kwantz;4024169; said:
so basically saying, if i use the west systems i can get the tank done alot quicker? frig for the fiber glass matting they want like 12 dollars a yard... thats sorta pricey,,,, but it seems people are having a hard time getting the glass to set using liquid rubber... so it maybe worth the extra few dollars to get the epoxy and save time....
also is the fiberglass really needed throught the entire tank???
I don't think it will turn out to be a lot quicker to use epoxy instead of Liquid Rubber.
As far as fiberglass, a couple of us here on MFK have talked to chemists at West Systems and at a distributor of their product and they have recommended to not use fiberglass. They said if fiberglass was really needed for peace of mind to use it on the outside.
The Max ACR epoxy that Buckdog used came with the same recommendation. In fact if you read his thread you can see exactly what he did.
Why don't you call West Systems and see what the tech person you talk to recommends?
Likewise call Zavlar and get their input.
But back to fiberglass, I can still see it being a good idea to provide a bit of extra impact resistance on the inside of the tank but not necessarily for strength. The problem with fiberglass is people start putting it down right away and don't wet it out properly so it actually interferes with the waterproofing ability of the epoxy.
So instead it's better to go ahead and waterproof your tank without fiberglass. Then if you really need it add it to the final layers.
If I were to build another tank that's what I would do. Get 20 mils of epoxy laid down and then only glass the final layer.
As far as setting the glass, I would encourage you to not worry about this. There is no perfect sealant for plywood tanks. Dealing with adhering the glass in a Liquid Rubber sealed tank is just a minor hurdle in the long run.