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Manual of Instruction for Installation of Fairings
General Information Trim to Fit. All of the fairings are designed to “trim to fit”. This isn’t always going to be the case, but should give a very good start. Guarantee. Your satisfaction is guaranteed so; if the initial fit isn’t close enough return them for a complete refund. The guarantee is void if the fairings have been modified, so make your decision before you cut. Fairing Composition. The fairings are made with vinyl ester resin so any ester resin or epoxy will bond. Dad always said, “there is more than one way to skin a cat”, so keep in mind my instructions are to give you a little head start but are not the only way it can be done. Two Absolutes. Now, the only two absolutes in “glass work.” #1. To make resin get hard you have to put catalyst in ester resin. You have to put hardener in epoxy. #2. No matter how you do the job, somebody or everybody is/are going to come along and observe and tell you, you did it all wrong. (Just smile, nod your head and wait for them to leave.) Fillers. There are many brands that work fine. Use your favorite, I use Evercoat. Blue Spots. On occasion, your parts may come with blue spots. This is where I left a void (air pocket betweens the part and the mold) and repaired it with Evercoat. Evercoat. A little trick with Evercoat. If you must bond vinyl ester to an epoxy part, wash the part with detergent, sand with 60 grit and put on a coat of Evercoat. Sand the Evercoat with 60 grit and apply the vinyl ester. It’s not a great joint, but it does stick. Synatactic. A mixture of epoxy or ‘ester resin with fillers. The fillers: Air-O-Sil or Cab-O-Sil thickens the mixture. The more you add, the thicker it gets. Mil fiber. Very short glass strands that add strength. You can go to 50/50 by volume. Its generally easier to put it in the resin before the thickener. Micro balloon. Micro balloons are used to make sanding easier, keep large volumes from getting hot, and expanding a small volume of resin to fill a large volume of space. It reduces the strength of the resin. Other fillers. Anything you can get your hands on from dirt to gold dust. One substitute for micro-balloons is sawdust. It has draw backs, but it works. If you want to fill a strange shape with something heavy, use lead shot with mil-fiber and resin. What To Do About The Pinholes Why are their pinholes in my fiberglass parts? As we lay up the part, little bits of air get trapped in the resin causing all laminates to have pinholes. Little bits of air is even trapped in the weave of the fabric threads, particularly in laminates that are vacuum formed. You will need Goo. The “Goo”I like is a product called Evercoat. There is a body putty that is for laminates and a thinner material that is for filling pinholes. These products cure fast, sanding time is about an hour, they sand easy [nothing sands easy] and are light. They are available at your local auto paint store. Another trick. Use your primer. If it isn't thick let it stand open, not the whole gallon, just what you will need, and it will thicken in time. Then brush or squeegee it on. A sandable or high build primer is best. How do I fix the pinholes? The fix: two things are important.
As you sweep left to right, the “Goo” sticks on the right side of the hole. As you sweep right to left the “Goo” sticks on the left side of the hole. Wallah, a filled hole [we hope].
Fairings-Etc Bob Snedaker Shop: 623/ 536-0951 Cell: 623/ 203-9795 email: bob@fairings-etc.com
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