Cheap place to buy resin/fiberglass

**j2eDX** · 07-26-2006, 05:21 PM

I'm planning to start a few projects while i'm outta skool, since i'm a student with not a lot of $_$. I'd like to ask where I can get the cheapest supplies like fiberglass cloth/mat, resins, automotive paint supplies. I live in the NW of the US in Portland, OR so if anybody can show me where to get the supplies. Thanks.

**binary.h4x** · 07-26-2006, 05:55 PM

Boat supply stores should have resin and mat cheap.

**stkdidy ntshidy** · 07-26-2006, 07:56 PM

i just go to home depot for resin...gallon for 31bucks. mat i get from a specialty shop (Tap's Plastics) because they have every weave and weight cloth/mat i need

**Shadow** · 07-26-2006, 08:36 PM

shopmaninc.com has good prices on stuff and they save you the hazmat shipping charge by shipping 5 1gallon containers if you buy 5 gallons. They've got acrylic, CF, all kinds of casting resin, urethane 2-part foam, all kinds of fabrication goodies. Check 'em out.

**Peoples** · 07-26-2006, 09:50 PM

some boat supply stores have resin and matt for cheap. the big boys like west marine and boatersworld are generally pretty expensive from what i've seen. they even have the designer stuff which is mad expensive $40-$170+ for a gallon

**j2eDX** · 07-27-2006, 07:51 AM

Thanks a lot for the replies. I looked up the yellowpages and called tons of places around my area including TAP plastics. Yes they do carry a lot of inventory but the price is one of the highest of places I called. I guess I'll get the resin at home depot/walmart/autozone and maybe get on ebay to get about 20lb+ worth of mat and weaves for about 60 bucks. About 13 sq yard of 8oz cloth and 5 sq yard of 39 oz mat. Is that a good price for fiberglass? I also found an online place called UScomposites that sell different types of polyester resin. The cheapest comes to $20 bucks not including shipping + hazardous material fees, but they do not reccommend it for structural glassin'. So what type of glassin' are we doing on enclosures and panels? How much fiberglass do use for a 2x12" ported custom enclosure, a door panel, for those who have done the projects. I'll also check out the websites that you guys posted and see where else is a good place to get materials.

**Shadow** · 07-27-2006, 08:31 AM

How much fiberglass is used depends on how much of the box is actually fiberglass. The same goes for the door panels. The amount of resin is directly proportional to the amount of mat/cloth used.

**Ces///M3** · 07-28-2006, 07:21 AM

do not buy resin from home depot, youll be glad you didnt in the long run, like said before many times in this thread, auto body supply,marine supply is your best bet

**red_parchel** · 07-28-2006, 09:19 AM

I've been wondering the same things .. thanks for asking j2edx, im working on a quarter tube sub box, i have the fleece stretched and all i just didnt want to spend too much, or not enough on the FG materials, since im only doing one surface shouldnt be too bad [i hope]

**j.c_photos** · 07-28-2006, 09:43 AM

Originally Posted by j2eDX

. About 13 sq yard of 8oz cloth and 5 sq yard of 39 oz mat. Is that a good price for fiberglass? I also found an online place called UScomposites that sell different types of polyester resin. The cheapest comes to $20 bucks not including shipping + hazardous material fees, but they do not reccommend it for structural glassin'.

USComposites actually seems to be the same place with a different name as shopmaninc. I had them give me a quote on some stuff and I was actually better off getting stuff locally and paying through the nose than buying from them. The reason was the shipping charges. I was looking at 150.00 worth of stuff and almost 50.00 in shipping. I was only getting 1 gallon of resin! The rest was light stuff, so get quote before you buy from them! Around here (los angeles) there's a couple of places I've found that are "plastics" places - hastings plastic and another one, but they sell fiberglass stuff as well. You might want to check into that.

I was curious if anyone has tried anything from Thayercraft.com? They have fiberglass cloth for like 1.50 or 2.00 a yd in a roll - which is great, but I don't need 150 yds of fabric!! Their smaller packages end up being about what I can get it from anywhere else (even if some of the shipping is free). Would it be worth buying a roll and splitting? If so, what cloth is the best for conforming to curves? Even the thin stuff can be quite stiff and not good for curves if it is the wrong weave.