fiberglass roller, brush or other?

I've been covering my new stringers in glass and i've been having a hard time applying the resin. 2" to 6" Foam rollers seem to work well at keeping the glass layed down but they deteriorate very fast. I tried using a brush but with the 2 oz. mat it just made a mess. All the mat just kept pulling up when i pulled the brush away.
Does anyone have any recomendations an what to use?

I just started last night. I found that if you put resin down then mat then resin on top it sticks pretty well and is much easier to get the mat satrurated. THis is my first experience but so far I think it is going to be a good one. I just need some warm weather for this epoxy to set up.

What are you working on?? I am guesing it is not the boat in your profile.

You need to use fiberglass rollers. They have fins or points in them to prevent the problems you're having. Go here to see what I mean:

http://www.fiberglasswarehouse.com/brushes_rollers.asp

I found those rollers to be good for getting bubbles out and pressing material down but a bush worked alot better for applying the epoxy to the mat.

I'm working on an 85 sierra supreme. I have a small plastic air buster roller, but i thought that was only for removing air pockets. I'm working with the chopped strand mat and it seems to come apart and make a mess if i use anything other than foam rollers. Tuneman are those larger diameter rollers for actually applying the resin?

Try Just dabbing with the brushes and not actually brushing. That seemed to help a bit for me. Also, liberally brush the resin on the surface you are applying it to.

Another technique, although messy, is to actually dip the cloth into the resin, and dabbing the resin around after application. I wouldn't use a roller with the mat style, only with the cloth style, as it seems like you don't get nearly as many bubbles with the mat vs. the cloth.

ymmv

eric

That'swhat i'm trying to say. I tried dabbing with the brush and it just pulled the glass fibers back up with it.

One thing to also consider is that you do not want too much resin. Too much resin will make the matrix weak and brittle. I have heard that the optimum resin to glass ratio is 50/50, so if you were laying up 10 ounces of glass you'd use 10 oz of resin. I personally would add a few ounces to account for what's left in the mixing cup, on the stirrer, etc...

In this case more is not better... and it goes against my American upbringing!

As for rolling it out I have had luck with plastic squeegees for auto bodywork. I put down a layer of release plastic over the fiberglass and resin and then use the squeegees to move the resin around. It's also nice and clean, but it can be tricky to remove the plastic from the glass.

My brother and I did a lot of fiberglass work on our boat last winter. We found the best was the disposable sponge brushes and disposable gloves because nothing is better than using your fingers.

Latex gloves are a must, they made it really easy for me to hold the mat and brush without pulling it up. I have read that you dont want to use too much resin but i was setting stringers and once everything was spueezed down tight any excess resin is going to squirt out the sides so I used alot of resin to make sure that everything was covered.

what boats are you working on?=

just wanted to say thanks to those that contributed to this thread, I ended up taking a little advise from everyone and things worked much better when glassing this afternoon.