Re: REFLECTOR: Re: FW: COZY: Loud Pop???

[Rick Pellicciotti <eracer@magibox.net>]

If it makes you feel any better I am building my own wings right now.

Rick

Venky's Velocity Hangar wrote:
> 
> At 07:26 PM 9/16/98 -0500, Ron Needham wrote:
> >What Is hard shelling Prior to glassing?
> >
> 
> Hard shelling is a process in which you apply microballoon slurry to the
> foam surface, let it cure, sand it and then lay up the glass on the "shell"
> so formed rather than on the foam directly. The "hard shell" prevents runny
> epoxy from seeping into the foam.
> 
> Before I started on my plane, when hard shelling was being discussed, as
> part of my glassing training I did a trial run on a piece of foam half with
> hard shelling and half straight on the foam. After cure, the glass on the
> hard shelled portion peeled off easily while the glass on the foam would
> not come out without tearing out a layer of foam. Either the hard shelling
> micro was dry as Alan suggested or the shell was not sanded properly after
> cure or the dust after sanding was not cleaned off properly. Whatever the
> reason, it convinced me not to hard shell my wings at all because there was
> a potential to screw up.
> 
> I did do something that people had recommended which was to slurry the foam
> and wait an hour or two until the slurry gelled but was still tacky before
> applying the glass. The theory is that the slurry has gelled enough to not
> let epoxy pass through thus accomplishing the same purpose. Besides, the
> tacky slurry holds the cross fibers more firmly than a runny slurry and
> will not distort the cloth as much when you toil away pulling the fibers at
> the ends.
> 
> As no one seems to build their own wings anymore, the above may be seem as
> an archaic step that only us old-timers will reminisce about.
> 
> Venky
> Velocity 173 Classic being built one glass fiber at a time.

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