How much resin to install stringers

[holorinhal]

A question for The fiberglass Gurus or Anyone that has installed stringers.
I am ready to install My stringers ,and was wondering how many gallons of resin it is going to take to glass in full length stringers?....Hal

[victorfb]

you shouldnt need more than 1 gal. the less resin the better. resin is a weak product. it gets its strength from the glass/matting. when applying the glass to the stringers, only use enough resin the make the glass dissapear, the less the better. also, buy a bunch of mixing cups and only mix a small amount at a time or you will end up wasting alot. it takes time to properly glass in the stringers with no air bubbles and fully saturate the glass with resin. i use a paint brush and stab at it. you may use a differant technique, but either way still takes time.

[OUTLAW HALLETT]

you shouldnt need more than 1 gal. the less resin the better. resin is a weak product. it gets its strength from the glass/matting. when applying the glass to the stringers, only use enough resin the make the glass dissapear, the less the better. also, buy a bunch of mixing cups and only mix a small amount at a time or you will end up wasting alot. it takes time to properly glass in the stringers with no air bubbles and fully saturate the glass with resin. i use a paint brush and stab at it. you may use a differant technique, but either way still takes time.
that is exactly righ the glass fiber is what counts but make sure you make it soak in to the glass or your wasting your time

[corlish]

Holorinhal,
Both of these guys are correct ... BUT full length stringers in a typical 18' boat will take more than a gal of resin. Do you already have a lay-up plan? Matt, cloth, matt, cloth or??? Also, once the stringers are in and laid up do you plan to lay one final layer of matt or cloth over both of them and the floor? Are you planning to flo-coat the stringers after they are laid-up? All of these things are ?'s that need to be answered to get you a good guess on the amount of resin.
There are rules of thumb on how much a given weight and area of cloth will demand (I just don't remember them :-)), you might try the fiberlay or fiberglast websites.
If you don't already have some, get some good rollers (I personally like the bristle style), squeegees, qt size or so disposable cups, and the cheapest natural bristle paint brushes you can find, and latex gloves.
One technique on the gloves that worked well for me was to put two pair on 'cause after using about half of the resin I mixed, the outer layer was "stickified" (that's a technical term), so I peeled them off and was ready to go again quickly.
Good Luck
Corey

[BrendellaJet]

dont use the paint brush "stabbing method". Buy a roller, will go way faster and turn out better.

[old rigger]

You need to buy a rubber squeegie. That with a 4", and maybe a small 2" brush will get the job done. You want to remove as much resin as you can once you've wetted everything out and the only way to do that is with a squeggie. Nothing else will work. It does nothing to have a resin rich layup except to weaken the work.
That's why the cloth is used over the mat. That's it's sole purpose in life, to be able to drag the squeegie over it while not tearing the cloth, to remove the excess resin and air bubbles.
Actually a gallon sounds about right, get a little more if you've never done it before. Screw the gloves, screw the rollers, just get a gallon of acetone to clean your hands, like corlish said, some cheap brushes and most of all a good rubber squeegie. A few old coffee cans or the like and you're in like Flynn. ;)

[corlish]

A gallon it is :D I fell into that category of never have done it before.
OR, that's a good tip that I forgot on the mat first then the cloth. I don't remember having to add any resin to the cloth, just rolled and squeegee'd it over the mat.
Corey

[holorinhal]

Corlish, The plan is to use 2oz mat followed by 2oz cloth and repeat.(mat,cloth, sqeege,mat,cloth,sqeege).I plan to layup the glass 6" each side of each stringer,unless I should go smaller or larger?
After stringers are in,I am laying up a wood vanier floor beded in a layer of mat,with a layer of mat and cloth over the vanier. I've been told to go over the vanier with just a layer of cloth,but I thought that You have to have a layer of mat first to ensure a good adhetion of the cloth?
I have thought about putting the two layers over the entire floor and stringers,to finnish ,but dont want to if not needed to save weight.Finaly I am flow coating the floors.
I have all the proper tools allready.I usually use the aluminum spline rollers for fiberglass,and a hard plastic squeege.Should I use a different style roller.
Old rigger,You say rubber squeege,do You mean the type for cleaning windows?....Hal

[corlish]

Hal,
Your plan sounds reasonable to me ... definitely follow OR's advice over mine as my limited experience came from following his direction.
If it were me, I would step each layer out away from the stringer an inch or so farther than the previous, that way you don't end up with one "edge" four layers or so thick ... technique only, probably not a big deal.
Sounds like you got it down.
Corey

[old rigger]

No, it a soft rubber squeegie, 'bout 4 inches long, from tip to the back, 3/8 inch thick and one edge tapers to a semi round pointed end. You can cut them to any width you like. I don't like the hard plastic kind, I like the plyable ones.
Don't forget when you are covering the stringers with that many layers of glass to stagger the widths. For instance, the first layer might extend 6 inches either side of the stringer. Then the second layer should exted 8 inches and so on. that way you won't have a hard edge where all those layers end at the same spot.
Also, take the edge of your mat and tear off about 3/4 of an inch of it along the long edges. This will give a softer lay-up and the edges of the different layers will go almost un-noticed. :)

[old rigger]

corlish was posting the same thing while I was still typing...smart kid ;)
As far as the aluminum splined rollers, yeah, that's a good choice, but not the fabric kind that they recomend when you use the west system or the other 2 part epoxy deals.

[BrendellaJet]

corlish was posting the same thing while I was still typing...smart kid ;)
As far as the aluminum splined rollers, yeah, that's a good choice, but not the fabric kind that they recomend when you use the west system or the other 2 part epoxy deals.
Can you use the aluminum roller to wet it, and the squeegee to remove excess?
The little glass work I have done I always "dunk" the strip of glass (maybe tough to do in thei situation) and then use the roller. I found that the roller did a pretty good job of moving the excess resin, but the squeegee clearly would be best(never tried).

[holorinhal]

Hey guy's Thank's for all the help and tips.I used the hard plastic squeegie when I redid my deck it worked pretty good but it sounds to me that the rubber ,being pliabel,will work better.
Hey Old rigger,Do You happen to know where I might be able to get those rubber squeegies?
Old rigger, while I have You'r attention ,A question if I may?
The boat I am rebuilding ,is a '73 Kona.It is a splash of the Tahiti Tiger.From what I have seen of the Tahiti's It looks exactly like them. Do You know if it is an exact splash? Did Kona channge any thing or is deck and bottom the exact same as the Tahiti? I have heard that Kona did pretty good in the racing circuits back in the day. Well I was just currious ,being that You used to work for Tahiti.
I will be starting a rebuild thread soon,with lots of pics so be on the look out for that .Thank's ...Hal

[holorinhal]

Like to know where to get the rubber squeegies ,if any one knows! Thank's...Hal

[Xlration Marine]

If my memory serves me right one gallon will cover a yard or so of 1.5 oz mat. I've skineed a boat on 3 oz before, what a bitch. But the material was free so I used it. Yup a 3" by 3/8" roller is the best one to use. And for cloth or bi directional I justed used a brush to put it on and my hand to work the material. Yea tight fitting rubber gloves. If you go with a 6 oz cloth I would just lay it over the mat while it is still wet, the cloth will wet out faster using less resin and give you a better bond. Take an empty milk or water jug, cut out the top but leave the handle part on it. This will give you about 3/4 of a gallon, put 10-15 cc's of mek in it, that will give you about 45 minutes to work. I need some mold's, getting a wild hair to build again.