I've worked with fiberglass now for many years. I probably have some form of brain damage or other lung disease from it by this point. I have about 4300 different way of not working with 'glass & I thought I would share some of the pitfalls I've found over the years. Rule #1: There is always more fiberglass resin. If you find yourself trying to hurry or hustle to use up the resin you poured.... STOP! Slow down! Let it go to waste! It is soo easy to get caught up in the moment & hustle your project into a colossal mess. Think of it this way, you have already poured the resin. It is already 'wasted'; no need to screw up your project too. Rule #1 Corollary: Pour less than what you need Just like milk.... Get the smallest amount you need & go back for 'fresher' resin later. Rule #2: Keep your fingers clean. Always wear gloves. If you get this stuff on your fingers (I mean reeeaaaly on your fingers) it won't come off for a month. (Believe me, I speak from experience.) There is a bunch of acetones you can try, if you catch it fast enough... they'll work; but avoid getting the stuff on you if you can. Your fingers will of course get sticky, thanks to Murphy... but try to minimize his effects. Additionally, when your fingers are sticky; I like to pick up a little dirt and 'wash my hands with it'. The idea being, I'd rather have dirty fingers than sticky ones. Rule #3: Keep your gloves clean. The stickier your gloves get, the more your will stick to your project, the 'glass cloth, the brush... EVERYTHING! This is a quick way of screwing up your project in a hurry. Rule #4: Have a disposable tweezer handy, and USE it! 9/10 times you can use a tweezer to do the work of your glove. & with the reduced surface area, tweezers doesn't stick to the cloth... therefore they do not make as much mess. This is of course a great way of ruining tweezers, so don't use the good ones. Rule #5: You can always mat it again. If you find yourself fighting with a particular d@mn piece of mat or cloth... Use the tweezers, and throw it away! Pick another one up an try it again. It not only keeps the cloth from turning into mush, the fresh one usually just plain works better... AND it can be therapeutic! Rule #6: Gunky resin is not your friend. If your resin starts looking like this... DUMP IT!! It has already 'turned'; using it will only lead to a mess. ----- To sum it all up ----- When working with 'glass, if something isn't working as expected... toss it and try again. It does lead to more waste, but at the end of the day... the job is done right.
Justin I think I can fully agree with you on all those points. Never had to use Tweezers in my time, but I have been pretty lucky with laying my cloth and mat. If I can think of additional advice that is in line with yours I will toss it here.
