Fiberglass cloth is a woven material available in various sizes to allow custom strength, thickness, and weight in projects. Fiberglass cloth provides great strength and durability when layered with a resin to form a hardened composite.
Fiberglass cloth has many advantages:
Fiberglass cloth has greater tensile strength than steel wire of the same diameter.
Excellent fire and heat resistance
Thermal conductivity (making it useful for insulation applications) and chemical resistance properties similar to glass
Durable and economical
$29.84
$78.00
$165.75
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Weave:
Plain
Questions & Answers about Fiberglass Cloth - 4 Ounce:
2013-04-09EDWARD HOCK asked: I am using this cloth to cover plywood to make a panel for my boat. What resin would you recommend? I assume West System is ok?
Also, i selected this cloth, because i'm more concerned about the finish of the panel than strength. Please let me know if you recommend a different cloth or mat for a good finish.
Thanks!
Ed
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2013-04-11W DAVID RICHARDSON: Yes West System clear works but I prefer System 3. My experience is System 3 does not "blush" and West tends to. You might also be aware that epoxy does not resist heat such as around an engine bay. Here I would a vinyl esther resin. Almost all racing hydroplanes use a layer of 3 or 4 oz glass over the mahogany ply. We then use automotive clear coat over that for scratch resistance. Here I prefer the Dupont system.
2013-04-11WAYNE BUGDEN: The west system used with the cloth will work for strength and will be virtually invisible when done.
You should epoxy both sides of the plywood to keep it from warping, then apply the fiberglass cloth the next day.
I hope this helps!
Wayne
2013-04-12ROBERT COVER: The 4oz cloth becomes invisable under a coat of West System of 105 and 205. It makes a very slick and clear finish. A light sanding and it can be painted
2013-04-12JASON CLARK: I'm a carpenter, and have built two sets of rail truck boxes to hold my tools, both with 3/4 ac plywood covered with fiberglass set in West System. On my first set I used 6 oz, and after about 5 yrs. of heavy use, they are still going strong, on a friends work truck. On my second set I used 4 oz., and it has cracked in spots, and doesn't seem to have the durability needed, allowing for water penetration into the plywood. The benefit was that the weave depth was shallower, so they were quicker to finish. Hope this helps.
2013-04-12JOHN STERBENZ: Ed,
4 ounce cloth with 2-3 applications of epoxy resin should do just fine. The idea is to fill the weave of the cloth without putting on too much resin that will only add weight and expense. A light sanding between applications of resin is advisable to facilitate adhesion between coats of resin. Finish off your work with a couple of coats of marine varnish that has UV inhibitors. Epoxy resin will deteriorate when exposed to direct sunlight for any length of time. The varnish will protect the epoxy from deterioration.
Any of the major brands of epoxy sold for marine use can be used. I have used MAS, West and System Three resins with good success.
2013-04-12PETER BLANC: 4 ounce per yard fiberglass cloth is virtually invisible over wood when properly wetted out. I have used West System epoxy to build wood-framed boats with an exterior fiberglass coating and have been very happy with it. West System epoxy does not cure quite as clear and colorless as some others, such as System 3 epoxy, according to some wooden boat builders, but the difference in pictures I have seen posted on the web has been minimal.
2013-04-12ROGER WEEKS: What size and type of boat are you building or repairing ? Where will the panel be positioned ? How is the boat being used ?
West System is fine to use.
2013-04-17MARK BJORK: west system is good, but my last boat used mas epoxie which worked very well,a little pricer but worth it.4 oz. cloth still has good strength and wets in nice.
2013-03-03GREG SMOCK asked: Hi ! Which way is it , I want some thin cloth . Is the lower the oz. the thinner ?
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2013-03-04WAYNE BUGDEN: The lower oz the thinner! I used 4oz for a feather weight canoe. Please note that the thinner you make it the lesser strength.
2013-03-04RICHARD TOMAN: I can not remember.
2013-03-04ROBERT COVER: I belive the lower the number the lighter the weight. 4oz wets good, becoming clear, and is plenty strong.
2013-03-04RANDY ECHTINAW: Yes Greg, the lower the ounce number the less (thinner material) per yard and takes much less resin to fill the weave
2013-03-05DAVID HOWES: Short answer is yes.....lower oz. means oz per unit area.....per square foot, I think.
2013-03-05RAY VOSPER: Hi Greg,
I think you've already figured it out, the lower the weight in ounces, the thinner the cloth. Most of the cloth JD carries is appropriate for boat building. If you need a very fine cloth (say 1/2 oz. or such) you might try a shop that sells r/c boats and airplanes.
I hope that helps, Ray
2012-04-24DAVID FELLOWS asked: I want to buid a cedar strip canoe. What do I need for a 17' 36" beam? It will be glassed inside and out.
