How to Use Fiberglass Cloth to Make a Transparent Lay-up

Fiberglass chopped stand mat  cloth can be wet-out in a transparent fashion, but is not necessarily intended to be used in this way by those selling it. Many builders of boats other than strippers use epoxy/fiberglass which will be painted.

Usually, a more open weave glass will wet-out better and produce a more transparent lay-up than tight weave fiberglass cloth. You can use some tight weave 4 oz. glass that would not wet-out to a transparent level and remained looking slightly white.

Use open weave 6 oz. e-glass and 4 oz. s-glass for strippers.

Fiberglass cloth absorbs epoxy resin slowly, so give it time to absorb. The epoxy must displace all the air surrounding each fiber in each strand in the cloth to become transparent. It's best not to over work resin into a small area until the glass is totally wet-out because this can introduces bubbles. Apply resin to the cloth and move on, to coat the next area, giving the resin a little time to soak in.

Fiberglass cloth is coated with a special sizing to make it compatible with epoxy resin. This sizing is sensitive to water and can be damaged or removed if water comes in contact with it. The result will be a glass weave that looks white. Be careful not to have water on a surface or on your hands, that could come in contact with fiberglass cloth. Be wary of a "sale" on cloth that might be water damaged.

How to Prepare Fiberglass before Apply Gelcoat

You can add a gelcoat surface to your fiberglass boat if you wish to change its color, if you have damaged the outside of the boat somehow, or there are other reasons for replacing the fiberglass shell which the boat came with using a gelcoat resin. If you plan to do this, following a few simple tips can help you to prepare your fiberglass for the application of this coat.

Step 1 - Get Your Fiberglass Clean

The most obvious step in preparing your fiberglass body for a gelcoat is the one which many people miss, and that is simply to give your boat a cleaning. Fiberglass can attract dust particles like paper on a comb, so you need to make sure that the fiberglass chopped strand mat you will be painting is scrupulously clean. You should first sweep the surface with a wide brush, and then clean up the area more closely using a brush with rigid bristles. This will help to remove debris from the corners or between panels. Sweep all of your debris into a dustpan, and then clean out your brush carefully, ready for when you will next want to use it.

Step 2 - Sand Your Fiberglass

Sometimes, the surface will need a new coat of gelcoat because the old surface has become oxidized through contact with the air and salt water. If this is the case, you should strip away the old gelcoat surface using a specially designed planer. This will cut into the pigmented resin and ensure that the gelcoat is completely removed from the surface of the fiberglass boat. You can purchase these sanders from local hardware stores, and it may be possible to rent them from marinas and other boat-specialist stores. Once you have the gelcoat planer working, connect it to a vacuum cleaner or other waste disposal unit in order to ensure that the dust and dirt will not be left on the boat surface, where it can affect the appearance of the new gelcoat.

Step 3 - Wash Your Fiberglass

After you have sanded down the old gelcoat, it is a good idea to give the surface a good wash with some soap and water. This will remove any old gelcoat that is adhering to the fiberglass, and it will also wash away specks and stains from the surrounding surfaces. A good wash will ensure that your fiberglass has a smooth surface, and therefore that the gelcoat will pour or spray evenly onto the boat. Once you have washed the fiberglass, give the area where you will be pouring your gelcoat a good buffing with some sandpaper. This will give your surface a slightly raised edge, which will help the gelcoat cling to the fiberglass.

Fiberglass chopped strand mat market reports

First, the characteristics of fiberglass products:

Fiberglass chopped strand mat is non-directional distribution, even distributing, and with excellent mechanical properties. Chopped strand mat with non-directional distribution that make up the storage of the woven roving has warp and weft distribution. At the same time, it also significantly increased the interlaminar shear strength of fiberglass reinforced plastic products, good cover mold performance, suitable all complex shape of products mold cavity. And good wet-out in resins, it can be arbitrarily cut, simple construction.  And smooth product appearance.

Second, the main application areas and related analysis of chopped strand mat at home and abroad.

Automotive interior market:

Mainly is the powder or emulsion with low gram. The gram from 80g/m2 to 250g/m2 range, on behalf of customers are Antun Salim Group, Italy TARGLASS sales of Fiat, the Korean market, the Japanese market (Honda, Toyota, etc.). China Jiangsu Association on behalf of clients Connaught.

Trunk Truck (including refrigerated trucks) market:

Mainly manufactured for Trunk Truck plates, customers include VETRORESINA, VETROGEL, CHO, Jinan sets.

Common hand lay application market:

Hand lay-up process application market is the most widely used market of chopped strand mat at home and abroad. The main demand is 225-600G / M2 powder and emulsion, the most European countries use emulsion, the customer in North area of China or as a powder-based.

Transparent tile market

Mainly is E glass chopped stand mat powder 225-600g/m2, all of them are transparent. There is a large market in our china mainland, mainly in the vicinity of Jiangsu and Hebei area. Foreign market is also a great amount, mainly in the Middle East, Indonesia and Thailand.

