Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
I dislike fiberglass. Consider Polymetal:
These samples were sheared, rolled and braked by hand. Only the braking failed. Fiberglass doesn't come pre-finished. 
https://www.nudo.com/p_polymetal.php
Competitive products are Grimco Maxmetal and Alumapanel. |
Fiberglass does come pre-finished, but not still formable. However, a very close compromise has been found:
https://www.compositesworld.com/arti...ce-hang-glider
To make those parts in fiberglass with a class-A finish, you can just wax a fresh, shiny countertop and start laying down resin and cloth. After the first layer, you wait a bit or switch to slow-cure resin. Soon, you can peel off a limp sheet with one dry, shiny side, and lay it into any simple curve you like with really minimal tooling. You can trim the edges with scissors before the cure is far advanced. If you need to push on the wet side, as for that sharp flange edge, a layer of saran wrap will prevent sticking.
If you want top-grade work, the layup can be vacuum-bagged very easily and have the excess resin removed by a squeegee with no wasted absorbent layers. Soon, it becomes like a sheet of pre-preg, and can be handled as above.