Jimmy W said:
Tom, I am interested in learning of your process also. It seems like we have been thinking about the same thing.
OK, but let me interject a few lawyer type weasel phrases first. So far I have only used the technique on small, model size jobs so in the application we are interested in it is only theoretical at this stage.
I found the page I wrote for Swampy so I'm just gonna copy it in below. In his application he was thinking about emulating Chuck and gluing up panels of stripwood. I think in that scenario it would have a great advantage and doing both sides before assembly would be the best tactic.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Sand to smooth and level and vacuum up all dust
2. Give it one or more saturation coats of epoxy thinned with acetone to a watery consistancy.
3. After the last saturation coat sand to fair again and vacuum.
4. Assemble the supplies so they are at hand and ready to use---you won't have time to get things ready once you start. You'll need poly sheeting to cover your work surface plus a piece of unwrinkled poly sheeting at least 6" wider on all sides than the part you're going to cover. A piece of thin foam rubber such as carpet padding slightly larger than the laminated sheet. A piece of 1x plank or scrap 3/4" plywood slightly larger in all dimensions than your laminate. A staple gun loaded with 1/4"-3/8" long staples along with more staples. Half a dozen concrete blocks or something similar for weight.
Now you start stacking your 'sandwich'.
5. Place the part to be 'glassed on an oversized piece of poly sheeting on a smooth work surface that will accept staples.
6. Apply a layer of fiberglas cloth and epoxy to the part.
7. Unroll the top piece of poly sheeting, that is bigger in all dimensions, on top of the glass and, stretching and pulling out wrinkles as you go, staple it down to the work surface all around so it is tight and totally wrinkle free. One or more helpers would be nice at this stage.
8. Lay the foam rubber atop the poly/laminate sandwich.
9. Lay the 1x board or thick plywood atop the foam.
10. Weight down the board with the concrete blocks, paint cans, spare ammo or whatever you have. Just use plenty of it. You're preparing a 'poor boy's vacuum bag' in effect because the weight should help squeeze out excess resin.
11. Leave it alone for 24-48 hours!
12. After it has had time to FULLY cure start unstacking your sandwich. Peel off the poly sheeting, and if you performed all steps properly you'll see a finished surface far smoother & sleeker than you could ever sand it. Even the weave of the cloth shouldn't be apparent unless you got cheap with the resin. The edges will require trimming and sanding, but that's the price for a piece that should require no further work.
Warning!!! I have NOT done this on such a scale. I HAVE used the method on smaller projects with great success. I have merely given it a great deal of thought on how to do it relatively simply and inexpensively on a larger scale for several reasons. One reason is that I am familiar with the level of finish possible, but the main reason is that my old back and shoulders cannot tolerate much sanding without laying me up for a long time. The success of the method hinges completely on how well you execute each step. If the piece isn't sanded level and smooth it will be a failure. If you do it on a rough work surface it won't work right. If you don't pull ALL wrinkles out of the poly sheet on top of the layer of glass you'll see an unspeakably ugly piece of s**t when you peel it off. If you don't weight down the cover board (which must ALSO be smooth) enough it won't work. Like all projects every step must be executed well and in the proper order to achieve the desired results. I HIGHLY recommend a trial run on a smaller scale before attempting it with that labor & $ intensive piece of boat you've expended so much sweat and profanity on already.
And last, but hardly least, I don't guarantee diddly squat! :lol:
Oh----and if you try it please give us a report on how it worked, mistakes made by either myself or you and your recommendations. Tom