Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
plastic film over epoxy.
i did some tests so i thought id share,this is plastic film or petg i think its called.020 or ,030 thick.not the duralar(sp) this is thick film that comes with a protective blue film over bothsides.
you peel off one side stick it down to your wet glass.
i removed as much exsess resin as i could then i layed the film and rolled it to work out the bubbles,you can easly see them threw the blue protective coating.i left it on so its protected for the next time.
after cure i pulled the film off.very flat and shinny,you can see the weave still in some spots.remember i removed as much excess resin after the glass was wet.
so had i left the resin on, it would have filled the weave completely or maybe added a tea spoon worth..
compaired to letting the first coat kick then filling again in a couple of coats,this method appears to be much easier.you end up with a flat surface, a shine that looks like a new car and you don't need to sand or add extra resin.Also the film can be re used.
from this test i will never again lay glass without the film.
happy fishin...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on
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Tungsten,
Good result, thanks for sharing this with us. Is this plastic similar to the stuff they sell in hdwe stores for window replacement? Can you tell us where you got the plastic Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Jamestown Distributers, etc? Do you know how large of sheets are available. I'm thinking of an area the size of a drift boat side or bottom.
Did you use a roller of some kind to smooth out the surface after you applied the plastic?
Sorry to bug you with all these questions, but it's something I am going to try.
thanks,
phil w.
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Permalink Reply by tungsten on
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no problem Phil,google" sabic polymershapes" the key is that it has to be thick enough.020 or .030 this does the fairing for you.4x8 is what it comes in so just butt joint and tape together for longer pieces.any kinda of thick plastic will work but a stiff one is better as this is what does the fairing for you.
Andrew from this site got me going on it,i think its called pet G
yes a roller to get out the bubbles,and the film can be reused as long as you dont scratch it up too much.
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Tungsten,
Good news, Sabic has a branch office just an hour South of me. Thanks, appreciate the info.
phil w.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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The material is called PetG. It is the same material that they make pop bottles out of to give you all a point of reference.
As tungsten mentioned I used it on my skiff build and would never do it any other way. You seem to be an expert now Tungsten, so you can help me do the rescue boat this long weekend. ;)
The finish is so smooth that it will pick up the scratches in the PetG.
Andrew
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Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on
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Thanks for the post Tungsten. This is good to know.
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i think we all new it worked,peelply has been around for ever. i just didn't know how much resin you needed underneith the film..
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Permalink Reply by Frank R on
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I experimented with this idea with my pram. Thick is the key; thinner plastics will have wrinkles and that will transfer to the cured epoxy. I think I used vinyl which I bought from the local fabric store.
It is easy to do on flat surfaces or simple curves; it gets harder to do on compound curves like over a chine. In that case it would probably be best to do the sides and bottoms seperately and then hand finish the transition area between them.
The next step is to vacuum bag the entire boat!
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So is this the process you used?
1.Roll on coat of epoxy
2. Lay fabric
3. Fill weave
4. Roll on plastic
5. Allow to set
I know we talked about this when you were over but I cant remember what we thought was the best way? I am getting ready to do mine this weekend and I was not sure.
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My suggestion is to break it into two applications:
1.Roll on coat of epoxy
2. Lay fabric
3. Allow to set
4. Fill weave
5. Roll on plastic
6. Allow to set
This takes the drama out of trying to do too much at one time.
BTW: Here is a link to the article where I learned the technique. He uses polyester but any thick plastic should work fine. Like I said, I got mine at the fabric store.
http://duckworksmagazine.com/03/r/articles/glass/bottom.htm
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I have done it before all in one step with a slow hardener and there was enough time to get it all done. It was a little rushed, and it took some force get the bubbles out as it was close to setting but it is doable.
I think if I were to break it up your way is how I would do it Frank.
Mike (Tungsten) and I had talked about this one day when he was over and I don't remember what we came up with as a process.
That is the article that I based my job on as well.
Andrew
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well i'm not sure about how much resin you want to leave on the surface before you lay the film,as you roll it it compresses the glass and resin comes to the surface this is what fills the weave.i would think if you had too much resin on top then rolled it if you didnt get it all flat you would end up with an uneven wavy surface.i think, just guessing here.with the blue film left on its very easy to see the bubbles and spots that are a little dry.so i guess as long as you moved all the extra resin to the edges you'd be fine.
someone said something about scratches.i thought about this,you could sand the film with 36 grit before you lay it down.this would leave a nice surface or paint to stick too.
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so more tests,i hit the piece with a hammer and it busted right in two.i hit the back side to see if the glass would hold it together,nope broke clean apart.
i was able to get my pliers on the glass and pull it off,i thought it would be harder to do but it wasnt.remember i pre wet the wood quite well before the glass went on.
so what happens when you pull the glass off when you don't use film?anyone tried??
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