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2012-04-24WOODMAN ENGINEERING: First build the boat; then measure the girth if you can use one piece per side that makes things pretty easy. If you are In Maine, perhaps I can give you a hand.
Dave
2012-04-24MARC ORNSTEIN: David,
It depends a bit on how the canoe will be used. For general purposes, for a tandem canoe, I'd recommend 2 layers of 4 oz.cloth (inside and out, in the "football" area (basically, that would be the area below the waterline. Foe areas above the waterline, a single layer, inside and out would be sufficient.
If the canoe will be used a bit less gently, you could follow the same procedure, using 6 oz. cloth. Unless the boat will be used in heavy rapids, there is likely no reason to go any heavier. Conversely, it the boat will only receive gentle usage (day trips on calm lakes) a single layer of 6 oz. inside and out (skipping the extra layer in the football area) might be sufficient.
I'd be pleased to elaborate more if you have specific questions.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Canoe Paddles and Woodstrip Canoes
2012-04-24Donald Welsch: I would use 4 oz cloth on the inside but I might consider a heavier cloth for the outside. Keep in mind this adds weight to a light canoe.
2012-04-24MATTHEW O'NEILL: What are you asking ???
Is 4 oz. cloth suitable? Answer....... Yes
How much cloth do you need ? Answer....that's your problem.
I would not recommend glassing the inside. Coat the inside with epoxy resin. And use epoxy resin for the outside work. Wood likes to expand and contract. If you capture it between two layers of fiberglass cloth you are asking for trouble.........right here in River City.
2012-04-25DAVID SAUER: Hi Dave,
I built two wooden boats and fiber glassed them both. I used epoxy cloth on the outside and penetrating epoxy on the inside. I had too many frames to try to us cloth on the inside. Epoxy works much better than polyester as it sticks to the wood much better. I never mixed much epoxy at a time, just many plastic cups. 14 years later they are both as good as the day they were built.
Dave
2012-03-05A shopper asked: I have a very old fiberglass canoe that has several small holes and the gel coat is cracked all over. I want to repair the holes and re gel coat the entire canoe. since it is so old I was wondering if it would be best to put a single layer of fiberglass cloth over the entire canoe just to give it extra strength? and if so which cloth would be best. The canoe is approximately 14 feet long, 3 feet wide at the middle, and has a depth of 15 inches.
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2012-03-05MARC ORNSTEIN: This would indeed be an appropriate way to refurbish the hull.
I'd begin by sanding away most of the existing gel coat. Use proper dust masks to protect yourself while sanding. You'll be able to tell when most has been removed, since the underlying color of the fiberglass hull will begin to show through. I'd suggest doing the last bit of sanding by hand, using a fairing board and 60-80 grit paper. This will help to level the surface and eliminate high and low spots.
Grind out the areas surrounding any holes and patch with pieces of FG cloth and resin. Sand the patches flush with the rest of the hull. I won't go into the full patching procedure, here. There is much info. about that elsewhere.
After vacuuming off the hull and wiping it down with lacquer thinner (do outside), lay on the new cloth as neatly as possible. If possible, do it with a single piece. You'll need to slit the cloth at the stems. Apply the epoxy resin, working from the center towards the ends and from the"keel" line towards the sheer, working out any wrinkles along the way.
When applying the epoxy, working with a helper is much easier than working alone. Use a slow setting, low blush resin. My preference is West System resin with #207 hardener. There are other excellent alternatives. Follow the West System instructions. Apply a second / 3rd coat as necessary to fill the weave of the cloth. Once the final coat of resin has cured, wet sand beginning with #180 grit paper and working up through at least #300. Choose your preferred paint/primer and apply according to the manufacturer's directions.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Canoe Paddles and Woodstrip Canoes
2012-03-05DAVID SAUER: Yes that would be a good idea. It would not only fix the holes, or cover the fix you put on, but also stop all the cracking. I built both a rudder and a centerboard this year and used the lightest cloth I could get, 4 OZ. I think. It worked well. Also use epoxy not polyester, it holds on to older work much better.
I built a 25 foot Glen-L plywood sailboat and did all of it with epoxy; 15 years later it is still perfect and strong.
Thanks!
Dave
2012-03-05ROBERT RUETER: Have done about a dozen canoes. Use the 4 ounce fiberglass matt. Cover entire canoe with epoxy, set full matt, another layer of epoxy, and put a diagonal piece of matt in center bottom of canoe. More epoxy and sand out.
last matt is normall 4'x4'. this seems to give maximum strength.
2012-03-05MATTHEW O'NEILL: one layer of 4 oz. cloth would add strength and durability. It would not add that much weight either. I would rough up the entire surface with course sand paper and use epoxy resin.
