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[plug]

Hi folks, found this video very helpful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujk-wBQDUSk

best regards Jack.

[Paul Swainson]

Great information, so now come the hard part what web sites/suppliers have the items in stock and what is the UK name for the resin and hardener and alcohol to use.  Also what would be the correct weight nonstarch fiberglass cloth to use.

[jarvo]

HI Paul


Go to www.easycomposites.co.uk they are based in Stoke, they also have videos, glass cloth, carbon cloth etc, quick ring will get you all the advice you will need. Just as a thought you mentioned the american video, the use wood alcohol as a thinner to the epoxy resin, in the UK this is Methalated Spirit. Does sslow the setting time but makes an easy job simple.


Regards


Mark

[essex2visuvesi]

Great information, so now come the hard part what web sites/suppliers have the items in stock and what is the UK name for the resin and hardener and alcohol to use.  Also what would be the correct weight nonstarch fiberglass cloth to use.

Most of what you need can be found here:-
http://www.glasplies.co.uk/


As recommended by Stavros :)

[Brian60]

Or this one.....

http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/default.aspx

[Paul Swainson]

   Thanks guys will look and read and see what suits my build.

[tonyH]

Can anyone help me with my confusion about how much thinning can be used?

I'm using Z-poxy as the video at the start of the thread to cover a hull. He uses as much IPA as the whole resin/catalyst mix, while other threads on the same subject suggest 5-10% or so. Is it just a case of what feels right or is there a 'normal' option?

Cheers

Tony

[inertia]

Tony
I use Z-Poxy exclusively these days and thin it about 10% with IPA. That much reduces the viscosity to a point where the brush doesn't drag the weave of the cloth out of square but the resin is still thick enough to squeegee off any excess with a plastic card. I also found that a very light drifting of 3M Spraymount onto the hull first helps the cloth to stick and not move about when you apply the resin. My sources for Z-Poxy resin and IPA are on the Internet; I don't think I've used the same supplier twice! Be careful when buying the resin - there are two pack sizes and prices vary markedly. I have seen the smaller pack selling for almost the same price as the large one costs elsewhere.
DM

[jarvo]

Hi Tony


The basic answer is what are you using the resin for???  If its to glass the hull, use fairly thick, posibly thinned slightly, i first used resin to seal the plank on frame hull which had shrunk and cracked in numerouse places, for this jod i thinned 50 - 50 and poured the resin into the hull and rolled the hull to distribute it evenly.


A word of warning, adding thinners does slow the drying time probably 3 - 4 times the stated gel time.


Earlier in the tread the vidio shows using denurtured alcohol, this is Methalated spirit in the UK, ether the purple stuff or go to the chemist and they can get clear.


Hope this helps


Mark

[john44]

For me it depends on what I am glassing over. If it is a 4' hull I will use 15-20%
Thinners,(methylated spirit). For smaller jobs I will use 10%.
I personally would never use an equal amount thinners to resin-hardener.
On the size of models I build but on some of the really large models you may have to
To gain increased working time.


John

[tonyH]

Thanks all for the answers.

What threw me was that I've recently used a resin from Bucks Composite that was much thinner than Z-poxy, and much slower setting. Not as far as water but it seemed right when coating a couple of small hulls using a foam roller.
I picked up some Z-p at Warwick and some IPA from the chemists and then saw the video in preparation for coating a 5ft wood/foam hull using the same method.
I've just finished the job, having used a bit of spray mount as suggested (Thanks Dave!) and with a 25% approx mix it went on well.
So, thanks again for the input and I'll confirm whether it dried well or not in the morning .

Cheers

Tony

[jarvo]

Hi Tony


Contact the suppier and see if there is a faster catalist, also try using Meths as a thinner, might be cheeper than IPA


Mark

[tonyH]

Thanks Jarvo,

I was going to use meths because I work part-time in a "fork-andles" hardware shop and I can get it and the rollers for virtually nothing. However, I checked on the possible water content and decided on the 99.9% stuff just in case. Oh, and purple is just not my colour

Anyhow, the 25%mix in a 60 degree F shed seems to have worked well and the coating is firm and dry after an overnight cure.

