Make a fiberglass fan shroud
(→Laminating the part) |
(→Laminating the part) |
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| − | I made a roller out of some threaded rod, a file handle and some 1/4 rod. It works extremely well for rolling out air bubbles in fiberglass. Move slowly, applying enough pressure to roll the air out, but not so much pressure that you move the mat around or push all of the resin out. Air bubbles look like clear voids, they are easily spotted when you put pressure on them as you can move them around."Dry" spots will show up as white strands of fiberglass that spring up out of the resin. | + | I made a roller out of some threaded rod, a file handle and some 1/4" rod. It works extremely well for rolling out air bubbles in fiberglass. Move slowly, applying enough pressure to roll the air out, but not so much pressure that you move the mat around or push all of the resin out. Air bubbles look like clear voids, they are easily spotted when you put pressure on them as you can move them around."Dry" spots will show up as white strands of fiberglass that spring up out of the resin. |
use consistent, firm pressure, moving steadily. It works better to pull the roller than to push it. | use consistent, firm pressure, moving steadily. It works better to pull the roller than to push it. | ||
You can also use a brush, foam roller or your fingers to manipulate the air out. Squeegees don't work well on mat. Commercially made rollers of many sizes and shapes are available from most fiberglass supply houses. | You can also use a brush, foam roller or your fingers to manipulate the air out. Squeegees don't work well on mat. Commercially made rollers of many sizes and shapes are available from most fiberglass supply houses. | ||
| − | [[Image:30rolling out the air.JPG|center| | + | {| |
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| + | |[[Image:30rolling out the air.JPG|center|thumb|A roller can be made from threaded rod, a file handle, and 1/4" rod.]] | ||
| + | |[[Image:31rolling out some more air.JPG|center|thumb|You can see the difference between a rolled-out area with no air, and an area that still has air in it.]] | ||
| + | |[[Image:32dwell in the corners.JPG|center|thumb|When you roll into a corner, dwell there with the roller for a second, to allow the air to come out of the corner.]] | ||
| + | |} | ||
| − | + | {| | |
| + | |-valign="top" | ||
| + | |[[Image:33rolling over the apex of the radius.JPG|center|thumb|Roll over a corner, not parallel with it.]] | ||
| + | |[[Image:34all air is rolled out.JPG|center|thumb|Now all the air is rolled out.]] | ||
| + | |[[Image:35rolled out.JPG|center|thumb]] | ||
| + | |[[Image:36corner detail.JPG|center|thumb|A properly rolled-out corner.]] | ||
| + | |} | ||
| − | + | Cut your material so that you have at least 1" of overlap onto the previously laid up section. Stagger the layers so you don't create a big lump. A trick that professional glass guys use is to tear the edges of the mat. This tapers the thickness down at the edge, making a smoother overlap. Done correctly and applied while the previous lay up is still workable, you wont be able to tell that the part was made from separate pieces of mat, instead of 1 continous piece. | |
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| − | Cut your material so that you have at least 1" of overlap onto the previously laid up section. Stagger the layers so you | + | |
[[Image:37sizing up some mat.JPG|center|600px]] | [[Image:37sizing up some mat.JPG|center|600px]] | ||
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[[Image:40all laid up.JPG|center|600px]] | [[Image:40all laid up.JPG|center|600px]] | ||
| − | Here | + | Here are a couple of troubleshooting pictures. The white streaks and crosses are the result of a slightly stressed part, this one was from the laminate being in the sun and curing too fast in that spot. It is the resin shrinking and pulling the fibers apart that causes that appearance. |
[[Image:41slightly stressed from shrinking too fast.JPG|center|600px]] | [[Image:41slightly stressed from shrinking too fast.JPG|center|600px]] | ||
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