First fiberglass kit advise

[Zielijo1]

Hi, never built a fiberglass kit before....any do’s and don’t’s? It’s gonna be the madcow trinity.
Epoxy type, painting, fin attachment,External fin can, cutting FG, all of it. First timer
Thanks
Jz

 

[Banzai88]

Wash the parts first. Wear gloves. Wear a dust mask when sanding. Fiberglass 'kits' are builder kits, so prepare to sand, cut, and fit as needed. Rocketpoxy is your friend. Get some 80 grit sandpaper. Read the CJ fiberglass building guides. Use IPA/acetone to wipe down before glue.

Enjoy the build and flying!

 

[mo2872]

Enjoy the ability to lose one for months, and find it eventually in pristine condition!

 

[GrouchoDuke]

Read this for the proper way to bond composites.

Properly bonding composites and what your government doesn't want you to know.

How to bond like a pro. I promised to write this article a few months ago after some conversations in this thread: http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?56789-Sanding-Fiberglass-Tube I didn't start this thread to call out every one who has there own way of bonding. Bonds in rockets...

www.rocketryforum.com

Ignore everything you see & hear that says you need to gouge parts with knives or saw blades to get proper bonds.

Everyone has their favorite epoxy for fillets. The best I’ve found is Proline 4500 from Wildman.

 

[CoachSteve]

Here is my first Fiberglass build (not a thread hijack)- the prople on this forum helped me out so much. Not touting my build - just seemed like a way to get you all the advice this great forum group gave me

Madcow Twitch and a couple questions

So my wife got me my first fiberglass kit for Christmas (yes, she is awesome)- a Madcow Twitch. fantastic 3" kit, Mine came with a black nose cone, Black G10 fins and a Green body tube - way cooler than the stock photo on the Madcow website. Not sure if all kits come with colored body tubes now...

www.rocketryforum.com

 

[dr wogz]

just to add more confusion:

• Wash all parts. hot soapy dishwashing detergent
• Roughen up the areas you wan to glue; 80 grit. and really scratch it up!
• West Systems Epoxy
• West systems fairing filler for external fillets (West systems #405)

That's my system anyways..

washing & good epoxy are a must, as well as breathing protection. And be careful, the raw edges of the tubes & fins can cut you. give them a wipe with some worn sand paper..

 

[AfterBurners]

maybe the OP could use a posting / link of the best type of mask to wear to filer out the fiberglass dust from sanding etc..

 

[T-Rex]

Wear gloves. You can develop an epoxy allergy over time.
Keep in mind that Epoxy cannot be washed out of clothing, table cloths or furniture. Make sure work surfaces and the areas around are covered and protected.

 

[JohnCoker]

And much more info on my web site.

 

[Rob702Martinez]

Keep rubbing alcohol 91% if you can find it these days or lacquer thinner to clean up. Wear gloves. Use blue tape where you don't want epoxy. Take your time and clean the areas that you are bonding after you sand them.

 

[David Schwantz]

1st pic is a fin set with holes drilled in root for epoxy fingers to bond. When doing your internal fillets the epoxy will flow into the holes and create "fingers" to help with the bonding. This is not a must thing, but I like it. 2nd pic is of fins aligned and the CA is drying. I will tack glue fins in place with CA and then run fillets afterwards. Also can see rear CR is not in place. You can use it to align MMT and then remove it so then you can run your internal fillets. Don't forget to put in your bottom rail button mount. 3rd pic is also a Madcow kit. Needed to clean up the fin slots a bit. Myself, I prefer using 36 grit to rough up surfaces for glue. Also use a burr in a dremel tool to cross hatch the glass before glue. Make sure to blow off all dust after sanding. Do not skip the roughing up part of the build, the glue can let go. Last pic is of epoxy glue and a fillet around a CR on a MMT. Good luck with her, and we all love pics.

 

[bschultz32]

Banzai88, what does CJ stand for?

 

[Banzai88]

Banzai88, what does CJ stand for?

Crazy Jim. @blackjack2564 Just about any of his builds are the 'de facto' standard that taught most of us how to do it.

Or this thread by Green Jello. https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/how-to-build-a-stock-3in-darkstar-cj-step-by-step.55019/

Or this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gus93giow5ifotv/WM Mini-Sport Build Instructions.pdf?dl=0

Or this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/u8r2h74hw470k7m/WM Booster Injection Build Instructions.pdf?dl=0

 

[Donnager]

Or this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gus93giow5ifotv/WM Mini-Sport Build Instructions.pdf?dl=0

Hard to make a negative comment about this. Excellent instructions here, and it covers a ton of questions commonly asked.

I do things slightly different, but that is mostly a convenience thing, based on the materials I use. This guide is pretty sound.