Is this fiberglass usable?

I prepared the hull of my Skerry for fiberglass: sanded, skim coat. I opened the package of fiberglass and spread it out, and I noticed many irregularities (see the photos). The fiberglass sheet is quite long, so I carefully folded up (loosely) the part covering the boat, shifted the sheet, and found more, similar irregularities in the weave.

Is this fiberglass usable?


4 replies:

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RE: Is this fiberglass usable?

Yes, but if you plan to finish 'bright' you may have some tedious pushing / pulling to do to even out the weave as best you can. If paint's your preference by all means proceed! What goes on last will hide what went on almost first, as long as you're comfortable with the sanding and maybe filling in between.

Those misplaced fibers usually can be prompted to come back into shape when you've sanded the surfaces to be covered well then laid the fabric out prior to coating with epoxy. Using something like a wallpaper brush (wide, thin, short bristles) to smooth the fabric out adds a bit of tension so the threads hold position more uniformly.  Then a clean chip brush, trimmed to maybe 3/4 - 2/3's its original length (so the remaining bristles are both even as well as stiffer) can be used to coax the threads back into position.

What may still happen is any threads that have been kinked will keep that kink despite your best efforts to get them straight. Depending on your design you might be able to position the worst areas affected where there's an opening so that material will be removed once the epoxy's become 'green' hard.

RE: Is this fiberglass usable?

Thank you, spclark. Just to clarify: This coaxing the weave into position is done after I've laid out the fiberglass on the hull and before I add epoxy?

RE: Is this fiberglass usable?

Oh wow. I couldn't imagine how just brushing over the fiberglass (with the trimmed brush) would just magically put the fibers in the right place, but it worked really well.

RE: Is this fiberglass usable?

   Check out "cutting fiberglass cloth" on YouTube He uses a long ruler as a refrence to align and straighten the cloth. I did this on a table and was able to repair much of what what you are showing. I didnt get into pulling the treads so much but the ruler gives a reference. Easier to watch than explain... worked for me

https://youtu.be/7l4ugREZ6eM

Dean

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