Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

[supr78nova]

I am in the middle of putting a new deck in my 16' Starcraft aluminum boat and I need some advice. After doing a bunch of research on this site, I decided to purchase some West System Epoxy resin and 206 hardener to encapsulate the 1/2" AC plywood that I used to make a new deck.

My question concerns the type of cloth used to cover the epoxy coated plywood to increase its rigidity. I have read numerous posts about covering plywood with fiberglass cloth and/or fiberglass matting.

In the interest of saving some money on this project as I am already way over budget, I am looking into covering the plywood with polyester fleece fabric because it is absorbent and would result in a smooth surface. The poly fleece is available in a width that will cover the board and is readily available at the local fabric store. I have heard of people using polyester fleece with poly resin when making speaker enclosures and other such projects, I was just wondering if it could be used with epoxy resin as well.

If poly fleece won't work, is there another type of fabric other than fiberglass cloth or matting that I could use with the epoxy resin to increase the rigidity of the plywood?


Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Dan

 

[Kellyfmtx]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

West System model 105 wm 323733 and 205 hardener wm 318360

This was recommended to me by West Marine. I have no idea about using a cloth with it. I hesitate into getting this stuff, for one I have NO experience in this, and know nobody who does this. Another issue is the money. This was to cover my transom wood to keep it good for as long as possible.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

Ladies & Gentlemen go to the us composites web site and do some reading about epoxy. West is great stuff and big bucks....... do the reading foor the sake of your wallets

 

[Kellyfmtx]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

Thanks Bob, I will take a look at it. I am a woman by the way.

 

[supr78nova]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

I have already spent the money and I have already opened the container so I could seal up the edges of the plywood. Next time may be a different story if there ever is a next time, but for now I am just looking to finish the job while spending the least money I can to get the job done.

Does anybody know if Polyester fleece can be used with epoxy resin as a substitute for fiberglass cloth or mat?

Dan

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

You really need to use glass.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

1.5-2 oz fiberglass cloth can be found cheap. Try ebay. I bought like a 100 yard roll for $40 or something. If you were local I'd give you some

 

[capri1600]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

E-glass or "boat cloth" as it is sometimes called is very inexpensive and really what you need if you are trying to increase strength without to much weight or too much resin. You really ned to do some reading because I think you are flying blind here. Forget that polywhatever you mentioned. It will not add any strength, probably isnt compatible with epoxy anyhow. Fortunately, in general the decking of a runabout doesnt need a lot of strengthening so we use polyester resin and maybe a couple layers of medium weight fiberglass mat. Thats what's going into my Capri 1600. One layer of mat on the bottom and two on the top. Then I'm probably topping it with Line-X or something similar. It won't be carpet.

 

[oops!]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

i agree with capri.....use poly and fiberglass it.

the amount you spend on the epoxy will be double what you spend on poly.....

in other words........by going poly.....you can get the glass and the matt for less than the cost of the epoxy alone.


the standard poly fiberglass encapsulating plywood will last 20 years any how.

 

[supr78nova]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

If I had to choose between fiberglass cloth and fiberglass mat to be used with the epoxy resin that I already have, which should I use?

Also, does anyone know the approximate weight the regular automotive type fiberglass cloth is?


Thanks,

Dan

 

[danond]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

i agree with capri.....use poly and fiberglass it.

the amount you spend on the epoxy will be double what you spend on poly.....

Only if you're buying West System. The price is significantly cheaper if you go with the stuff that US Composites sells.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

You already have the epoxy, and you want an inexpensive cloth to use, right?

Go to fiberglasssite.com and look at the 1708 biax/mat. Its $40 for 5 yards x 50" wide. How wide is the deck in your boat? My guess is 5 yards is just about right. And it will lay very nice, add a super amount of strength, and at $40 plus shipping, it's not very expensive.

You need just ONE layer of the 1708 on plywood and it will be tough as nails.

 

[willyrocket]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

A little confused by the replies. he mentioned 1/2 ply for the deck. Isnt most decks for tin boats a little thicker? Did he use the 1/2 to save weight. he was asking if using glass would add rigidity.

Are you wanting to seal the ply or add rigidity?

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

1/2" is fine for a lot of boats, especially glassed. Thicker than that may be needed if the deck is structural, but for most boats it isn't.

On the question of fleece, epoxy will work with it as it will with most cloth. But fleece is used mostly because it drapes in nice curves for speaker boxes, and stretches around forms to make nifty melted looking shapes. As someone said it adds very little strength. Speaker boxes usually don't need much.

The Bondo or other cloth you find in little packs in auto stores will work fine, although it's probably much more expensive than just ordering a couple yards of cloth from an online retailer. It's about 12 ounce cloth usually, at least the packs I've used (when I ran out of cloth unexpectedly).

If you're using epoxy, use fabric, not mat. More strength, and cost is about the same.

Be aware that epoxy, even west system, will yellow in the sun, so you'll need to paint over it.

Definitely check out the uscomposites.com web site as well as the fine epoxies from MAS sold here on iboats. You'll save enough going to another brand of epoxy to pay for your cloth, although you can't go wrong with west system... it's expensive, but it is nice stuff.

Erik

 

[supr78nova]

Re: Cloth Material Used w/ Epoxy Resin Other Than FG

Thanks for all of the replies. I decided against the use of fleece and went with FG cloth instead. The final covering for the deck is Nautolex marine vinyl (same as original covering), so UV damage to the epoxy is not a factor here. The OE plywood was 15/32 exterior grade, so I replaced mine with the same 1/2" (15/32) 5 ply AC exterior grade. I would have gone thicker , but the way the boat is assembled, the plywood goes under benches and lockers in the middle, so I needed to maintain the original thickness of the plywood so the rivet holes where the benches attach to the hull would still line up.

Thanks again,

Dan