2012-03-05BRUCE BROOKS: that is a good idea. but make shure to remove all the old paint and rough up the gell coat.
2012-03-06Evan Adams: I greatly appreciate the advice it was exactly what I needed! I was wondering if I need to re gel coat or if I can just paint the entire canoe with a few coats, and what about the inside of the canoe, just paint or a gel coat?
2012-03-06DAVIS BOAT WORKS: There have been several mentions of west epoxy and mat in this thread. They should never be used together. Mat is made with a binder to hold the loose strands together until wet out with resin. The binder is designed to dissolve in Polyester resin and it helps promote saturation of the mat by the polyester resin. This does not happen with epoxy. There are some mats and fabmats made to work with epoxy, but they are rare and hard to find. In polyester the mat is the adhesive layer and the roving or cloth is the strength layer. Epoxy is already adhesive and you only need the cloth to provide the strength.
2012-03-04EVAN ADAMS asked: I have a very old fiberglass canoe that has several small holes and the gel coat is cracked all over. I want to repair the holes and re gel coat the entire canoe. since it is so old I was wondering if it would be best to put a single layer of fiberglass cloth over the entire canoe just to give it extra strength? And if so which cloth would be best. The canoe is approximately 14 feet long, 3 feet wide at the middle, and has a depth of 15 inches.
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2012-03-05JASON CLARK: I really know nothing about gel coat, but I used the 4 ounce on some custom truck boxes and it worked great in the field when applied over fir ply, though there has been some cracking in the corners. I think you may have to sand off the gel coat for the epoxy to get a good bond to the existing fiberglass.
2012-03-05EDWARD SMITH: I am not an expert in fiberglass boat repair. I did a quick on google search asking your question and found replies from several sources. You might start there. Two cautions come to mind. First the compatability between the resin used in the gelcoat and the resin you use for the repair. Second the weight added by coating the entire hull, I'd guess between 15 and 20 pounds.
Good luck with your project.
Ed
2012-03-05WAYNE THAYER: Small holes??? Need to elaborate further on that one. Only reason for holes would be screws from previous owners mounting stuff. if they are less than an eigth inch thickened 5 minute epoxy will do the job. 1/4" and larger should have some glass backing around it on the inside of the hull.
The canoe had thick enough glass on it to get it this far. Adding glass will make it noticably heavier. Most fiberglass canoes are built with hand laid cloth, but maybe some ultra-cheap ones were built "chopper gun" style, where the hull is made out of short strands in random orientations. Sears "gamefishers" were built this way. It is weak and heavy but dirt cheap. To get more mileage out of those, I could see some sense in putting a layer of cloth on the outside, but I'd probably use something heavier than 4oz.
Cracked gelcoat is common, especially on very old hulls. The good news is that it's not lethal. Just sanding and attempting to fill the cracks often gets you a few years. Coating with 4oz cloth will probably work pretty well for hiding it if you can stand the extra weight. You may want to mitigate the weight gain by sanding off the present gelcoat until the glass starts to show through (careful doing this--the surface of the glass is not fair!) Re-fairing the hull after you've put on the glass will take a lot of patience.
2012-03-05RANDY ECHTINAW: Hello Evan, I build cedar strip kayaks and use the 4oz. cloth on the inside. It drapes easily, fills easily and totally disappears in epoxy. 4oz. should work fine to fill and strengthen an already glassed boat.
Randy
2012-03-05BARRY KAROW: Small holes may be a relative term, as is age. What is the boat worth to you now and what do you want it to be worth to a future buyer? If you're just looking for an every day user boat I think another coat of glass and resin will add unnecessarily to the weight of the boat. I'd suggest just a patch approach for the holes, then sand everything carefully and then re-coat with resin.
2012-03-05GRANT GAFFNEY: Evan
The 4 ounce cloth would be ideal, the important thing is the preparation to the canoe hull before laying out and wetting the cloth.
Sand the hull, with at least 60 grit paper to ensure a good bonding surface, removing any loose gel coat, repair holes, then wet out hull and lay out cloth, rolling the cloth to ensure cloth is well pregnated with resin.
After hull is dry, lightly sand to remove any lumps etc, then apply gel coat.
Good luck
2012-03-06DAVID MCCROSSIN: Evan, This is a good cloth when covering the entire boat because it will not add much weight to it. I use it to cover ceder strip canoes and they have lot of small cracks at the begining and after the cloth is applied it gives it incredable strength I usually lay the cloth with West System epoxy.
David
2012-03-07PAUL DAY: Evan,
I think the answer depends on the structural condition of the balance of the canoe and what you intend to do with it. Not having seen your boat, my instinct would be to fix the holes with heavier cloth and then fair this repair into the hull. I've done this for moderate hull damage on a cedar strip boat and it worked great. Then you would go for the gel finish. Save the weight, time and expense associated with reapplying even a thin veneer of fiberglass to the exterior, unless your use requires it. Good luck!
