Tag Archives: Fall 1996

Sharp fiberglass corners

Sharp Fiberglass Corners

by Jim Derck—GBI Technical Advisor

It’s difficult to prevent cloth from lifting when fiberglassing around a sharp wooden corner. Even if you were able to lay glass tightly around a sharp corner, it could easily be dented. The slightest compression of the underlying wood could leave a void, and an invitation for moisture and the problems it creates. To avoid these problems, we always recommend rounding over the corner so the glass will lay flat against the surface. However, there may be times when you need a sharp corner. Here’s a method to make sharp fiberglass corners that are strong enough to prevent dents and protect the underlying wood. Continue reading

Other Uses

Other Uses Manual — Free Download

Are you a boat owner wondering what to do with some left over epoxy? Or are you a homeowner who has recently discovered the strength and versatility of epoxy? Have some projects around the yard that need a permanent fix? Other Uses is a free downloadable 16-page manual to some of the most common uses of WEST SYSTEM epoxy around the home and yard. It provides tips and techniques for using epoxy for home repairs, modifications and renovations.  Continue reading

Calculating Epoxy for Fiberglass Laminates

By Joe Parker

Customers frequently ask us how to calculate the amount of fiberglass fabric or epoxy necessary to build or repair a fiberglass laminate. My son Brad and I are about to build a fiberglass canoe, so I will use that as an example to describe how to determine material needs for a project. Continue reading

Olympic Kayak Repair Team

By Max Wellhouse

Our volunteer boat repair crew at the 1996 Olympic Whitewater Slalom event was well prepared with a generous supply of WEST SYSTEM® 105 Resin and 205 Hardener. Our job was to fix the damage that the rocks and hydraulics of the powerful Ocoee river inflicted on the 120 boats competing in the Games. One hundred and thirty five athletes from over 30 countries came to test their skill at the 25-gate Whitewater course. Located in southeast Tennessee, it was the only medal event outside of Georgia. In this 400 meter event, paddlers are timed from start to finish, with minor time penalties for touching the poles and major penalties for missing gates entirely. Continue reading

Effects of Cool Temperature on Adhesion

By Captain James R. Watson

Many shops are heated only while working on the project. Often a bonding application is allowed to cure after the furnace is turned down and the shop cools off overnight. The question arises, does this temporary suppression of the cure affect adhesion. Continue reading

Restoration of a Figurehead

By Allan Eugene Mechen

The 200-year-old wooden figurehead from the ship H.M.S. UNITE’ was in a serious state of rot in March of 1994 when restoration experts began work to save her. They completed the painstaking process in October, 1994.

Examining the figurehead on site, we saw that it had been previously sheathed in fiberglass. This was probably done because the 200 year old timber could no longer be maintained using conventional methods and materials. Continue reading

Drying DOVE’s Feathers

by Ginny Kienast

Epoxyworks 6

Cover Photo: With her blistered bottom fully repaired, DOVE takes to the seas in fine form.

After completing the tedious reconstruction of DOVE’s decks, we felt exhilarated and pleased. We had spent a year removing DOVE’s teak decks, drying out the foam sandwich core, reinforcing it with WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy and laying a new epoxy/fiberglass deck. It was a job we never wanted to undertake again. It was February 1991, and we were making a list of things to do so we could be cruising aboard DOVE within a few months. I could toss out my epoxy saturated clothes and finally think of basking on DOVE’s foredeck in some tropical cove. Continue reading