What about this fiber glass....

[Paul Taylor]

Would this be good for covering a cowl with?

And do I use epoxy or fiber glass resin?

http://www.brodak.com/shop_productdetail.php?ProductID=5790

[BillLee]

Would this be good for covering a cowl with?

Sure. Any glass in the range of .5-.75 oz. will work just fine.

And do I use epoxy or fiber glass resin?

Use whatever you're comfortable with.

And unless you want to soak the balsa cowl with resin, put on a coat or two of thinned nitrate first, and then cover with the glass/resin.

Regards,

Bill Lee

[keith varley]

If you use any epoxy in the construction of the cowl , then you wont be able to use the polyester resin to finish it. It just wont cure when used over top of epoxy.There is some chemical reaction , even tho it seems that the epoxy is perfectly cured.Best to use an epoxy finishing resin to glass it.
Also the catalyst used in the polyester resin is really dangerous.IF you get a drop in your eye you will lose your eye sight.
 Keith Varley

[Balsa Butcher]

The Sig fibre glass will work well . It is very light and I'd recomment two layers for a cowl...but that's just me. My favorite resin is called "Z-poxy" made by Pacer. Just mix two equal parts and it sands very will. I have not had good luck with the polyester resins, but that's just me. I like to use two coats of Z-poxy, first to adhere the fibreglass, second to fill, then sand to a nice smooth finish. Wouldn't use anything else. 

[Bill Hummel]

I'll echo Pete's comments about the Pacer finishing epoxy resin...great stuff for applying fiberglass, goes on easily with a small disposable acid brush. We also use it for sheeting foam wings with balsa.  Excellent coverage, good working time, can be spread VERY thinly, so little weight penalty.  Matter of fact, it's all we use for wing sheeting. Roughs up with 220-grit, takes dope well.

[Will Hinton]

Love that Z-Poxy.  Shoot, I even use it as a grain sealer on some of the custom guitars I build.  As long as the slight amber tone isn't offensive for the wood used, it seals wonderfully and sands like chalk.  Great combination!
I put a coat on, no matter where I'm using it, then wipe most of it back off with a paper towel, let it cure, then use more coats if I need a build up - such as a cowl.

[Bill Little]

Z Poxy!

It's the only way to *fly*.

Mongo

[Paul Taylor]

OK, Zpoxy is what I will do.
Where do I get it?

[Greg L Bahrman]

......TOWER HOBBIES..... ....HOBBYPEOPLE..... ....E-HOBBIES..... ....TOWER HOBBIES..... ....TOWER HOBBIES.... ....[move]

[Pinecone]

I use WEST for just about everything.

You can vary the pot life/cure time by mixing hardeners.  You can modify it with filler for a glue or use it straight for laminating.  Very versatile.

I buy the resin by the gallon and then have various hardeners in smaller containers.

Also you can get pumps that do the mixing ratio easily.  It also mixes 5 to 1 by weight, so a small digital scale and you can mix the smallest batches accurately.

[Willie Johnson]

This is best place for buying fiberglass:

http://www.thayercraft.com/

Paul, if you still need some fiberglass for your cowl, email me.

[Bill Little]

This is best place for buying fiberglass:

http://www.thayercraft.com/

Paul, if you still need some fiberglass for your cowl, email me.

Hi Willie,

Thanks for that site!

Mongo

[Paul Taylor]

Thanks guys I have a order coming from Tower.

[Larry Cunningham]

I've not bought any fiberglass for a long time, so I thought it looked terribly expensive. The
thayercraft.com link is greatly appreciated; that's more like it. I'd never use polyester resin
for anything, even if it is a lot cheaper - it's potentially dangerous and has the most rotten,
horrible smell. JMO.

Epoxy is a hazardous material as well, but stronger and easier to work with IMO. Fiberglass is
adequately strong for items like wheel pants, and much cheaper and better conforming. I like to
use a finer weave fiberglass material for the outer surface layer.

What ultimately worked best for me was rubber molds, made with a wooden plug, and  later I
poured the female mold full of rubber to make a plug to fit it. This allowed me to fully saturate
the fiberglass cloth (overly so) in the female mold, then use the rubber male plug to compress it
and squeeze out excess and avoid bubbles.

It's not all that difficult to do, and the good epoxy resin goes a long way toward success. More
sophisticated and durable molds can be built if you plan to mold a larger number of parts.

That said, I don't feel I'd be capable of molding a decent quality fuselage or wing - but my crude
methods did produce reasonable small items.

L.

"All major weaknesses have been exposed, analyzed, and replaced with new
weaknesses." -Bruce Leverett