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Fibreglass resin

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:15 pm
by Pete&Matt
We need to get some more resin. Does anyone know what Tim would have given us? We have been recommeded to use fire retardant class 2??

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:21 pm
by stylussprinter
Pete&Matt wrote:We need to get some more resin. Does anyone know what Tim would have given us? We have been recommeded to use fire retardant class 2??
Never heard of retardant class :roll: Tim would have supplied resin from whatever source was competitive. Best thing is ---- don't have fires :lol: plenty of air in and out around exhausts / not in sill :wink: and bloody good electrical connections 8)

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:21 pm
by jefferybond
Pete&Matt wrote:We need to get some more resin. Does anyone know what Tim would have given us? We have been recommeded to use fire retardant class 2??
You just want standard polyester resin. CFS is a good place to get it online (http://www.cfsnet.co.uk) They've got allsorts like matting, gelcoat, tissue, carbon fibre, etc.

This is the stuff you want:

http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/CFS_Ca ... IN_82.html

Jeff

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:13 pm
by hearbear
jefferybond wrote:
Pete&Matt wrote:We need to get some more resin. Does anyone know what Tim would have given us? We have been recommeded to use fire retardant class 2??
You just want standard polyester resin. CFS is a good place to get it online (http://www.cfsnet.co.uk) They've got allsorts like matting, gelcoat, tissue, carbon fibre, etc.

This is the stuff you want:

http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/CFS_Ca ... IN_82.html

Jeff
I ordered from them and had good service and delivery from them :D

George

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:06 pm
by alecmartin19
tim uses standard polyester resin with the hardener already pre mixed. you just add the 2% activator (by weight) you can also buy it in the 3 seperate parts with resin, hardener and activator/catalyst coming in different containers. this will have a very long shelf life. the stuff with the hardener already pre mixed only has a limited shelf life. probably about 2 years or so depending on temperature as the hardener is already mixed. the catalyst just speeds up the process to about 20 minutes of working time rather than 2 years.

the other type of resin you can buy and use with the same glass cloth, or even carbon or kevlar cloth is epoxy resin. this resin is more expensive but has a higher strength in comparison to the polyester and is also more resistant to heat/fire. still not fire retardant. more like resistant for a little while!

hope that helps a bit!

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:41 am
by Pete&Matt
thanks for that Alec. That explains why our resin has started to go off then!!

At the pace we are going, its prob going to be best to get the polyester 3 part resin!!

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 9:29 pm
by alecmartin19
can be difficult to find in 3 parts. i would wait until you need it and then buy it. even if you get everything ready for glassing and do one big weekend full of it. as a previous post before mine said CFS is a good place to get it all from and i used them throughout my build. i've used it for other things too including another project using carbon and kevlar which they also sell!

doesn't take them long to get stuff to you, a matter of a couple of days and delivery charges are very reasonable!

yes that is the reason your resin starts to go off in the container. turns into a purple sludge very slowly until the whole pot is like jelly!

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 8:24 pm
by PeteC
Does the matting itself go off with age, or just the resin?
I will be ordering resin anyway, don't know whether to get fresh matting as well.
Pete C

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:23 pm
by alecmartin19
well i know that the air force gets rid of their matting after 6 months or something crazy like that. i think it may absorb moisture or even collect dust but i used the matting they were getting rid of for my car and its been fine so i think its mainly the resin you need to worry about. that is easy to tell when its gone off though as it turns to jelly. as long as its runny its still good to use. despite what the date may say!

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 10:15 am
by Pete&Matt
our matting has been fine and we had it for a good year prior to use! Just stored it in a warm dry place in a black bag.

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 11:01 am
by PeteC
thanks for that, the resin has started to go off as it is quite thick. The matting has been stored dry and sealed in a bag, will give it a go.
Pete

Re: Fibreglass resin

Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 1:56 pm
by Bikenuts
Last summer I used some woven tape that’s nearly as old as me - 40+ years and it seems absolutely fine. The only thing I’d be worried about with matting is moisture absorption – and that will have more to do with how you store it than how old it is.