Fiberglass fraying, unraveling, and distorting is a pain in the rear for me. Here is a technique some will criticize, but I like. I’ll show a small example – ‘glassing a profile nose.
(Pic 1) First, mix up a dab of
washable white glue, thinned 50/50 with water. I’ve tried a thinner 2/3 water and 1/3 adhesive mix, but edge raveling was a problem.
(Pic 2) Tape down the portion of the fiberglass to a sheet of plate glass, smoothing and straightening the warp and woof. Brush on the thinned glue, keeping the ‘glass flat on the glass – no wrinkles, bubbles, or distortion. I marked a couple of dots with a felt tip showing a rough outline to brush.
(No Pic) Dab the glue completely off the brushed area with wadded paper towels. Dab straight up and down so the fiberglass does not distort. Continue until the cloth feels nearly dry, and no adhesive is visible filling the gaps between threads. Let dry overnight.
(Pics 3 & 4) Trim the starched fiberglass from the larger sheet with an X-Acto or some such. It doesn’t take an overly sharp blade to cut cleanly with no raveling at all. The working piece lifts easily from the glass (if you dabbed enough). I use a single edge blade to lift a corner.
(Pic 5) This fuzzy pic shows the cut piece draped loosely over the nose. The starched fiberglass has about the same feel as dry heavy silkspan. I’ve not tried this on compound curves as yet, but I think it will do fine.
You might be concerned that the glass is not a strong, since the “starch” can prevent full penetration the epoxy into the cloth by partially pre-filling it. However, if you try it, I believe that concern will disappear.
I’m not sure if anyone else uses this, or a similar technique on ‘glass or silk. I don’t recall seeing it on any of the forums. I’d be interested in any variations or critiques.
I wasn’t sure about the proper use of the terms “ravel” and “unravel” – Check this out, if you are not sure either
http://theurbansherpa.com/permalink.php?id=1766 Larry Fulwider