Fiberglass on fiberglass?

[Forestmoonstudio]

I bought some shins for my Vader. The fiberglass seems really thin. I was wondering if I could lay new fiberglass on the back side of the shins to make them thicker and more sturdy. Will the new fiberglass stick to the old. I didn't want to attempt it until I got some advice from some experts. Thank you for any advise. Scott

 

[CustomCreations]

SHould be fine, just key/roughen up the surface first to make sure it sticks nicely.

 

[Great_Bizarro]

Clean it with acetone after roughing it up. I have done it many times on boat hulls with great success. Be sure you use the same type, polyester or epoxy resin that the original is of. Those are probably polyester resin.

 

[stapleton13]

Just a quick note for the future . If for some reason the extra glass starts to delaminate from the first you can glue it back in place.

 

[exoray]

As suggested rough up the surface and wipe it down with acetone or another cleaner that will cut wax...

Most (all common) layup fiberglass has wax in it, as you lay the fiberglass the wax moves to the surface to form a protective shield from humidity that will interfere with the curing of the resin... Once hard and set the fiberglass still has this thin wax coating and it must be removed prior to additional layups or will cause adhesion issues...

 

[micdavis]

There are different kinds of resin that do not have wax. They are to be used specifically for layers as opposed to the final top layer. In the garage prop hobby it's rarely an issue which you use. But for boats and other industrial uses it's important. And yes you can clean or sand that top layer off if it's already cured and you're okay.