Polyester resin

Hi all

I have been given some polyester resin and glass cloth by a friend which I'm thinking of covering my spitfire wing and tail with, it's from chemie technique.

I was wondering if it's any good or not as I have never used it? I would be grateful of any help or hints and tips,

Thanks Woody

Polyester resin is a bit "old hat" now Woody & a bit heavy & thick compared with more modern epoxy resins. Doesn't mean you can't use it though......what weight glass gloth do you have & how big is the Spitfire? Poly C & cloth is a good alternative & a lot less smelly......important if there are women in the house who never seem to appreciate the sinus clearing properties of a good 'glassing session....

Maybe use the search facility to search the forum for older threads....I just typed "resin" into the search box & got about a dozen threads.....

Hi Woody,

the old K&B finishing resin was a polyester resin,and gave an excellent base for the finishing paint,or it could even be used as the finish.It would sand back beautifully,or could be polished to a mirror gloss.Be a bit wary using it near any foam,as it will dissolve it in a flash.Ensure ther are no gaps in any veneer covering if using it on foam wings for example.Otherwise,no problems,but I do think modern epoxy resins are superior.However,if I was given some polyester,I would certainly use it.....................................Mal.

Polyester resin is harder than Epoxy, it means the result will be more brittle. Also try to find a place where nobody cares about the smell - it stinks like hell and I really mean it. I did polyester fuselages in the summerhouse of my parents when they were not there - but I always got some nasty comments when they came back as the smell was still there.

By the way - the solvent for the non-crosslinked resin is different - polyester can be removed with aceton, epoxy with alcohol. Now you know where the smell comes from.

Best regards

VA

As said polyster resin is heavy and stinks. Be careful to have lots of ventilation (if possible do the glassing outside). The vapours are really not that nice to breath in. In my opinion the only good things about polyster resin are that it's cheap and it can dissolve the carriers in CSM which epoxy won't.

Thanks for the input guys,

Steve it's a 1/6 scale mick reeves spitfire and I have 40g cloth, I think I may need lighter cloth?

My workshop is well ventilated so smell is not to much of a problem, just hoping for a good durable finish, I am new to glassing so I will be doing some test pieces first.

woody