Fiberglassing a plywood wheelhouse

[Barryc26]

I am building a new wheelhouse out of plywood and I want to glass the exterior

1 Does anyone have any advice as to what mat I should use, some one recommended that I use 1 1/2 oz and do two coats

2 what is an eay way to mix the polyester resin with hardener, I never get it right And it kicks too fast, what would be a good ratio if I want a good half hour to 45 minutes at about 55-60 degrees outside to roll the resin on the house then soak the mat for first coat

I guess I would cut the windows out first and have all my pieces of mat ready to go

The house is 5' 10" tall 6' 6" Long 47" wide the trunk cabin, for lack of a better term is cut in 18" to meet the windows and is 32" high

How much resin/mat do I need for two coats and what is the best ratio to mix the resin to hardener.

The framing is almost done and I would like to sheath and glass this weekend

Thanks

 

[F/V First Team]

5 cc's/lb for resin is considered "1%" in my shop which is the standard, every day, let's go fiberglass some stuff ratio.

1 cc = 1 ml

Standard little project bucket

Large project bucket

The small project bucket will hold 6 lbs of product (resin/gelcoat/etc) at the top ring and still give you a place to hang onto the rim without getting sticky fingers. Divide the bucket accordingly. Half is 3 lbs, 2/3'rds is 4 lbs, etc.

The large project bucket will hold 50 lbs of product.

Standard graduated catalyst dispenser, measured out in cc/ml

Standard medicine cup, if you like to goof off and take your sweet ass time, or have a small project.

 

[F/V First Team]

Paint stick for stirring catalyst with product, or if you're really clever, product with another product prior to catalyzing. Because using your hand doesn't always work. Be sure to run the stick perpendicular to the edge of the pail and along the flat of the bottom to get all the product. I typically go in a clockwise motion, folding the product in, then I reverse my rotation just to grab stragglers. DO NOT GET SLAP HAPPY! No splashes is the proper amount.

As far as the proper amount of resin, the easiest way to figure that out is to weigh your material. 2:1 is a good general hand-layup rule of thumb. 2 lbs of resin for every lb of fiberglass. This allows your substrate to absorb some resin on the hot coat, so it doesn't draw from your laminate, and leaves you with enough product to finish the job. As you get better you can trim that ratio down some to 1:1 but if you need to hot coat something you always have to keep this in mind and stay on task with the project.

My advice would be to glass your panels while they are apart, so you can work on them when they are flat. Then assemble your project and glass the corners. Bingo, you're done.

Roller frame, 3" would probably serve you well on this job.

Bubble busters. Chances are a smaller diameter would work best for this job. When you're bubble busting it is important to not only view your work, but also listen. You will hear the change in the material when there are no bubbles. It's hard to explain.

Do NOT get your mat too wet. You'll have some "boat art" if you do. Don't let there be a large puddle of resin under your fiberglass either, that's bad ju-ju. Hot coat it nice and evenly, apply your mat and go from there. You can put on both layers on at the same time, hot coat, first layer resined out, and then the second layer and bubble pop both layers at that time, two layers of mat seem to pop bubbles better than just one - this is more true when not using a flat clean surface like plywood.

I hope this has answered more questions than it has created.

 

[Barryc26]

thank you FT, i will pre cut the panels, glass them flat, grind em install
and cover the corners, is 1 1/2 oz mat sufficient, if it is, how much do you think i need?

by top ring on the small bucket, do you mean the 2Qt line?

thanks again

 

[F/V First Team]

In Canada, all the houses are 3 layers of 1.5 oz mat over plywood. Not how I would do it, but then again I am not in Canada. For your project, I would imagine that two layers of 1.5 oz mat feathered out and overlapped would suffice quite nicely. Will you be also fiberglassing the interior of your house? Hopefully so, and I would follow the same laminate schedule there as your exterior. If you will be bolting things onto your house in the future, perhaps some structure tapes would be a nice thing to add to the interior corners. Usually they come in six and eight inch wide material and are a breeze to put in.

Wear gloves, double up with two pair of latex gloves when you work. That way when (not if) you need to do something you can yank off one pair and keep on cruising with the second. Also, if/when you generate a hole in your exterior pair the interior will keep you better off for longer. Gloves are cheap, use them like you're selling them. Your liver will thank you.

