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
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.
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..
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.
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.
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.