Layout and Smoothing of Glass Cloth

Laying out,centering, and smoothing fiberglass cloth to the bottom of a hull.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• fiberglass
• cloth
• epoxy
• tape
• system
• three
• wetting
• out
• glass

[scoobeedu]

Thanks for the great vid. How do you get the cloth around the the ends of the boat without any wrinkles in the cloth?

[redbarnboats]

@scoobeedu Lots and lots of smoothing. Watch the two videos of the newest (newest videos) hull I just finished. It was the most difficult todate. I did have to cut a dart down the center line of the transom.

[mrhonkeytonker]

Thank you for the very informative vids ....I am restoring an 8' Mini Max Sea Flea for my son and will be reglassing the bottom of the hull.....What do you suggest Matt or cloth and what oz ??

Thanks again

Chris

Canada

[redbarnboats]

@mrhonkeytonker I would go with 4oz glass cloth on the Sea Flea. Mat is only used as filler in the big (or cheap) boats. Give the bottom a good sanding, and fair in any deep gouges with "fairing compound" like System Three's Quick Fair. Then sand smooth. Lay on the glass cloth and smooth out the creases like I do in the video. Then wet out the cloth and cure, then a couple more coats of epoxy to fill the weave. Sand and paint.

[onsedyes]

thanks for the video, i looking to re-fiberglass a 12' boat and i was wondering if i can use a bi-axial mat instead.

[redbarnboats]

@onsedyes If you are putting this on the inside, I would say yes, but putting "mat" (multi directional chopped fiber) on the outside of a 12 foot boat would be very difficult to get a smooth coat without using a lot of resin/epoxy and adding a lot of extra weight.

Fair the hull and lay on a layer of 6oz cloth like I show in the video. Wet out the cloth to the hull, and then fill the weave after the wet out coat has cured.

[iamjust2stone]

now pull it off and u got another boat

[AllForTheGame]

woven fiberglass looks so beautiful...i was at lowes today and wanted to buy a pack of some just so i can look at it.

[mrhonkeytonker]

@redbarnboats Thank you for the info Sir, this will help out alot and I am using West System up here in Canada.

I will have to send some pics when she is completed.

Thank You again

Chris

[redbarnboats]

@butbahsasab I don't know the brand name of the glass cloth, but it was 4oz in weight. I have done this with 6oz, but you need more epoxy to fill the weave of the cloth to get a smooth surface for painting. I always use System Three epoxy products on my boats, and their SilverTip version is the epoxy I used here. It's a non-blush epoxy that flows smoothly, and doesn't need to be surface washed after it cures.