How to easily make Fiberglass Honeycomb Panels

How to easily make and work with Fiberglass Honeycomb Panels

We used fiberglass mesh for one side and biaxal, which is a combination of mesh and woven cloth combined with resin from totalboat to laminate the panels

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[erichemard]

Been using this board for a while…built decks, radar arches, center consoles. It’s pretty good stuff if you want to use it for contouring shapes. Score the panel every 1/2”-1”, this will allow the panel to bend, fair, fill and glass.

[travismiller]

thanks for sharing! I will apply these techniques you taught me to components of a tiny "airstream" trailer I'm building to pull behind my ebike.

[tomkolomick]

youu gave me an idea for a camper build thanks

[murraymadness]

Nicely done with basic tools. Much easier and faster with more complicated tools, a router in particular. What you call mesh I think it called Mat.

[oldhobo]

You are making me reconsider using traditional plywood core on my next project. Excellent detail and presentation in this video.

[terryevans]

Excellent video, especially the joinery portion.

[GeraldCerda-oypr]

Thanks for sharing video. This process is a bettercost effective way than buying panels and plastic honeycomb is better than cardboard honeycomb. Filling the edges and staggering joint method is a great idea!

[miguelvalenzuela]

thank you!!! I'm planning to make a roof top tent and camper and this technique looks great for keeping it light and strong. Thanks!!

[LSTSKR]

Nicely done. I am sold on this material for strength, rigidity, and relative cost-effectiveness. I researched these materials extensively a few years ago, and conducted many experiments thereafter. Two comments:

WATER INTRUSION: Plastic honeycomb has a troubled reputation for boatbuilding where water intrusion is possible (hulls). First, know that the plastic (core) does not bond well to polyester or epoxy resins, instead, the resin bonds to the "skin" which is a polyester-impregnated cloth. When it happens, the fiberglass wall (including the skim cloth) separates from the plastic core and water enters through the separation, essentially filling all the cells therein. It's not a deal-breaker but rather means that any penetration or crack is a vulnerability and must be repaired/resealed immediately.

EDGEWORK: It was good observing the attention to the edges because the edges are among the weakest parts of the final assembly. I am not familiar with the epoxy putty used but I would be a little concerned about bonding between the plastic core material and the epoxy putty (often weak bond results). One way to overcome this issue is to "activate" the surface of the exposed plastic core using the activator found in Loctite 2-part "Plastic Bonder" with a plastic-specific adhesive such Devcon Plastic Weld or a methyl-methacrylate (MMA) construction adhesive. All that is needed is a thin coat because (epoxy) resin bonds fine to the adhesive. I make 100% strong edges and bond sheets this way.

YMMV. Good luck!

[TheModelmaker]

Great Job. Other alternatives are very expensive like coosa. Plywood is heavy and prone to water absorption. Looks like you have the best of both worlds.

[davidlindquist]

Thanks! I’ve been using honeycomb/fiberglass panels I bought at Boeing Surplus 30 years ago. No more of those available, and new 4x8 panels cost $1800 ! So I may give your method a try.

[RandyZimmerman-ppwj]

This is awesome you should get the Nobel award for common sense engineering even though My hands shake I can still do it thanks

[StefanRMarais]

Great job. Doing some research for a Teardrop build and got a few great ideas off you.

[ninehundreddollarluxuryyac]

For things that will not be in the sun, you can put one layer of 4 oz surfboard glasscloth over the honeycomb with polyester resin or epoxy, then go over that with the clear countertop epoxy. Use a torch to break any bubbles and keep dust away until it hardens. All the resin and glass become transparent and you clearly see the honeycomb pattern in the part. I did some ceiling panels and a countertop with honeycomb and countertop epoxy and the 3-D honeycomb looks awesome! You can't use it for anything that will be in the ultraviolet because that will make the countertop epoxy get all alligator-skin.

[nynut]

awesome tricks im going to be building a tiny camper this way

[alexander]

Great job and I like the way you have shown diagrams of the different joints etc . I want to remove my splash well to make more deck space and will need to make some support walls . I will use your principles with 1" foan core . Thanks again for both the ideas and the methods .

[s]

Good tutorial. I do have a suggestion: instead of wetting out the Matt cloth on the honeycomb or cardboard, use some plastic sheeting laid out flat, wet it out, then squeegee out the excess, then lay it on the honeycomb that has been wet out. This way you cut down the weight with no loss of strength. Roll it like normal to get good contact.

[rickeydenler]

That bondo glass is great stough I built a covetable truck for my sons in high school I shaved out the tail lights on it useing fiberglass mesh fiberglass and bondo glass ten years later it was still perfect also used marine tex on the convertible top kit super strong stough!!!

[LastAmerican-fn]

Sawdust from oak, cypress, cider, work's great for filler and can be hit with arouter but play sand work's to .

[roysolis]

Excelente tutorial sencillo y novedoso.Saludos desde Panamá