How do I keep the fibers from pulling out when I paint on the resin and making a mess.

Working fiberglass is messy, messy business. My suggestion would be to wear chemical resistant gloves and dip the cloth in a bucket of resin. Then smooth it in place as much as possible by hand. Then use the brush if you must.some fibers will pull out any way you go but this won't be noticeable after the final sanding and painting anyway. When you do sand be sure too wear a good quality bodysuit like the white ones sold at pait suppy stores. Also be sure to wear eye and resperatory protection as the fiberglass dust can not only be iritating but if it gets in your lungs will cause serious health problems.

Has anyone used cloth other than the glass cloth. I used nylon stocking when I made fake legs once and it worked very nice. Will any other cloth work with the resin?

There are lots of materials to use with resin. Check out different specialized stores in your area. The thing with glass is that it is stronge. A tip to use when you are laying up cloth is to paint a bit of resin onto the area you are going to lay the glass into, then lay the glass down and start applying - it will help keep the glass matte or clth in place when you start saturating the glass. It also helps to dab the resin into the cloth as opposed to painting in on. Another idea is to pre-apply the resin onto the glass before laying it - just use an old cardboard box and put the cloth on that and saturate the glass with resin, then lay it in. That will also avoid getting too much excess resin or pooling of resin when it cures. But definitely use a respirator - polyester resin can kill a lot of brain cells!
Good Luck,
Damien

I use cloth instead of the fiberglass cloth as decorative scratch proof decor to my roll on table and other illusions. You need to use a clear resin. Apply the resin, then the decorative cloth, then another coat of resin. After that, you have to place a thick cellophane sheet on top of it, then use a rubber roller to smoothen and take out the air bubbles. When dry, just take out the cellophane sheet. The resin won't stick on it. You will have a glossy scratch proof decorative cloth. Try using a metallic colored cloth for a magical finish.

Hope this helps you.

Lou

We used to make salad bowls from resin and cotton fabric.

My project is rock hard now but still has the slight smell of resin will this go away with time?

It will decrease with time. You may be smelling the catalyst as well...that will stay. Put the piece in warm sunlight or support it well and heat it in an old oven at about 175 degrees f for a few hours. This will drive out some of the latent styrene (the smelly stuff) but watch that it doesn't soften too much and warp.

Too right...dab resin on...DON'T brush it, you'll make a tangled mess.

Check out my site if you want to see plastics at work and play! LOL

http://www.nimbacreations.com

Tom that is one GREAT web site it will take me a couple of day to get through it.

Here's a trick that I learnt many years ago...

If you spray a "dust coat of 3M spray 77 to the cloth. You turn it into a large sticker that can be applied, and repositioned on your piece beofre the resin is applied.

This helps place it down in the exact spot that you want. then you can apply your resin without the cloth shifting.

Also, don't use too much resin. This can make a huge mess, and make finishing difficult. The way to prevent this is to use a roll of toilet paper and roll it across the resin and cloth (in reverse, so the TP doesn't unravel). This blots up all the excess resin and and leaves you with a good surface when cured. Too much resin also makes the whole thing WEAKER.

To answer the other question. I've worked with Fibreglass, Carbon Fibre, Kevlar, Spectra Cloth, Carbon/Kevlar hybrids, Silk, Cotton, and Dacron. I'm also well versed in Vacuumbagging Composites.

Please be very careful when using Polyester resin, not only can the fumes kill braincells, but the catalyst is dangerous. One drop of the Catalyst in your eye and you will go PERMANENTLY BLIND!!!! I use Epoxy Resins for all my composite work.

Lou, You can use a mixture of white glue and water to adhere cloth to solid pieces for decorative purposes. It dries clear and sticks everything down well. Just lay cloth in place and paint water/glue mixture on top. Let dry and you're done. Works great!

Hope some of this helps?

Michael Berends

I made a pair of leggs out of Fiberglass for a Modern Art last week. First time playing with the Fiberglass PAIN!! has anyone just used maniquin legs for something like this?
Enjoy!!
Joe Comet

Joe,
The legs for Modern Art all always a pain. Maniquin legs are an option but the pose is very important and finding that perfect pair is a chore. Don't be afraid to cut them down once you see what they look like in place. Also leave the the costume longer than the form. We use chopped strand mat instead of cloth. Tearing small pieces and layer with resin as we work the mold. Books about kit cars are a handy resource for fiberglass skilz. Also we have a great little tool that looks like a 4 inch paint roller made of grooved aluminum for working out the bubbles in the wet cloth. Once the part has kicked it gets sanded smooth with a DA and then sprayed with a high solids catalysied underbody coating like rust defender. This will fill all the voids and sands out real smooth. Good Luck, Spend all the time you can Modern Art is all about the legs.
Owen