Thanks again everyone

[inertia]

I had to use Meths and kitchen roll to clean all the cigarette tar from the components and equipment I took over from Craig Talbot when we bought ACTion. Craig had been a 40-a-day man. I used four or five full rolls and two bottles of meths. The stink of the stuff coupled with the tar was almost unbearable.
Six weeks later my best friend Liam - another chain-smoker - died of lung cancer and I had to go through the same performance with his personal effects. Ugh.
I use 99% IPA for thinning epoxy, and b****r the expense!

DM

[alan cantwell]

Ever tried pond sealer?   

[jarvo]

Tony H


In your post you mentioned water content with meths, does it make a difference??? have used meths a lot (smell included) but not IPA, meths seems to slow down the setting time, does IPA???


Mark

[alan cantwell]

So, pond sealer, and glass cloth?    It does work, does not smell, does not have a mix life, is tough as old boots, very workable, and just in case you doubt it, theres a 20 ft span vulcan on the show circuit covered in it, try it, weve glassed models for years, now, we use this stuff

[Tug Fanatic]

Do you use pond sealer for sheathing or in actually laminating a hull? I am expecting the former.

[tonyH]

Mark,

I'd read that meths can be down to 95% ethanol and that water can, depending on the use, be considered as alcohol for the purposes of rendering the mix unpalatable etc. Since a 500ml bottle of IPA was £10.00 or so from my local chemists and only £7,00 more than meths, I decided to go for the pure stuff.
As far as cure time is concerned, I left it overnight (approx 16hrs from mix) so I can't really say, only that by the time I looked it was  well set and un-sticky. It had also sealed well into the 4mm ply which formed the deck edge.

Cheers

Tony

[Mark T]

I get my IP from these people £7.99 for 1 litre delivered


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-x-1-LITRE-ISOPROPYL-ALCOHOL-99-9-PURE-IPA-w-White-Watertight-Screw-Cap-/281118434574?hash=item4173f6e50e:g:NF4AAOSwjVVVz4OD

[Crossie]

Tony H


In your post you mentioned water content with meths, does it make a difference??? have used meths a lot (smell included) but not IPA, meths seems to slow down the setting time, does IPA???


Mark

                  Not only will the potential water content of meths slow the resin cure, it may prevent the resin from ever attaining its correct strength and bonding abilities even though it may feel dry or 'set' which is not necessarily cured and may or may not affect the structural integrity of your model. Industrial IPA is readily available from grp suppliers very cheaply approx. £5/Ltr. In any case it should be used sparingly in thinning your mixed resin as per the data sheet and a much better option is to warm the resins, the cloth, and item or mould that is being worked on and use a slow catalyst instead. Even if your workshop is cool rig up a sort of booth around the item being worked to keep the temperature up, not hot just around 70f, this way you'll have plenty of working time and a low viscosity resin that is easy to work. When finished , closing the item off to retain drier air as the resin cures will prevent dampness on the resin surface, upside-down cardboard boxes are a good economical solution. A frequently used method for minor repairs in cold draughty aircraft hangars!
       
             

[Hande]

I followed the fiberclassing tutorial as closely as I could.
I found Z-Epoxy and IPA here in Finland as well as glassfiber cloth.


Everything went ok - although I didn't glass an even surface, but the inside of the hull. Subsequently, the end result was not quite smooth and mysteriously all kinds of dirt went into the hull and stuck on the epoxy. Doesn't look nice at close look - so, don't look 


What was not obvious from the video was how long it takes for the cloud to settle and the epoxy-IPA solution to clear up. I was expecting more or less immediately, but in my case, it took about 10 minutes.