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#1
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Advice on sanding fibreglass
Hey all,
I'm planning on starting to build a molded kit in the summer and in the meantime I'm trying to perfect my fibreglassing skills by building a toolbox (and making all the rookie mistakes on it instead of a wing). I went to the EAA sportair workshop which was awesome but it primarily focused on the core shaping, laminating and bonding and not really on sanding, trimming and finishing. Anyway, I need a tad of advice on sanding and trimming excess fibreglass. First, what is the best type of clothing to protect your skin from rashes and irritation from all the dust? Also what kind of sandpaper should I use? grit? wet? dry? moist :-)? Any other special considerations I should be aware of? Thanks, Omri |
#2
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Kent Ashton wrote:
I've sanding a few Cozy/Long-EZ airplanes and I never had any problem with rash or dust from that but sanding those UNI landing-gear struts will make me itch for a day. Somehow those UNI fibers get pulled off longer and form little needles. Just a heavy long-sleeved shirt and a regular dust mask will do OK for me. --Kent From what I know of fiberglass work your not supposed to sand into the fibers. Just till you BARELY expose the surface of the fiber. So If your pulling enough fiber off to stick into yourself and cause a rash you are way overdoing it. Anyone else to comment, maybe I'm wrong but I think I'm close! John |
#4
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On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:46:23 GMT, UltraJohn
wrote: Kent Ashton wrote: I've sanding a few Cozy/Long-EZ airplanes and I never had any problem with rash or dust from that but sanding those UNI landing-gear struts will make me itch for a day. Somehow those UNI fibers get pulled off longer and form little needles. Just a heavy long-sleeved shirt and a regular dust mask will do OK for me. --Kent From what I know of fiberglass work your not supposed to sand into the fibers. Just till you BARELY expose the surface of the fiber. So If your pulling enough fiber off to stick into yourself and cause a rash you are way overdoing it. Anyone else to comment, maybe I'm wrong but I think I'm close! Pretty much, but not sanding into fibers is getting ready for the next lay-up. You will sand into fibers when tapering a lay-up such as when you add a couple layers at fuselage seams and then sand them to match into the sides and bottom, or where ever they might be. Another source of fibers (and they really itch) is sanding down a mill fiber fill. It's normally used in places where you are going for strength and I haven't run into many places where I needed to sand it, but man! mixing up a batch, plus throwing in a little Cabosil to keep the resin from running out is like playing in a roll of attic insulation. As Kent said, long sleeve shirts with snug cuffs, gloves, Welder's skull cap (if you have hair) and a good respirator. NEVER sand fiberglass or resin without a respirator. Make sure it's a good one too. I work with Vinyl Ester Resin (Derakane) and that stuff is potent once it has been catalyzed. Smells nice before that. I use a good organic vapor filter with a dust filter screwed on over it. I have the kind that uses matching filters that gasket together and the dust filter keeps the crap out of the activated charcoal. I typically take the activated filters and put them in "Ziploc bags" when not in use. Otherwise the carbon is soaking up *stuff* and shortening its useful life. I can work inside the fuselage wiping down parts with Acetone and never even smell it. Just reposition the mask which breaks the seal to your face for an instant will prove the filters are doing their job. :-)) Don't take shortcuts and do "just a little sanding" without the mask. If you are like me a little sanding may turn into an hour or two. Good Luck, Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member) (N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair) www.rogerhalstead.com John |
#5
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I have had way too many hobbies, including boatbuilding. I have sanded plenty of fiberglass, mostly without a mask, and now that I'm older and maybe a little wiser I expect that those several pounds of dust that have made their way through my lungs to cause some trouble later on. Dust can get into your eyes, too, even with goggles, and cause eye irritations that make you look like you've been on a big drunk. And it didn't seem to matter how much clothing I wore; it got into everything and made me itch. A cold shower gets most of it off, while a warm shower can open the pores and let it in so it can bug you for a few more days. I have sanded it wet a few times (with air sanders!) and there's no dust at all, but you have to make really sure things are absolutely dry before any further layup. Any moisture that gets into the matrix could cause structural problems. A lot less big a deal in boats than in airplanes, since most boats are way overbuilt. Dan |
