fiberglass reccomendations

Posted By: Ryan Haley
Date: 3/6/08 5:53a.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Time to start rebuilding the keel sump (amory)

Epoxy is by FAR the better material to use for any repair work. It is a much, much better adhesive than polyester resin, and since this is a mechanical bond, this is what you want. The incompatibility of mat and epoxy comes from the binders that were used to hold the mat together, and some of them were not soluble in epoxy. As far as mat, there is no reason to use it these days unless you just happen to have a lot of it laying around. My material of choice for this, and most other structural jobs, is 1708 biaxial cloth. This is a 17 oz (or 22oz) +/-45 degree biaxial cloth with mat stitched to the back. It is far and away stronger than cloth, and with the mat stitched to the back, it requires less layering to get a certain thickness. Make the area as smooth as possible, the fiberglass needs to lay down flat and smooth to obtain it's ultimate strength. If you have any sharp inside corners (like where the bilge meets the top of the keel), put a large radius filet of thickened epoxy down first and it will make laying the cloth down easier. Good Luck! It is a big project, but it isn't rocket science and is well within the realm of the DIYer.