 

[BillD]

Travis,

nice detailed explanation, thanks for that !

btw, would "explain" the term "hot coating" and procedure for novices like me ??

Pretty sure I know "how to do the "term"...but it is ALWAYS best not to guess !!!

Thanks,

Bill D

 

[Barryc26]

Awesome, thanks to you and your inside info, i have a new found confidence

i just ordered the mat and resin--having it overnighted--cant wait to get started. i will load up on latex

i will dry fit the house on the boat before i cut out the panels, to be sure
i have everything as square as possible.

any other suggestions?

 

[JimRP31]

Barry,

Travis gave you a great explanation and you should follow it to the letter. Remember it is a chemical reaction so measure twice. Getting it wrong can create all sorts of problems. I am not an expert but I will make two suggestions. First get some scrap wood and mix up a small batch and practice wetting out the glass and hot coating. Much better to practice and make a mistake on a sample then on what you hope to be your final piece. Second where two set of latex gloves. No matter how careful you are, you will end up with sticky hands. When that happens peal off the outer gloves and you will have clean gloves. I would put on a new set of gloves before each section you glassing up. Just my 2C.

 

[F/V First Team]

Aw man, square on a boat?

A bit of angle on the sides of the house might make it look oh so much better, a little radius too if you can swing it. You should be able to spring your panels to get that, just shim the inside bracing. Are you going to be removing the brace work that you have there in your photo? You can save quite a bit of weight and get some additional space too if you do.

Hot coating is really easy, I've explained this once or twice (more maybe?) on here. You just have your roller full of resin and you roll out on your substrate surface, letting the resin flow into the wood fibers to get as good of penetration that you can. If you see a dull spot, its a dry spot, it needs a bit more go juice.

 

[Barryc26]

oh, i didnt mean square /square, the garage floor is pitched slightly forward
and the box in front of the house as well as the windows are pitched 2 degrees as it sits --the only thing i didnt do is put a cambre in the roof-(above my paygrade) and taper the sides. the house should(?) fit
right over the combings

i will have a better idea how it looks when i get it up on the boat,

hey-i get it------life's too short for an ugly boat!

 

[Barryc26]

pigment

one or two more questions......

how would i handle adding a white pigment with the resin, any specific brand and how much , should i add it on both coats or just the top coat?

thanks

 

[F/V First Team]

Remember that bit about the paint stick? Now you're getting clever. Mix it in, you can either go straight pigment or you can add gelcoat of your choice to it. Keep in mind that any coloring agent will be diluted due to the resin, and also if there is any wax in your product it will now make your resin waxed as well, although not as much as it normally would be if you were using a straight waxed product.

Keep in mind that pigmented resin makes it harder to view air bubbles when you're popping them, and they will stand out terribly when the piece has cured.

Just the final layer would be alright if you're going the pigmented route, and all the pigmentation does is allow for more scratches for a longer period of time - they won't show up as much through your gelcoat.

 

[Barryc26]

dry fitting

started sheathing last night, i am concerned that the panels will warp if i do them piece by piece, if i glass it while it is on the boat will it be much more difficult to do, the thing is beginning to pack some weight

 

[jerseysportfisher]

if you want to keep weight down, which indeed one would, looks like a small house for a small boat, it will increase the rocking momentum. Use it as a male plug, sheeth with divinycell, glass over the outside, pop off the plug glass inside. wala, light wieght strong house

 

[JimRP31]

I was thinking of building a storage deck box for my boat out of wood but the divinycell would weigh a lot less. Starboard could be another option. But if I were to make a plywood plug/form how do you hold the divinycell inplace while the epoxy cures. I assume you run matte around the corners to epoxy the sheet together and form the corners.

 

[F/V First Team]

Why go through all that hassle? Spray paint it, slap on some slurry wax or even WD40. glass it and pop it off. Solid glass light weight wind break

 

[El Mar]

What kind of boat is this going in??

Not that whaler in the background is it?

 

[Barryc26]

no, no, no it's going on a 24' x 9' work boat, (Clam Boat), flat deck almost like a barge.
i will send a pic when i pull the cover, i sold the duffy and i needed a project

 

[steveinak]

anyone else having a problem seeing page 2 of this thread ??

 

[traditions]

Make sure you router all those hard edges with a 1/2 inch radius,glass doesn't like that hard edge of outside corners,and you will nevr get it to lay down.