fiberglassing cowl

hi all,
i am done fitting my cowl and flush rivets are in for the hinges. my plan is to lay a strip of cloth[ 2-3''] along the rivet lines and then feather the edge of the cloth into the cowl. there are a few areas where bottom and top cowls are not a perfect fit [not gap, i mean distance from engine] and could be improved by a little filler. should i fill these areas and contour before or after i lay my glass /cloth down?
any advice would be appreciated.

After.....

thanks dan,
i have another question..... i am of the belief that whenever you put even a layer of cloth on the cowl should be as relaxed as possible for a better fit/easier on and off etc later. this means putting the glass on with the cowl in place. what do you do to keep the cloth from ''oozing'' down the side of the cowl before it cures?or does it not matter to do the glassing with the cowl turned on its side on the bench?

bobnoffs said:

thanks dan,
i have another question..... i am of the belief that whenever you put even a layer of cloth on the cowl should be as relaxed as possible for a better fit/easier on and off etc later. this means putting the glass on with the cowl in place. what do you do to keep the cloth from ''oozing'' down the side of the cowl before it cures?or does it not matter to do the glassing with the cowl turned on its side on the bench?

Click to expand...

Bob,

My suggestion would be to apply the glass and wait until the resin begins to kick off. When the resin gets past the point of being runny and begins stiffening up yet is still soft and malleable, quickly assemble the cowl and let the resin harden to full cure with the cowl positioned in its final assembled shape.

Happy building,

Don't think it matters very much. However, John has offered a no-lose technique, so...

thanks guys. guess i will get at it tomorrow. more fun than flying an airplane!

Just a thought, do you have too much resin in your glass? My experience is that if I roll out the excess resin and do one layup at a time, my plys will not move. I sandwich my resin loaded fiberglass between two pieces of wax paper and roll out the excess resin. Good tip I learned on this site.