quick fiberglass question

[boby]

Hi,

I am making a mountian kite board. I have been making this as a school project.
It is a bit flexy at the moment and i am wanting to fiberglass it to insure it wont snap and to make it more durable. I plan to glass on both sides. I have just enough epoxy left but no glass.

I still want the board to have a little bit flexy so it will absorb bumbs and what-not.

What sort of weight glass would you guys recommend and what type of weave?

I have some fiberglassing skills but dont know about all the fancy names and dont know what sort of weights to use.

Cheers
William

[Carbon8]

hey mate keen to help a fellow kiwi,
whats the board made of? number of plies?
um the weight depends on how much you want to stiffen it up by, how much flex does the board currently have? maybe 200gsm to get you started, and you could always put an extra layer on the bottom...
as for type of weave.. you could go for a unidirectional... that would stiffen in up longitudinally or maybe a biaxial(+/- 45deg)... which would give you torsional rigidity as well. running fibers across the width of the board will do nothing.
hope this helps a bit..

[boby]

Hi, thanks for the help,

Sadly it is only made from pine but saying that it is top quality and the deck is made up from alot of plys. Im guessing that 'biaxial(+/- 45deg)' would be best,is this right?
As for the flex its only a little bit too flexy. I am wanting to fiberglass so that it will be stronger and last longer-coz its only pine.

Thanks
William

[Jraice]

Hmm maybe start with some 3oz on each side? Plain weave is fine... Or I would use S-glass, 15 percent stiffer 30 percent stronger then regular e-glass like boats use (S-glass is what most surfboards are made off)... With that stuff the lightest I can find is 3-5oz but see what you can get...

[boby]

Hi,

Have found some Weave cloth 76g ( they call it skinning cloth)

Would this be too thin?

Cheers

[Carbon8]

yeah bro thats like 3 oz... nice and thin... and cheap. should be sweet as to skin your board with.... and you could just double up on the underside if its still not stiff enough...

[boby]

Hi,

I have already undercoated my deck. ( hadn't decided if i was going to fiberglass it then)

Do i have to sand it off or is it alright to fiberglass over top?

Thanks
william

[Carbon8]

Def want to sand it up to give the epoxy something to stick to...always...otherwise youll get a nasty spot of delamination....
spot us a pic when your done yea.... im sure it will be as mint as your other handi work

[boby]

Thanks for all the advise hopefully will get fiberglass this weekend and fiberglass it then!

Cheers
William