Building is starting. Several questions in here. Answer any you like! :)

Get a cheap rainsuit or bibbs.

$9.49. http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.com/81-513-rain-suits-.aspx

 

Yeah, that's what I'm looking for, Sam. Thanks. That's pretty much it. I'm from up North though, so my sorry Yankee @ss needs to stay cool. Maybe I'll find some of these... the link I found the picture at says they have them at WalMart:





(Middle guy has the ones I need)

 

Faux leather (around here at least) usually is polyurethane, but might not be easy to find it thick enough. I have a lenght of it that is a bit over 1 mm thick. Would work well as an appron or chaps.

Lurvio

 

"No good, Hoyt. That'll get all over my layup and keep my secondary bonds from working. It has to dry hard and have no oily residue... like a piece of plastic."

That is why I suggested silicone caulk. I don't think epoxy will bond to it or seep through. It certainly won't leave a residue on your work.

 

This is a better idea.

 

Since they are cheap, you can cut holes up the back sides of the legs for ventilation.

 

Messy isn't it? But as you gain more experience you should get only some epoxy only on your fingers. Perhaps a drop or two on your pants.

I use only arm cover and workclothes when laminating and try to find a way to put the resin nearby the area I am laminating so it the drippings do not go astray. In time you will be able to do it.

 

Heres how we do it. Although there are different crew assigned for specific job, there is no reason it cannot be a one man job.

1. There is a common mixng area. It is usually lined with used carboard boxes.
2. The floor area is covered with paper, especially around the edges of the part where it is most likely to drip.
3. Mixing is done in pails, the amount which can be used for a batch.
4. The mixed resin is transferred to a shallow laminating pan. Prepare a lot of cut heavy cardboard (4" X 4") to scrape off the excess drippings in the pail when transferring resin. This technique is similar to the method used by paint shop when they mix paint.
5. The laminating pail is placed nearest the part where it is to be laminated and moved to the dry part after laminating a section. A wooden plank placed across the part or high stool helps.
6. When laminating, especially on heavy cloth, use s short nap roller. Heavy cloth takes longer to soak.
7. Metal rollers are used for uniform wet out of the cloth.
8. We attach long wooden handles to the laminating rollers, 4 to 5 feet so we can laminate standing up or reach far areas without straining. Laminating does not have to be close contact. Stay away from the resin as much as possible. Short handles are for laminating small parts only. A "dry tray" is used for resting the roller so it does not drip all over the area.
9. A short brush, or a new brush is pruned so that it becomes relatively stiff. It is used for stubborn areas or soaking up excess resin.
10. A large canvass sewing needle is used to prick bubbles. Attach it to a long pole, 2 to 3 feet long. Bubbles are hard to remove and may require pricking. This goes also when laying peel ply. Sometimes you may have to lift the peel ply or snip a hole in the peel ply to remove bubbles. Keep a scissor handy.
11. Use plastic squeegee on peel ply to remove the excess resin. Use a large bottle cap to scrape off the resin from the squeegee.
12. If you can use tight clothing, the less it will snag on the freshly laminated part. I tape my cuffs or use this short arm protector that extends all the way to the elbow.

 

All great tips. Great post. Thanks.

Biggest mess? Rubbing up on an edge trying t reach inside the mold.

I got 2 mil plastic and rubber bands.

 

All great tips. Great post. Thanks.

Biggest mess? Rubbing up on an edge trying t reach inside the mold.

I got 2 mil plastic and rubber bands.

 

That's great news.
That's great news.

 

Actually, I was fairly neat... until I stepped in a roller pan!

But that one splash aside, the only issue was when I had to reach to squeegee. Boy am I glad I went through the trouble to do this in strips instead of all at once. It was hard enough just doing a single roll for 45'. Manageable, but certainly a lot of careful work.

The laminate looks great where I peeled back the peel ply to do my 2" overlap for the next piece of glass. Very happy. It went well.

Looking at your procedures (thank you)... I see that I am doing something a little differently. I have found I can create a perfect laminate (no air) by using the squeegee directly on the laminate after it soaks up the resin. This is why I was reaching in. I needed to get in close to make sure everything came out perfectly.

Maybe I'm a little too much of a perfectionist?

I don't know. It's my boat, my life's savings, my wife's life (or death), my future income, etc... so I'm very VERY careful, I guess.

It sure is nice to see a hull coming together though. Now I see why you guys like this stuff!

 

Yes you are! That is one way to do a perfect laminate. Slow but perfect. Your boat would be a showcase. Good finish inside and out.

When you lay up the peel ply, try also the stiffling brush. Works great for tight corners.

 

I guess I'm petrified of delamination. That's why I'm such a perfectionist. I did the squeegee trick again for the entire lamination in my other thread. Exhausting holding yourself up with one arm (by grabbing the mold stations) and using the other arm to squeegee to perfection. I'm done for the day. Too tired to move, but a good looking hull is the result.

I didn't get my peel ply on today. It wasn't sticking to the vertical parts well enough to get on and I had already started the epoxy clock, so... oh well. A little extra sanding where the bulkheads will attach.

QUESTIONS:

1) Does anyone know a suit in the USA that will work for keeping epoxy out? Tyvek doesn't work at all. My stopgap solution (plastic and rubber bands) was not ideal because as I slid all around in the hull, the plastic got turned around and opened up, exposing my Tyvek suit to the epoxy I was kneeling in. Since Tyvek sucks, the epoxy just absorbed right though it and went onto my knees. 4 hours of exposure today. Not good.

2) Does anyone know of a self-cooling suit setup they have used and liked? The temperatures are not that hot yet, but I can see that if it were 10 degrees hotter, I would have had a hard time not overheating. I currently have a forced air respirator that does 6 cubic feet per minute (sorry, no Metric). I was thinking of putting the air supply side in a box with a 5000 BTU air conditioner and an adjustable vent to allow me to mix AC air with regular air to regulate the temperature a bit. Anyone have a successful setup? I figure if I have to wear a suit anyway for epoxy, sanding, and a forced air respirator for machining and heating foam, why not just chill the air coming in to combat the heat in FL?

3) Fiberglass wrinkles. I had a few little wrinkles in this layup and one in my last. What's the standard procedure? I was able to flatten them out ok, but they definitely would cause stress concentrations and areas where the core is more highly stressed because the glass is not taking up the stress. Do you patch over these to be sure they glass can't move, or am I over thinking this?

4) Who knows how to cut balsa for my deck? I have the AL600 type balsa (precoated) and it's in small blocks attached to scrim. My deck gets very "pointy" at the bow due to fine entry. How do you cut this stuff without messing it up? Table saw? Will it cut the scrim, or start spitting blocks out and tangling in the scrim?

 

Use rubber knee pads to save your knees from more than chemicals. You don't want your pancreas falling out.