weight

A boatbuilding friend set me on the right lines when
he came to repair a glass fibre dinghy. Apparently
the resin reinforced glass is porous and only the gellcoat
is impervious, so if the gellcoat is cracked or damaged
it will absorb moisture. He recommended thorough drying
before refinishing. When I refinished my ASW20 in 2
pack I put a small fan heater in the trailer for 8
weeks to dry the airframe ( de-humidifier would work
even better) Result, on reweighing after refinishing
the glider lost 18 kg, now weighs just 5 kg more than
new 22 years ago. I dont believe in 'Dark Matter',
H20 is a much more plausable cause. Anybody else got
any thoughts on the subject?


David Smith

This is exactly why I'd like to run an electrical supply out to the trailer
line at our club. A dehumidifier in the trailer would be great in the UK
weather.

Ian


"David Smith" wrote in message
...
A boatbuilding friend set me on the right lines when
he came to repair a glass fibre dinghy. Apparently
the resin reinforced glass is porous and only the gellcoat
is impervious, so if the gellcoat is cracked or damaged
it will absorb moisture. He recommended thorough drying
before refinishing. When I refinished my ASW20 in 2
pack I put a small fan heater in the trailer for 8
weeks to dry the airframe ( de-humidifier would work
even better) Result, on reweighing after refinishing
the glider lost 18 kg, now weighs just 5 kg more than
new 22 years ago. I dont believe in 'Dark Matter',
H20 is a much more plausable cause. Anybody else got
any thoughts on the subject?


David Smith

David Smith wrote in message ...
A boatbuilding friend set me on the right lines when
he came to repair a glass fibre dinghy. Apparently
the resin reinforced glass is porous and only the gellcoat
is impervious, ...snip... Anybody else got
any thoughts on the subject?


David Smith

How do you keep the moisture out after the re-finish? None of the
gliders I have seen have any gel coat in the inner surfaces. Unlike a
boat, I assume the humidity is just the same inside the fuselage and
wings as outside.


Andy (GY)

Hello Ian,

Since many years I park my trailer with glider on the parkway in front of my
house next to the garage. To keep the glider dry I use a 1 kW
heater/ventilator on 220V inside the trailer. The heater has its own
thermostat which I set at position 5. This is quite low, the max. setting is
10. Apart from this I use a humidity sensor that switches a relay
controlling the supply of the 220V to the heater. The humidity sensor is set
at about 80%. The system works flawless for years already and the glider is
dry all the time. I never park the trailer inside a building even during
wintertime. Works great.

Karel NL



"tango4" schreef in bericht
...
This is exactly why I'd like to run an electrical supply out to the
trailer
line at our club. A dehumidifier in the trailer would be great in the UK
weather.

Ian


"David Smith" wrote in message
...
A boatbuilding friend set me on the right lines when
he came to repair a glass fibre dinghy. Apparently
the resin reinforced glass is porous and only the gellcoat
is impervious, so if the gellcoat is cracked or damaged
it will absorb moisture. He recommended thorough drying
before refinishing. When I refinished my ASW20 in 2
pack I put a small fan heater in the trailer for 8
weeks to dry the airframe ( de-humidifier would work
even better) Result, on reweighing after refinishing
the glider lost 18 kg, now weighs just 5 kg more than
new 22 years ago. I dont believe in 'Dark Matter',
H20 is a much more plausable cause. Anybody else got
any thoughts on the subject?


David Smith

I would be careful here. Moisture migration in and out of the laminate is
the cause of much stress anc crack propogation. Overdrying the laminate
and then "reinfusing" the water when it resoaks it up isn't doing the
finish
any good at all. It would be much better to leave it at a single set point
if possible.