Paul D
2012-01-28A shopper asked: I have a 4 ft by 8 ft section to repair on the deck of my boat what do I need?
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2012-01-30MARC ORNSTEIN: I hate to say "it depends" but it does. You haven't supplied any information bout what it is that you need to repair nor what the deck is made of. Is it a fiberglass deck, wood covered with glass, canvas, Dynel etc.? Is there a hairline crack, hole, or other damage? Answers to these questions and any other details about what you wish to repair will allow me to provide a relevant answer.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Canoe Paddles and Small Boat Fabrication
2012-01-30WOODMAN ENGINEERING: I am a wood boat builder. I bought the 4 oz. glass to put over cedar veneer. It has little strength by itself; I used it to prevent visible lines at the veneer seams. If you have a fiberglass boat and you want to replace a deck section you need to read the Gougeon Brothers book on using epoxy. Jamestown sells it.
Good luck,
Dave
2012-01-30ROBERT RUETER: 1..a sander to clean up the area
2. epoxy to prime the area
3. enough fiberglass mat to overlap 12" around the area. [embed in epoxy primed area.]
4. if it is a high traffic area put another prime coat and another layer of fiberglass over it.
5. then put three coats of epoxy over it.
6. sprinkle crushed walnut shells or carbide in last layer of epoxy for non ship surface.
2012-01-30MATTHEW O'NEILL: The 4 ounce cloth I bought I use to cover the wooden hulls of model boats/ships I build. Models are generally 4 feet long or shorter.
I have built probably 6 or more real boates over the years and I would be inclined to use a heavier cloth on your deck.
2012-01-30PETER SCHWIND: It's hard to say what you'll need without knowing what's wrong with the 4x8 section. If the deck needs to be replaced, you'll need a whole bunch of stuff. If there's only cosmetic damage or minor repair required, less stuff is needed. You'll get better answers and advice if you can be more specific about the damage.
2011-12-01DOUGLAS LEFEVER asked: I am wanting to fiberglass the inside of an Evaporator tank. The inside is made of stainless steel and I would like to use fiberglass for a liner.
The tank is approximately 30inches deep and rougly 3 feet square.
What would be the best thickness for this application?
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2011-12-05DAVID DEMMENT: Douglas;
Why does an evaporator tank made of stainless need a liner? In what process is this tank being used? If it's not for anything potable or edible the 4 oz. cloth with colloidal silica additive in the resin should be fine. The cloth lay-up will not adhere to the stainless if metal is smooth and polished. Successive coats of resin will create an impervious barrier.
2011-12-05WOODMAN ENGINEERING: Not enough information. If you just want to prevent the stainless from touching what you put in the tank, 4 oz. will do. Are you going to heat the tank? What are the forces at work? Is the liner going to be removable? Sorry to be vague, but more information is needed.
Dave
2011-12-05STEPHEN SILER: Good Day, 4oz .cloth will give a good seal, with some strength, but can be broken, 8oz cloth wil give much more Structure. It only depends on use,
Comments about Jamestown Distributors Fiberglass Cloth - 4 Ounce:
Smooth cover over cedar strip single scull.
Was this a gift?:
No
8/22/2012
5.0
I would by this product again
By Firefly6203
from Denmark
About Me Casual/ Recreational
Pros
Easy to Use
Visually Pleasing
Cons
Best Uses
Indoor
Outdoor
Wood Trim
Comments about Jamestown Distributors Fiberglass Cloth - 4 Ounce:
High Quality fiber cloth, I use it for my wooden kayak projects.
Was this a gift?:
No
2/2/2010
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
good product
By JD
from New Jersey
About Me Casual/ Recreational
Pros
Came in a roll
Easy to Use
Cons
Best Uses
Fiberglassing a canoe
Comments about Jamestown Distributors Fiberglass Cloth - 4 Ounce:
Product came rolled up, so there were no creases Was easy to apply. So far I have applied the fiberglass cloth to the exterior of a wood strip canoe. It went on smoothly. I still have the interior to do.
8/14/2009
(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)
4.0
Good
By Jack
from Iola, WI
About Me Beginner
Pros
Easy to Use
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Jamestown Distributors Fiberglass Cloth - 4 Ounce:
The 4 oz cloth worked very well, although I wish the same (small) quantity of material were available rolled rather than folded.
3/6/2008
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
4.0
Great product [...]
By Canada Steve
from Chicago, IL
About Me Beginner
Pros
Easy to Use
Protects Well
Weather Proof
Cons
Best Uses
Outdoor
Wood Trim
Comments about Jamestown Distributors Fiberglass Cloth - 4 Ounce:
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