Fiberglass Info

[nymack66]

Hopefully this helps.
Know the difference between Epoxy and Polyester and why you must choose the correct type first !

FIBERGLASS COVERING / BUILDING FABRICS

Fiberglass Cloth, Mat, Roving and Tape - for Epoxy or Polyester

Fiberglass fabrics have been developed for many marine, industrial and household purposes. Consequently, there are different types of fabrics - i.e., CLOTH, MAT and ROVING. Each type has special characteristics suited to fill a specific need. On this page we describe each type of fabric in order that you may select the one best suited for your project.

First, some specifics about our line of Marine Fiberglass Fabrics. They are superior strength fabrics woven from pure glass fiber and treated with special finish processes. These finish processes are very important in that they remove the oils used to lubricate the fibers during manufacturing. Certain industrial fabrics are not finish processed; consequently, beware of these so-called bargain fabrics as they can be difficult to wet out and can lead to delamination.

Whether you use our Marine Fiberglass Fabrics for covering or strengthening, they have outstanding tensile, structural and impact strength. We recommend them for boat hulls, cabin decks, auto customizing as well as any application where strength and durability is required.

FIBERGLASS CLOTH - Weight 6 oz. or 7-1/2 oz. per sq. yd.

Our cloth is treated with a chemical coupling agent which significantly improves the peel strength and adhesion over or-dinary cloth when using Epoxy-Plus resin. It works equally well with polyester resin.

We recommend using one layer of our 71/2 oz. cloth for the hull, sides, bottom and transom for boats from 8 to 18 ft. We recom-mend two layers on larger boats where additional structural strength is required. 6 oz. cloth is used for cedar strip canoes.

FIBERGLASS MAT - Weight 1-1/2 oz. per sq. ft.

This treated material is a non-woven felt consisting of chopped glass fibers 1 " to 2" in length, crisscrossed and randomly interlocked and held together with a binder. Since it is not a woven cloth it can be stretched to fit into difficult areas. Because it is highly absorbent it soaks up a great deal of resin, and the resultant structure is stiffer than a layer of woven cloth, although not as strong. Matting is often used be-tween layers of woven cloth or roving, or as a waterproof layer when there is no gel-coat. Typically used with polyester resin which dissolves the binder. Not recommended for use with Epoxy-Plus.

FIBERGLASS WOVEN ROVING - Weight 18 oz. per sq. yd.

Woven roving is a high strength, coarsely woven fabric widely used in all phases of fiberglass molding. This 18 oz. treated roving has replaced all other lightweight grades where speed of wet-out, drapability and flatness of weave are important. Higher physical properties are possible in laminates of this grade because of the reduced number of interstices in the fabric. Typically used with polyester resin, But can also be used with Epoxy-Plus Resin.

FIBERGLASS CLOTH TAPE - Weight 9 oz. per square yard

Woven fiberglass cloth tape has many uses. It may be used in any area that needs reinforcement, for covering seams, for bonding edges, or Stitch and Glue construction. All tapes are made with specially woven and bonded selvage edges to prevent fraying. Almost invisible to the eye, these fine selvages represent a marked improvement over the bulky, twisted type which often slip off in handling and produce a ridge, thicker than the tape itself, in the finished laminate. For Epoxy-Plus or polyester resin.