I am in need of some resin and mat to fiberglass to large shapes.. about 100 sq feet total.. I'm having a hard time finding anyone local (Topeka, Kansas City) Can anyone recommend a supplier.. close to me or online?
Nate, there are plenty of sources, West is the JC Whitney of the boating world. I'd check w/Jamestown Supply(?) in RI too, you'd be amazed at their hardware offerings. Good Luck http://ecatalog.westmarine.com/
Just my $o.02 tip: I needed lots of laminating resin,mat,mold release ,etc for my Track T project..Checked West Marine,Jamestown dist,...and their prices were outta sight after shipping...so, I just started nosing around town,asking anybody I could think of...Found a local contract shop that makes advertising display cabinets,glas seating consoles for fast food joints, glas buckets for lift trucks,etc...They agreed to sell me resins,mat for very little mark-up...I supply the containers ...call before I go ...They cut the mat off large rolls,fill my containers out of huge drums..The owner became interested in my project and has given me lots of tips,methods,etc... Ask around...also ,boat dealers & marinas generally have a local source for repair materials
It was beginning to sound like nobody fiberglassed in your neighborhood. Turbo did the right thing and I would too. Watch out for the catalyst/hardeners, and if you can, get the best masks or filters. The dust alone is bad news.
"nuther $0.02 worth: If you're gonna be laying up a fairly thick panel,get laminating resin..as opposed to finishing resin...Lam/resin has no wax in it and will dry &allow you to add more layers after it sets up...Most of the resin you find at auto stores(PepBoys,AutoZone,etc) is finishing resin with wax and last I checked it was about $45-50/gallon...my bulk supplier sells me lam/resin for $28/gallon,mat @$7/yd BTW ..good advice on the masks...you can get real loopy after breathing those fumes....also ,buy boxes of latex gloves..wear long sleeves when grinding...that dust is mighty itchy Stan
I wouldn't use mat, and I damn sure wouldn't use polyesther 'boat' resin. If you want a quality finished part get bi-directional cloth and epoxy resin. Epoxy has far, far less fumes as well and makes a better part. One souce nationally is Applied Vehicle Technolgies in Indianapolis ask for Joel, tell him Gary in Bowling Green sent you. Shop his online store, get some ideas about what type of cloth you THINK you'd like, and then askk Joel to help you. I'd recommend AeroPoxy resin. You can also get this stuff from Aircraft Spruce and Specialty as well as Wag-Aero. Joel is a real car guy who sells small quanities and is very helpfull. Several guys doing pretty good composites out there have been taught by Joel, like the guy doing all Mark Spitzer's stuff.
You still get fumes from Epoxy,but you can't smell them. And Epoxy fumes can be deadly. Epoxy is also a LOT more expensive.
You get what you pay for. With epoxy, you can also lay up right over foam without eating it away, allowing you to do some pretty amazing stuff. It also doesn't warp or twist the first time it sees daylight because it's still green. I know most car guys use the baot crap. I'm a former aerospace composities guy that started doing car stuff because I got tired of the absolute trash companies were selling in fiberglass. I can't tell you how many times I've been called because some poor shumuck bought a fiberglass hood from a 'reputable' company, (which usually means they had a lot of ads in magazines) and the first time they start the engine and drive it the hood about twists off the car. That after the body shop spent two days fixing the body line to match the car. I just bought a '27 T in glass. Two actually because the first was such trash. Second one not much better, but good enough for me to loft it and build new ones in epoxy, oven cured under vacuum. My .02 is just that a little more cost up front saves a lot of heartache later.
Express Composites 612-789-8621, supplies a lot of material for road racing teams in the midwest. I made a plug / mold / and body for my formula ford years ago after my Thank you Lord incident at Blackhawkfarms. ( see HAMB post on that one )
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