# e glass cloth vs. biaxial cloth



## fromthedepths (Nov 21, 2008)

i bought some 7 1/2 oz. e glass cloth to repair the underside of my livewell hatch.will this cloth cut it or should i order some 1708 and save the other for another project.this is for a floor livewell so the lid will be stood on. any help would be appreciated ,thanks


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

E glass is the run of the mill fiberglass. S glass builds a stiffer panel.



But 7 1/2oz cloth [weird weight] is very light weight stuff.



If I saw the panel I could tell you better. Is this a cosmetic or structural repair?



Is the core damaged?


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## fromthedepths (Nov 21, 2008)

just the expert i was hoping that would chime in on this thread.x-shark the hatch is 27" x 26" and as mentioned before it is for a floor livewell hatch so it will be stood on quite frequently.i ordered all my materials from us composites and it says this is a medium weight and strength cloth. i've removed the old coring which was toast, it was 1/2 in. plywood.i'm gonna replace it with 3/4 that i have laying around .it should be all right as long as it's fully encapsulated correct? i'll just copy the way strick cored his hatches on CSC.this will be my rookie voyage trying to glass something on a boat so it ought to be fun. been studying for awhile now on classic mako and seacraft trying to soak in all the information i can. i plan on eventually doing the whole boat.you thoughts or anyone else's would be appreciated.thanks matt


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## Patriot (Jun 4, 2009)

Use what you have. Just build up multiple layers while wet. Put down a good bed of resin to seal the wood and then roll in several layers of cloth with resin between layers while previous layer is still tacky.Poly resin will work fine.Use a f-mat roller to get all air bubles out before adding each layer. Once cured, sand smooth and finish with bilge coat paint.

Good luck.


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## 1bandit (Jul 17, 2009)

You could just use this and never have to worry about it again. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/King-Starboard-White-Boat-Board-HDPE-3-4-x-24-x-24_W0QQitemZ120453637979QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBoat_Parts_Accessories_Gear?has=item1c0b98a75beasy and no nasty resins or glass to work with.

or do a clear one like I did on one of my live wells. http://cgi.ebay.com/1-2-polycarbonate-lexan-clear-16-x-16_W0QQitemZ110371291515QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b2a4417b Just make sure to use lexan (bullet proof) and not plexiglass that can crack or shatter.


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

Bandit1....Have you ever seen Starboard warp? It does. Have you ever stood on it when it is wet? You will bust your ass.



Your doing great.



These pix's may help. a layer of 1708 would be fine. 45deg the edges of the coring so the glass will conform easy. Let the glass run all the way to the edge of the panel. Clean the panel up of that gray gellcoat.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

I'll tell you what I have done on hatches like that. I would completely remove the wood. Then cut pieces of matt and roven woven the size of the plywood and lay alternatinglayers of the matt and roven woven up untill they are about as thick as the plywood was. You could also make a frame the size of the piece of wood out of plywood and wax the frame and make the matt and roven in it and remove it from the frame and glass it into place. Done this way there is nothing to rot or fail in the future.


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

Yep that would be solid alright. It would also weigh a TON.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

> *X-Shark (2/26/2010)*Yep that would be solid alright. It would also weigh a TON.


Not really that much more than the plywood would weigh. Fact being you wouldn't have to make the glass resin piece as thick as the plywood. Besides the piece the gent pictured isn't that big to make it weigh that much. I completely remade a hatch like I described and it might of weighed a pound more than the same one on the opposite side of the boat.


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## fromthedepths (Nov 21, 2008)

here's what i got done today.i cleaned it up and i layed down a layer of fiberglass just to get my feet wet ,like i mentioned before i've never done this before and i figured it couldn't hurt .next i cut the and beveled the sides .i'll try to finish it tomorrow weather permitting.thanks


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

That should work just fine, Make sure you soak and apply Matting onto the bottom of the plywood and then put it down on the other piece. you should have done the piece and plywood at the same time. Now you should grind the piece before placing the wet plywood down to make sure there is no wax on the surface of the piece on the already dry fiberglass. Then cover the plywood piece completely with matting. The grinding depends on the type of resin you are using. If the surface is not sticky you probably have finish resin and will need to remove the wax from the surface by grinding it.


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