Using fiberglass (pics)

Has anyone successfully used fiberglass in a large enclosure instead of polyurethane?

Here is what we came up with, and it wasn't pretty... it raised up, cracked and was this ugly brown color (I said it was too much, but Chris begged to differ... well looky who was right :P)


Any tips? Or should we just go back to putting on a bunch of coats of polyurethane? I don't have a problem with that, but using fiber glass would be so much easier.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...y/IMG_2706.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...y/IMG_2710.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...y/IMG_2712.jpg

You used WAY too much and I don't see the fiber under layment?

When I did it (for a pond several years ago)...I had a wood base then lined it with fiber cloth...the cloth is then painted with the resin that creates fiber glass. But as I recall I only had to do 2-3 coats (maybe a 1/8" when done)...still waterproof today.

It has been a long time so sorry I can't be of more help.

Word to what Sean said!!!

Go to a surf shop, and see if they have any scrap fiber laying around. Thats what I did when I repaired my surfboard!!!

You def only need a little layer. Its not so much "building" the material up

Its just getting that seal down. You might put a little more on the edges, where the wood butts up (love that game!), but you should be good with about an 1/8 of what you put on! LOL

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

Word to what Sean said!!!

Go to a surf shop, and see if they have any scrap fiber laying around. Thats what I did when I repaired my surfboard!!!

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No surf shop :( But we have a home depot. I just don't want to use fiber to be completely honest... I guess we'll see... what trickery I have

why not? all it does is give something for the Fiberglass Resin to stick to.

The fiber layer will actually dissolve, once the resin cures.

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

why not? all it does is give something for the Fiberglass Resin to stick to.

The fiber layer will actually dissolve, once the resin cures.

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Well, as it is, the box is already put together and well on it's way. I may have to go buy a different fiberglass material to mess around with, one that sticks to oily woods. I know it exists... just don't know if it will work.

Edit:

Okay, well I'm pretty sure we'll just go with poly....

Awww...that's too bad Connie cause fiberglass was a REALLY good idea!! The only issue is that you used wayyy tooo much and I didn't see any of the fiber!!!
Living on a sailboat on the hook for a year taught me that fiberglass is much better than poly in terms of lasting waterproof power.
Darn, that was such a neat idea you had..... :)

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Originally Posted by starmom

Awww...that's too bad Connie cause fiberglass was a REALLY good idea!! The only issue is that you used wayyy tooo much and I didn't see any of the fiber!!!
Living on a sailboat on the hook for a year taught me that fiberglass is much better than poly in terms of lasting waterproof power.
Darn, that was such a neat idea you had..... :)

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Yea, I'm kinda bummed about it, since we really wanted to do the whole thing in fiber glass.

That little test piece was more of Chris saying "heck, it's gonna get wasted anyways" *pour*

We may yet try it again, but I'm supposed to start putting on the first poly coat tonight.

fiberglass shrinks as it cures hint to the bowing...the cracks are from using to much hardner to resin. as well as having a real think layer......what is it that u are acually trying to do...i work with fiberglass alot building speaker enclosures.

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Originally Posted by bruster

fiberglass shrinks as it cures hint to the bowing...the cracks are from using to much hardner to resin. as well as having a real think layer......what is it that u are acually trying to do...i work with fiberglass alot building speaker enclosures.

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Just sealing the wood... I've already put on one coat of polyurethane, but any input is still appreciated.

every time i have used fiberglass it has been on cars...

i use 2-3 sheets per application and a light coat of resin on each piece.

then i would rough it up a bit with some sand paper and repeat until you get your desired thickness.

then you can use some "kitty hair" to make it smooth like a babys butt.

Chris here, just thought I'd explain what was going through my head when I came up with this notion. The idea behind not using any matte with the resin is that the wood fibers would take the place of the glass fibers. I've used this method before to seal the inside of subwoofer enclosures, and it works pretty well... usually. The thought of the oils from the stain preventing it from soaking into the wood never even crossed my mind. :stupidme: I agree that it was definitely too much resin, but like Connie mentioned, I figured what the heck -- it's just gonna go to waste so I might as well try dumping it all into the test piece. As far as the cracking goes, it was most likely from setting out in the sun too long while it was curing as opposed to using too much hardener. :gj:

incase u decide to use it agian. depending on what wood u use, MDF will soak up resin most of the time. others like pine do not. looks like u are useing a multi ply sheet. if u have a tank that is already together u can use a small paint roller to apply the coats. and where there are seams u can cut a 1 inch wide strip of fiberglass cloth where they meet.let the coat set up some then u can apply another coat with-out sanding the previous coat. then so on till u belive its sealed enough.

hope that can help u and any one else with questions. i may even creat a how to if enough people would be interested