adrian1991
Well-Known Member
May I ask what does putting the layup under vaccum do? Does it just make a smooth finish?
tyee604
Well-Known Member
@adrian1991 Vacuum bagging is a process when done correctly, will achieve an air free layup with the ideal amount of resin, For the strongest glass to resin ratio, ideally 29 in-Hg is the target vacuum pressure to achieve for best results, Hope this answers your question
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adrian1991
Well-Known Member
It did thanks
myles
Well-Known Member
I will do anything to avoid yard work
Hopefully it's strong enough with 3 layers of 1708.
myles
Well-Known Member
29 in-Hg is the theoretical maximum I think? Realistic vacuum pressure is between 10-25 in hg depending on many factors. My part was an odd shape so I had lots of pleats so I was pumped about getting 15 in-Hg since there was some leakage. However, because of the slow curing resin and super cold temps that night, I might have been better off doing a little less pressure to reduce the resin starvation. I'm still an amateur on this, so i could be wrong.
myles
Well-Known Member
Hi guys,
Not sure if any benefit, but I wanted to post a link to the epoxy I have been using. It wets out very well, not as good as polyester does but as far as epoxy goes it has got the lowest viscosity that I have seen. The price per gal is reasonable if you need some of the benefits of epoxy.
Not sure if any benefit, but I wanted to post a link to the epoxy I have been using. It wets out very well, not as good as polyester does but as far as epoxy goes it has got the lowest viscosity that I have seen. The price per gal is reasonable if you need some of the benefits of epoxy.
Epoxy : Epoxy Resins and Hardeners
Wholesale/retail sales of composite and fiberglass materials, including epoxy, adhesives, carbon fibers, urethane foam, urethane casting rubbers
www.uscomposites.com
Pineapple Express
Well-Known Member
Where are you buying it from?
myles
Well-Known Member
Directly from them.
myles
Well-Known Member
No retailer in Canada I know of. I shipped To a freight forwarding company edge logistics in Blaine. I just wait until I have a few items there and then get it imported with coles international. If you are just bringing in a few gal probably expensive but if there are a few goods it starts making sense. I brought In 5k of goods at once I think the delivery was 109usd from edge to Vancouver and another 100 in Import fees plus tax. They will also ship directly to Canada.
tyee604
Well-Known Member
Ok thanks, that makes sense
Doubleheader
Well-Known Member
Good info thanks. You running the slow or medium epoxy? Thinking the slow would be great for big lay-ups...
myles
Well-Known Member
I tried to respond to this a few days ago but was having issues with my computer. Yes the slow would be awesome for big stuff in the spring/summer months.
This hot weekend it was about 20deg C in my tent. The medium still had lots of working time, i honestly would have loved to use fast i would have been able to go faster through the smaller parts which required a vac pump.
If I had an unlimited budget I would have all the 3 speeds!
myles
Well-Known Member
This weekend I was fortunate to get help from a friend. With the extra man-hours and nice warm weather, we managed to get a few things ticked off the long list. Starting with 3 of the 4 lifting strakes, filling over 200 blister holes, the larger holes getting multiple layers of 1708, while the smaller ones were filled with a thickened epoxy. I got the 4 foam injection sites covered and built some areas up for fairing purposes. Instead of using peel ply over the blister holes filled with epoxy and cabosil, I tried to get the 1st pass "fair" with the hull. Unfortunately, some of them ended up being low which is annoying. I now have to wash the hull and scrub each blister site to remove the blush, then sand and do a final pass and repeat the washing and sanding. I suppose I could say they are "good enough" but since the bottom paint I'm using is a burnishable epoxy/Teflon racing paint its very shiny. It will not tolerate subpar fairing and the hull will probably look like the repaired home job after painting since the shiny paint will show imperfections more than a thicker copper style bottom paint with more of a matt finish. As much as it sucks if I'm going to all this effort I want to see the boat on the trailer and have it look factory.. Let that be a lesson to anyone who doubts osmosis on older boats. It's a real thing so do yourself a favor and interprotect before this happens to you!
A quick tip I got from two smarter guys than me was to use a polisher with a 7" pad and 36 grit to mill down fiberglass. Normally i would use my cordless grinder with the same pad but smaller-good for technical grinding. The difference is the polisher is variable speed, relying on torque more than RPM. What a difference, instead of spraying fiberglass dust everywhere the polisher quickly grinds the glass down at 600rpm without bogging under good pressure and the shop vac gets most of the dust. This is something I wish I had tried sooner-its a great trick for keeping the area cleaner and managing the dust which is my most hated part of the process.
Almost time to get out and mix some epoxy on the evening shift..
A quick tip I got from two smarter guys than me was to use a polisher with a 7" pad and 36 grit to mill down fiberglass. Normally i would use my cordless grinder with the same pad but smaller-good for technical grinding. The difference is the polisher is variable speed, relying on torque more than RPM. What a difference, instead of spraying fiberglass dust everywhere the polisher quickly grinds the glass down at 600rpm without bogging under good pressure and the shop vac gets most of the dust. This is something I wish I had tried sooner-its a great trick for keeping the area cleaner and managing the dust which is my most hated part of the process.
Almost time to get out and mix some epoxy on the evening shift..
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Doubleheader
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info, lookin good! I can see myself doing this to the 20.2’ someday, thinking it might help with the stability at rest more than anything. With a 225 lift is no issue but she’s pretty tippy lol.
Doubleheader
Well-Known Member
At least it will be done right, and not paying covid tax on another suspect rig...
myles
Well-Known Member
Glad you asked, I have a good idea of the hours. I started last weekend of Feb and I have taken 1 weekend off since I believe. I average between 8-14hrs a day when I'm working on it..call it 10hrs. So I'm sitting at 160 hours now. Materials cost is not bad considering I'm using the best possible stuff. I spent 2000 on everything with leftovers. Add 3K for the Zipwake trim tabs and then the budget is blown
That all being said I really like the boat. It's the biggest little boat around, it will keep up to most 26'ers in the slop so it's a worthy hull considering she is only a 19ft hull stock. I enjoy the planning, execution, and result of the project anything is possible. If the end result is what it's supposed to be it will be worth it. Fingers crossed on that front!
That all being said I could do without the blisters, that really sucked I had no idea there was soo many. It has really dragged the project down, overhead work is hard stuff and not rewarding.
I probably have another 100-150 hours of sanding and fairing and re-rigging.
Fisherman Rob
Well-Known Member
Are you including what appears to be ~$600 of 3/4 ply you're using as best possible ground cover?
