when casting the resin, would it be possible to fix, say cut it off? What about the possibility of using Precious Metal Clay? Wouls it be hard/brittle/expensive/breakable? Is there such a think as bendable resin? (say for the armbands and wristbands) Would it be possible to 'coat' (as you might paint) resin onto the clay breastplate and remove it to create a replica? (without the need for a two part mould in this case)

Hello everybody! I've moved most of my robotics projects to Let's Make Robots (All LMR are belong to us!) and I'm gonna do some wood-working now! I decided to build a kayak. Why? I dunno, I want to build one, and I always wanted to go kayaking. No I'm not gonna go take lessons (tips/tricks are welcome), I'll train myself. I'm expecting a couple capsizes. LOL. Anyways, I found a program that helps to design kayaks called Kayak Foundry. The software tells me where to put the sheer strip, where the waterline will be, and it also generates the forms to build from. The only problem I have is that this thing will cost $400-$450 to build. Before I invest that kind of money in a possible failure, I need to know if I have a stable design. Below are the cross sections and a model I made in Google Sketchup (gotta love free software!). Take a look at them, I need to know: -Is the design stable -Will it float with a 185lb man in it The software gave me a stability rating of 90 (out of 100, with 40-50 being a racing kayak) Also, there are pictures of data from the software. the red line on the graph is my design, the black line is the target. Also, on the volume distribution curve, the line should be right in the middle (the cockpit or whatever it is called should be in the middle of the boat.) I guess I forgot to save or something. If you can help, please do. I'd rather not spend $400-$450 dollars on an unstable boat that always capsizes. Thanks, Gimmelotsarobots