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Tight weave cloth
By:Dan Caouette (CSFW)
Date: 1/26/2012, 8:58 am
In Response To: Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin (John Abercrombie)

: You need to be careful what 'type' of lighter glass cloth you buy.
: I recently (by mistake) bought some 3.2oz cloth that has a very
: tight weave and is difficult to drape and to 'wet out'. I ended
: up using as much resin as I would have needed with 6oz cloth.
: Ask for samples if you are mail-ordering cloth!

Sounds like you have some of the S glass I use... That stuff is great but it can be a real bear to work with.

I use tight weave cloth almost exclusively now, mostly style 120 (3.16oz crowfoot weave) with 60x58 ends per inch. It's very soft and conforms to about any shape you throw at it. I use approximately 25-30% less resin overall which really helps reduce the finish weight. The tighter weave really helps reduce the amount or resin required to fill the weave. It's very smooth. Yes, you do need to be careful as to what you order. The style of weave (plain, twill, crowfoot or harness), the number of threads per inch, the type of (E versus S) and the finish on the glass itself (volans or silane) all impact the softness of the cloth (eg how it drapes) and how it wets out. The viscosity and type of resin you use will impact the wetout. I've found I need slightly less-viscous resin to get clear wet out of the tighter weaves. In my shop anything over about 600 cps will wet out the cloth enough strength-wise but it may not be 100% clear.

I do not recommend the use of tight weave cloth for those starting out with fiberglassing. The more open weaves are easier to work with and more forgiving. "Regular" plain weave style 1522 3.7oz (commonly called 4oz) E glass has 24x22 ends per inch. 6oz glass is usually something like style 7533 with 18x18 ends per inch.

If you have any questions about what your buying contact the seller. They are usually very knowledgeable. Explain what you're doing and they'll point you in the right direction. That's also good advice for any material.

Messages In This Thread

Material: Fiberglass / resin
Chris Wynne -- 1/9/2012, 7:17 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Allan -- 1/9/2012, 8:38 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Robert l -- 1/9/2012, 11:22 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Chris -- 1/24/2012, 6:16 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Kevin Greer -- 1/25/2012, 6:48 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
John Abercrombie -- 1/26/2012, 12:30 am
Tight weave cloth
Dan Caouette (CSFW) -- 1/26/2012, 8:58 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Bill Hamm -- 1/30/2012, 5:29 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
John Abercrombie -- 1/30/2012, 11:19 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Bill Hamm -- 1/31/2012, 3:50 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Bill Hamm -- 1/31/2012, 3:52 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Bryan Hansel -- 1/25/2012, 8:43 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Allan -- 1/25/2012, 8:51 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Bryan Hansel -- 1/26/2012, 12:19 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Allan -- 1/26/2012, 4:06 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Bryan Hansel -- 1/26/2012, 9:15 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Rod Tait (Orca Boats) -- 1/10/2012, 10:43 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Eric Mattison -- 1/24/2012, 6:32 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Charles Robinson -- 1/24/2012, 7:42 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Eric Mattison -- 1/24/2012, 8:00 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Bill Hamm -- 1/31/2012, 3:41 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
ancient kayaker -- 1/25/2012, 12:54 am
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 1/26/2012, 12:32 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
ancient kayaker -- 1/26/2012, 5:11 pm
Re: Material: Fiberglass / resin
Dean -- 1/26/2012, 2:17 pm