What ounce fiberglass cloth do you use?

takaaaa

Active Member

• Dec 16, 2012

• #1

I was wondering what ounce fiberglass cloth do most of you use and for what purpose?

Im making a very very large robot costume. I need to reinforce the pep and need it to be very strong but as light as possible. I was thinking about Vacuum forming but if I do that, I will have to reinforce the pep anyways, so if I can make it light enough, I would just prefer to not spend more money on vacuum forming.

So what is the thinnest ounce fiberglass cloth that will give large pieces strength and not bend with the least amount of layers?

I normally use 2.6oz for normal pep reinforcement. But I never used the thin stuff like .5oz or .75oz before so idk how strong it will be.

 

takaaaa

Active Member

• Dec 17, 2012

• #2

Has anyone played with different fiberglass thicknesses?

 

T

Tigerblood

Well-Known Member

• Dec 17, 2012

• #3

I never used anything heavier than 1.5 oz. for Pepakura. If I need to strengthen, I just use two layers with epoxy resin (Smooth-On Epox-Amite) instead of polyester resin.

 

takaaaa

Active Member

• Dec 18, 2012

• #4

Tigerblood said:

I never used anything heavier than 1.5 oz. for Pepakura. If I need to strengthen, I just use two layers with epoxy resin (Smooth-On Epox-Amite) instead of polyester resin.

Click to expand...

Have you used 1.5oz on pieces with large surface area? If so, how was the strength with just one layer?

Anyone else use a lighter ounce of FG cloth? Looking for strength info on lighter cloths too.

 

takaaaa

Active Member

• Dec 31, 2012

• #5

Was wondering if anyone else had information about different ounces of fiberglass cloth?
I dont want to over kill and use something like 6oz cloth when I only need 2oz.

Im looking to reinforce pieces with large surface area.

 

Blaxmyth

Sr Member

• Dec 31, 2012

• #6

I've been using 300gm per sq metre chopped strand mat for large surfaces. One thing I have noticed is that if you have a compound curved surface then you can get by with a thinner build as the curves give it strength.

 

takaaaa

Active Member

• Jan 2, 2013

• #7

Blaxmyth said:

I've been using 300gm per sq metre chopped strand mat for large surfaces. One thing I have noticed is that if you have a compound curved surface then you can get by with a thinner build as the curves give it strength.

Click to expand...

wow thats around 10oz cloth right? I never used anything that thick before. did you see any bending for the larger surface or was it really stiff? Do you think you can go down to a lighter cloth and have the same results?

 

Blaxmyth

Sr Member

• Jan 2, 2013

• #8

If you 'dab' the resin well into it with a brush it conforms well to curved surfaces, but not to tight corners. The cloth is a lot more expensive here in New Zealand, but I have used it with a lot of success before. Of the two I think I prefer the cloth because of its ability to stretch into curved areas.