After being pretty impressed with some of the fiberglass work and instruction being displayed here, I took the common advice of getting the AS kit/book and doing a little self-education. I'm in between the tailkit and wings on my RV-10 and figured now is as good a time as any to try my hand at it. Turns out the kit is great advice and I learned a few lessons, or let's say, made mistakes that I hope won't get repeated on the airplane. The first project in the book is a 6-ply flat layup that was pretty simple; the goal is to weigh in a measured finished piece within limits showing that a 'correct' ratio of resin to cloth was used.
The next two projects are a beam and a bookend, but that didn't really excite me too much, so I went off plan and decided to try and make a seat kit for one of my bikes that will fit here:
Carve out the mold -curve in back is to nest well against wing-shaped seatpost...
And glass it
This is where the learning curve starts up...a fully enclosed object is going to have drips or at least a heavier end unless you can put it on a rotisserie while drying. Also, using a good mold release is going to be important soon. Finally, test fitting your pieces ahead of time and using a more form fitting material (I ended up getting some 8-harness later and that improved the ability to get the material flat against the mold)makes life a lot easier. The better the initial layup, the less work later. Although, I will say that a corollary is it seems like almost anything is salvageable, if you are willing to sand/fill/repeat.
After getting the layout done (three separate sessions) I cut the front end off to make a lid, dug out the foam (and them used a little acetone) and started the filling process. Another lesson - this is NOT dry micro
Another layup to create a rim around the front piece so it acts like a lid (took two more sessions) and then some more fill and sand:
Finally, filling primer, then paint (both from rattle cans. Hey, it's just an experiment). The finished product is certainly useable - yes it's a little thicker than it had to be, and I haven't decided how I'm going to hang it from the bike - shoulda designed that in earlier...
A few other lessons learned - attempting to sand before cured enough is a mess; avoid air bubbles, voids and not stuck down cloth; peel ply works better on tight curves in smaller pieces or strips; the white paper dust masks are worthless - I'm going to try a 3M 7500 series mask with appropriate filters. I don't think I'm going to impress anyone with my work soon (I feel kinda like the anti-Dan) but, like I mentioned earlier, you can fix most things (just takes time) and I will have to come up with new mistakes to make on the airplane. Be not afraid...
==dave==
RV-10
waiting on wing kit
The next two projects are a beam and a bookend, but that didn't really excite me too much, so I went off plan and decided to try and make a seat kit for one of my bikes that will fit here:
Carve out the mold -curve in back is to nest well against wing-shaped seatpost...
And glass it
This is where the learning curve starts up...a fully enclosed object is going to have drips or at least a heavier end unless you can put it on a rotisserie while drying. Also, using a good mold release is going to be important soon. Finally, test fitting your pieces ahead of time and using a more form fitting material (I ended up getting some 8-harness later and that improved the ability to get the material flat against the mold)makes life a lot easier. The better the initial layup, the less work later. Although, I will say that a corollary is it seems like almost anything is salvageable, if you are willing to sand/fill/repeat.
After getting the layout done (three separate sessions) I cut the front end off to make a lid, dug out the foam (and them used a little acetone) and started the filling process. Another lesson - this is NOT dry micro
Another layup to create a rim around the front piece so it acts like a lid (took two more sessions) and then some more fill and sand:
Finally, filling primer, then paint (both from rattle cans. Hey, it's just an experiment). The finished product is certainly useable - yes it's a little thicker than it had to be, and I haven't decided how I'm going to hang it from the bike - shoulda designed that in earlier...
A few other lessons learned - attempting to sand before cured enough is a mess; avoid air bubbles, voids and not stuck down cloth; peel ply works better on tight curves in smaller pieces or strips; the white paper dust masks are worthless - I'm going to try a 3M 7500 series mask with appropriate filters. I don't think I'm going to impress anyone with my work soon (I feel kinda like the anti-Dan) but, like I mentioned earlier, you can fix most things (just takes time) and I will have to come up with new mistakes to make on the airplane. Be not afraid...
==dave==
RV-10
waiting on wing kit
