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Fiberglass question

LyleM

Active Member
I watched the excellent video made by Van?s that showed how to fiberglass the windshield on the RV-14.
https://www.vansaircraft.com/public/service-rv14.htm
I want to basically use the same process on my -8. I did end up with a couple questions. In the video he says to wait until the layer of fiberglass you just put on is tacky and then put on the next layer. well, I will be lucky if I get one layer on a day. So do I rough it up with course sand paper before I lay up the next layer, or just put it on? Thanks
 
I think they did this in a steady session. A friend and I did our two that way. It was not a rote process, the layers were rolled to "lift" the resin and if still rich another dry strip of reinforcement was added. Continuous measurements with templates were used every few layers to ensure the proper contour was obtained.

All this takes time and found that the working life of a West 105/206 was reached before moving on, pretty easily. Heating the work area shortens the working time. 10C drops it by half.

Personally, I don't think you will have to do it in multiple sessions.

Look up flame pretreatment (of the plexiglass) on the West system site. It is easy, won't hurt anything and is very quick. It will enhance the bonding strength. I used g-glex for the first resin layer for this reason. Do the research, and possibly test pieces beforehand. Passing a propane flame over the surface quickly is all that is needed. You can not even feel the temp increase.
 
If you can't get it all done at once, apply peel ply like another layer of glass, then once cured pull it off and you will have a surface ready for bonding. A light sanding wouldn't hurt. If you do not use peel ply, sand with 60/80 grit until there is no glossy areas without cutting into the fiberglass.

Mike S
Glasair III
RV-8
 
Rough cut all the plies. Weight them together, then stack them on a 4 mil plastic sheet. Mix, by weight, a quantity of epoxy equal to the glass weight, with maybe a little extra. Now pour the whole mix on the glass cloth, and cover it with another plastic sheet. Use a roller or squeegee to distribute the epoxy through all the plies. When it's all wetted, roll excess epoxy out to the edges of the plastic. Now draw the desired pattern right on the top sheet with a marker, and cut it with a roller knife, right through the plastic.

With the bond surfaces on the airplane prepped, carefully peel one plastic sheet, lay the entire layup into place, then peel the top plastic sheet. Stipple into place with a cut brush. Done.
 
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