#6
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Make sure to wear a dust mask. I was sanding my project without wearing
a mask consistently and got it into my lungs and triggered an asthma problem for a year. AND dont rub your eyes with your dusty hands - my face got swollen one time really bad. The epoxy/fiberglass dust is worse than the epoxy mixing fumes. Otherwise the fiberglass dust is no problem. You can easily trim excess cured fiberglass while it is relatively soft and not 100% cured. ==================================== SQ2000 canard: http://www.abri.com/sq2000/ |
#7
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wrote I have sanded plenty of fiberglass, ; it got into everything and made me itch. A cold shower gets most of it off, while a warm shower can open the pores and let it in so it can bug you for a few more days. Another good clue for all you plastic airplane guys, is to spray your skin with hairspray before, and after you sand. When you get in the cool shower, it will wash off much better. It clogs the pores, so it does not go down into the pores, then the after spray clumps the fibers together, so they stay together, and wash off without going into your pores. Spray deodorant works, too. Try it! It really works! -- Jim in NC |
#8
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On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 22:44:27 -0400, "Morgans"
wrote: wrote I have sanded plenty of fiberglass, ; it got into everything and made me itch. A cold shower gets most of it off, while a warm shower can open the pores and let it in so it can bug you for a few more days. Another good clue for all you plastic airplane guys, is to spray your skin with hairspray before, and after you sand. When you get in the cool shower, it will wash off much better. It clogs the pores, so it does not go down into the pores, then the after spray clumps the fibers together, so they stay together, and wash off without going into your pores. Spray deodorant works, too. Now that sounds really, really dangerous. I load up on deoderant, a shot of hair spray and holler, "Dear, I'm going out to the shop for a couple of hours"... "BANG!" Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member) (N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair) www.rogerhalstead.com Try it! It really works! |
#9
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On 26 Apr 2005 17:20:14 -0700, "abripl"
wrote: Make sure to wear a dust mask. I was sanding my project without wearing a mask consistently and got it into my lungs and triggered an asthma problem for a year. AND dont rub your eyes with your dusty hands - my face got swollen one time really bad. The epoxy/fiberglass dust is worse than the epoxy mixing fumes. Otherwise the fiberglass dust is no problem. There are a number of "It depends" here. Whether One of the epoxies, or ester type resins some people develop severe allergic reactions to them. If that happens, it's time to sell the project and move onto something held together with rivets. Another source of irritation: Some poor souls are allergic to Latex and we use Latex gloves by the box. Also the fumes from Vinyl Ester resin just plain aren't good for a body...unless you want to preserve it. The problem with fiberglass dust, is It contains mainly Silicon Dioxide SiO2 (Quartz) plus fine particles of resin and many a sand blaster has ended up with severe lung problems. Now, if you do sand blasting in industry I believe it's lung X-rays at least once, if not twice a year. The super fine quartz gets into the small pockets in the lungs and does not come out, much like the black lung disease suffered by coal miners. You can easily trim excess cured fiberglass while it is relatively soft and not 100% cured. My manuals recommend trimming in the "Green State". When the cure is just right it's like cutting soft plastic. Of course there are both areas and times when cutting in the green state just isn't practical. Well... Back to the shop to coat the elevator ribs with a micro sphere and resin mix to seal the foam. Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member) (N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair) www.rogerhalstead.com ==================================== SQ2000 canard: http://www.abri.com/sq2000/ |
#10
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"Roger" wrote Now that sounds really, really dangerous. I load up on deoderant, a shot of hair spray and holler, "Dear, I'm going out to the shop for a couple of hours"... "BANG!" So you use open flame for sanding, or is there something else you want to tell us? -- Jim in NC |
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