Spreading epoxy with latex gloves is a messy endeavor. The glass fibers stick to the gloves and tend to pull apart leaving a tangle of glass fibers around the edges of the patchwork. In desperation I grabbed some plastic wrap from the kitchen and put it on top of the glass/epoxy mess. Then I took off the latex gloves and used my bare fingers to squeeze the epoxy and work it into the glass cloth, and I could feel the air bubbles and extra epoxy shifting around. In the end I was quite happy with the results.
In this photo you see that I have removed the plastic wrap. The epoxy is still quite lumpy but it sanded down easily with 60 grit sandpaper.
While working on sanding the two patches I noticed that the center seam was opening up as shown here. So I decided to put a patch on that as well.
In this final photo I have added all three patches along with plastic wrap, and I have already worked the epoxy thoroughly through the glass cloth. All air bubbles have been squeezed out. I even discovered that I can slide the glass cloth around while squeezing the epoxy into it. I was able to get much better alignment of the new glass. This is probably the nicest glass/epoxy patching I have ever done. Now I have four layers of glass over the area where the bolts will go through. That should hold things together nicely.
No comments:
Post a Comment