I am going to suggest a different method than Eric, and I would also say
that you should easily be able to cover the nose bowl with one big piece.
You will be surprised at how much the glass will conform to the curvature if
you are patient with it. I have glassed the bottoms of about 6 small
sailboats, and I only used 2 pieces of glass for the main part of each hull.
I did use separate pieces for the flat transom and nose.
Lay a piece of glass on the mold (no epoxy yet) and trim the edges so you
have 4-6" overhang all around. You get the best conformity to curvature if
you align the cloth on the bias (weave at 45* angles to the part), but that
uses more cloth, because the weave is at 90* to the roll, so you end up with
a bunch of triangular scraps. Anyway, start with the cloth draped over the
part and gently use your hands to pat it around the curves. Start with a
small batch of epoxy. start in the center of the part and begin to wet out
the cloth toward the edges. Be very careful here with whatever method of
application you are using, not to pull or drag the cloth around on the mold.
Doing so will stretch the weave apart, and when you get to the edges you
will have a mass of bunched up cloth that won't lay flat. Instead, gently
work the resin into the cloth, with the same intent you used to "pat" it
down before. You are trying to form it to the mold, not stretch it around
the mold. If you keep that in mind as you work around the mold outward from
the center toward the edges, you should arrive at the edges with the glass
laying flat on the mold, If you still have some folds that won't lay down,
you can slit them with scissors and overlap the edges, but if you are
careful, and think about pushing the weave together instead of stretching
it, you will be able to make those creases disappear.
If you use the method Eric describes, laying the glass on wet, it will stick
to the mold as soon as you lay it down, making it impossible to remove all
the creases and folds without pulling on the cloth, which will lead you to
misery when you get to the edges. That is probably a good technique for
flatter parts, but I much prefer laying the glass on dry, because it lets
you get it into position without sticking everywhere.
Hope that helps.
Jesse
From: eric.r@dcsol.com
Reply-To: <rebel-builders@dcsol.com>
To: rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: [rebel-builders] RE: Laying on the glass
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 07:18:28 -0800
Lay out thin plastic sheeting on a table, put the cloth on it, pour on some
epoxy and lay another sheet of plastic. Squeegee out all the excess resin,
and cut the strips with a round blade fabric cutter. (mark the plastic with
a
sharpie for perfect strips). PIck one up at a time, peel off the back
plastic
and place the strip. Then peel of the other plastic covering. I use cheap
polyethelene sheeting . Makes for a neat, light layup, and you can do all
kinds
of angles, etc.
On 4/6/2006 6:03 PM, mkimball@gci.net wrote to rebel-builders:
-> Well, I'm just about ready to start laying on the glass. The nose cowl
is
-> covered with wall spackle and mostly sanded smooth. A little more
sanding
-> and then paint, wax, and glass. Any tips on laying on the glass? I
-> certainly can't manage large sheets of glass. I'm gonna have to lay the
-> glass on in smaller pieces, creating a patchwork of overlapping pieces a
-> foot or two wide in some places. Larger pieces in others. I'm assuming
the
-> overlaps will sort of blend together and will be smoothed by filling and
-> sanding the filler later.
->
-> Mike
->
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