How difficult is fiberglass to work with?

Mr.? · Post by **Mr.?** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 10:11 pm

I have no idea what fiberglass is like to work with, but it was suggested to me that I should look into this material to construct a water slide next year. I have looked for past topics on fiberglass, but there is a lack of information on eplaya. Any books or links would be greatly appreciated.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 5:36 am

If you're interested in building a slide of any great size, I would recommend that you NOT make that your first foray into fiberglassing. First, it's pretty expensive. Second, it requires a fair amount of room in a climate-controlled, well-ventilated area. Third, you'll have lots of finishing, sanding and smoothing to do to make it functional. Fiberglass is resin plus glass "cloth", that's laid down and impregnated with the resin to create a smooth, hard surface. It's kinda like papier mache', but more costly and toxic.
I'm entertaining notions of making a bug carapace for my vehicle for next year out of f-glass, because I need to convey the fine details and textures of an insect and f-glass is great for that- Lots of Mardi Gras floats are made from fiberglass too, and can be REALLY spectacular. But I might cop out and do it from sheet metal because of the intense labor and expense to do otherwise.
This is a good time to check the home-do-it-big-box stores for end-of-season sales on things like slides- two or three of the big yellow jungle gym slides hooked together'd make a pretty good slide. So would a section or two of the big, corrugated (on the outside) plastic culvert pipe. (They make baggage-handling slides out of that stuff at airports, sometimes!) I even made a decent slide by bolting halves of plastic barrels together! Sheet aluminum over plywood, with the edges tucked underneath for safety, works well. LOTS of options, and I'd be glad to share details upon request.
If you're really interested in doing this as a fiberglass project, and have the room, time, elbow grease and money to do so, then I say GO FOR IT! It's a good skill to have, and you gotta get yer hands dirty to learn the ins and outs, but you'll have something in the end that you'll be proud of.
Good luck!

Mr.? · Post by **Mr.?** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 7:44 pm

I hear you loud and clear about undertaking a project this big with out ever trying it, but I’m now almost convinced this is my option. I can take it back year after year and it should store fairly nicely. I do have a garage to work in and a couple helping hands. We are all pretty creative and between the 3 of us we are planning on dropping close to a grand on it, so from what I’ve seen I may be able to get close to 70 foot run for that budget. I plan to use a ¼ layer of Styrofoam to form the edges and balsa wood to strengthen the base of the slide. I’m renting scaffolding to get the top of the slide 27 feet tall with a 45% grade drop. I’m going out tomorrow to purchase a small amount of cloth and attempt to make a couple of boards with foam and board to make sure this is for me.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:17 am

Well DANG! If you got the space, the dough and the hands then DO IT UP! Smart, doing a test-section.
Maybe there's a body shop in your vicinity that'd let you use their fibercoating setup....I don't know the technical term for this rig, but it spits out fibrous layering material at a helluva clip, and the pros use 'em for covering large areas fast. Look like fun, too!
Keep us all updated! Sounds like a great project, and you're smart to get kickin' on it so far ahead!

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:06 pm

Fiberglass can be done without any special climate controlled environment, it's just harder to have it come out perfectly. If you're not overly concerned with perfection, go for it!

The hardest thing for my project last year was getting the fiberglass to stay in exactly the position I wanted until it set. You might look into building a negative mold and making a big vacuum table out of it. That will get you a nice slick surface to slide on. The back might be a little messy but that's not the important part, right?

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:13 pm

I didn't mean to imply that you needed a level three clean room to do fiberglass....Just that it makes things easier to have a clean, dry space, just like it does for painting, gluing, etc....

......What was your project Dork? Inspire me to get off my butt and make this damned bug carapace.....

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:06 pm

The project was upgrades to the scorpion car. We re-did the arms and hood in fiberglass. It came out a bit more lobster-like than we wanted, but it was still an upgrade. One of these days I'll get pictures up... it came out looking very bug-like.

We built the shell out of steel rod and expanded aluminum then laid the fiberglass over that. Since then I've been reading up on people who used spandex stretched over a surface instead of glass laid over it. It seems easier to get smooth compound curves that way. Google "spandex epoxy" or "wearforce epoxy" for some examples. Not sure how cost compares.

Mr.? · Post by **Mr.?** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 5:21 pm

Ok here is what I have gotten so far.
This black drain tube that is used I guess on farms or septic systems. I need a piece about 3 ft in diameter that I can have cut into 8 foot sections. Then I will take the tubes and cut them in half to make an 80 foot run. The tubing is ridged so I will take a ¼ inch Styrofoam board (2x4) and line the inside. I have worked with Styrofoam before and with some hot air it bends fairly easily. The fiber glass that I’m talking about is cloth with a kind of laminate. I looked at book stores, craft stores, hard wear stores and car part stores for a book or something that shows how to use the stuff, but have had no luck.
I ordered something online that should teach me about the correct method of using this stuff.

Mozy bonz · Post by **Mozy bonz** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:52 pm

Excellent step-by-step instructions, practice projects for working with all types of laminations and fiberglass materials including sections on caring for fiberglass surfaces and covering wood with fiberglass.

I have worked with it.........

Mozy bonz · Post by **Mozy bonz** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:06 pm

http://www.paracay.com/Merchant2/mercha ... y_Code=REP

Author: Jack Wiley
Pages: 262
Pub Date: 1988
ISBN: 0-8306-2779-0
Price:$24.95

Dustdevil · Post by **Dustdevil** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:12 pm

Try tap plastics in the bay area for materials and literature. The one area that you need to be cautious with is fibreglass splinters. At waterworld in Concord they have had problems in the past with the slides getting rough edges and the participants getting pierced with long shards of fibreglass. Fibreglass is easy to work with and a lot less expensive that kevlar or carbon fibre to make things from. It will have plenty of strength for your intended use.

Mr.? · Post by **Mr.?** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:03 am

Thanks Mozy Bonz I'm ordering it right now.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:25 am

Have you looked at the INSIDE of that black drainage pipe? The kind that I've seen has a smooth inner tube that the corrugated outer rings support, and using THAT means no necessito el fiberglass-o. At airports they just saw it in half and sand the rough edges...presto, instant baggage slide.

Say, there's an idea....weld up a frame for your MUV and mount the slide on it...Like the Bluth Stair Car....

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:58 am

Apropos of nothing, I found this interesting use of black tubing while looking around....

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... f%26sa%3DG