The use of fiberglass chopped strand mat

Chopped strand mat is short of fiberglass chopped strand mat. Which is made of fiberglass cut 50mm length. Non-directional uniformly distributed, It’s a kind of reinforcing material that made of the polyester powder or emulsion bond. At the same time , It’s a kind of E glass or C glass fiberglass nonwoven products.

Characteristic:

1.       Even unit weight, no stains and other defects debris

2.       Products with heavy strength and good flexibility

3.       Good wet-out in resins, little bubble and good technology.

4.       Good overlay capability, suitable for forming all kinds of complex shape of products.

5.       Good mechanical and chemical properties.

Based on the above characteristics, chopped strand mat gradually replace some of the steel material. It is widely used in various fields, such as shipbuilding, automobile, electric meter boxes, furniture, building materials, transparent tile, greenhouses, and other pipeline corrosion. It is also an energy saving and durable high-tech products.

Penetration rate of fiberglass chopped strand mat

Fiberglass chopped strand mat penetration rate is increased in the domestic standard. There aren’t any in the foreign standards.

Chopped strand mat is mainly used to produce fiberglass products. So the speed of the resin absorption and delivery has a large impact on the production of fiberglass. As our most application of fiberglass in hand lay-up area, this indicator is very important. Since 1992, we have been tracking the test method formulation of national standards, seek instrumented test methods, but so far the process is still under developed. Penetration rate criterion is based on the IS0 3717: 1975. "Determination time of fiberglass mat and woven fabric resin-impregnated " and (referred to as target the Tour de France) developed.

Its main principle is: the amount of resin is injected into the sample, with the resin immersion, the sample from opaque gradually become to transparent, though measuring the time to complete the process, required to express the sample impregnated rate. This method is simple, easy to promote, and facilitate corporate control test. Because different people has different ideas for sample "transparent" criteria, there are some subjective factors, but does not affect the material properties of the final judgment. Through repeated testing of the material, from the survey results, the test results of the repeatability and reproducibility is good. For now, this method is an effective, reliable and rapid test method. Through training inspectors and unified observation standards and other means to reduce the influence of subjective factors.

Hand lay-up FRP – the use of chopped strand mat

The process of hand lay-up for FRP

The surface condition of the hand lay-up FRP products。

In order to improve the value of the product, ensure the inner FRP doesn’t corrosion and prolong the product life. We usually make the article surface into a layer with pigmente paste(paste) and high level of resin. It can be just resin, and also be enhanced by surface mat. This layer is called gel coat layer (also referred to as surface layer or decorative layer).

The use of chopped strand mat

When use fiberglass chopped strand mat as reinforce materials, preferably using different specifications dipping roller operation, because impregnation roller to exclude air bubbles within the resin are particularly effective. If without such tools, we have to dipping with a brush, we should choose a good method to brush resin. Otherwise the fiber will be messed up and displacement. And resulting in uneven distribution and varying thickness. The chopped strand mat reinforce material shopped inside the deep corners. If we just use brush or roller dipping, it will difficult to close of bonding. So we should press smooth by hand.

When pasted, we use a roll coater glue coated on the mold surface and then manually spread the cut pieces of chopped strand mat on the surface of the mold and smooth, then glue the rubber roller, rolling back and forth, the resin glue immersion into the mat, then extrusion all glue from the mat with plastic foam roller and air bubble, then pasted the second layer.

If you encounter at the corners, you can manually torn the mat by hand, facilitate coated overlap, between the two mat pieces about 50mm. Many products can also be used in ply ways alternating chopped strand mat and glass cloth, Such as Japan company fish boat is a paste made of alternating method, it reported a good performance of the products made by the method.

What are Reinforced Plastics (GRP&CRP) ?

Two common types of Reinforced Plastics are glass reinforced plastics (GRP) and carbon reinforced plastics (CRP.) Reinforcement can be defined as the act of making something stronger by adding material that offers additional support or structure. Reinforced plastics are plastics whose characteristics have been enhanced by adding other materials. For example, reinforced plastics are typically sturdier and less affected by heat than normal plastics. Reinforced plastics are used in various industries to produce different types of products. 

Plastics are considered versatile materials. In many cases, however, if something is not added, plastics are too weak for the purposes that people would like to use them. These weak materials by themselves are often called a matrix.

Reinforcing plastics generally makes them stronger and more elastic. The degree of strength and elasticity can be affected by factors such as the type of reinforcing material, the concentration of that material, and the positioning of the material. When something is added to a matrix, the resulting product is often called a composite.

Making GRP involves combining a thermoplastic, such as polyester, with fibers of glass. There are several methods of accomplishing this but a popular one involves making a mat from the glass fibers. This can be done by arranging the glass fibers in desired directions, making multiple layers, and binding them with the thermoplastic. The products made with GRP are often produced using molds.

It is believed that the idea was developed in the United Kingdom during World War II, but generally, no specific date or inventor is recognized. There are currently many manufacturers of these reinforced plastics. Material of GRP such as fiberglass chopped strand mat is often used to make parts for yachts, high performance cars, and airplanes.