I guess I started this whole thing with a post about the 5oz cloth. Actually I went to Raka because it was the most recommended on this site, and that should be a sign of how good Raka is. In my post I had said I was going to be the one to give the 5oz a go because most people had said it was hard to wet out. After my post I got quite a few responses saying the 5oz did not clear when wetting out. HOWEVER, never ever ever have I heard anything but good about other Raka cloths, in fact they have been recommended. Sorry, and apologies to Raka if I shed bad light on them- it was not intentional.

With all that said, I do want to reiterate that I think the problem is that the cloth is so tightly woven that the resin cures before the cloth can absorb it. I believe that is why Raka recommends to do a fill coat first. That will prevent the resin from soaking into the wood, and allow it to soak into the glass cloth instead. I can barely wait to do my test strips, but the 5oz is not here yet, and the 6 oz will arrive Tuesday.

Also I should clarify something else. I bought the 6oz from Newfound. That may have suggested that I did not trust Raka any more. Actually it was solely because Newfound uses FedEx, and since I'm already behind schedule, that would guarantee that I got it on time, while the Raka was sent priority mail, and I live in the USVI, where there is no such thing as "priority" mail. Our mail arrives on a DC3 that has now caught fire twice and collapsed a tail wheel just a few weeks ago. When they crank it up it sets off the smoke alarms in my office. (Which is at the airport) Priority Mail here means it will get here less slow than the normal mail. Nothing Raka did wrong there either, but I figure if the Raka was sent a few days ago by "priority mail" and the other is sent Monday by FedEx, then they will get here around the same time. I must also mention that Michael at Newfound gave excellent service, and so did Larry at Raka. Michael took the cake by calling me back when it was past the cutoff to schedule a FedEx pickup and wanting to know if I wanted him to come in on Saturday on his day off and ship it. Bravo Zulu to Michael! (BZ= "Job Well Done")

So, I will promise to post a pic of the two side-by side, but please note that I more comparing Raka's 5oz "special cloth" to a normal 6oz cloth, and not Raka to Newfound. I should also note that Raka's website says the 5oz cloth (in bold..) "should be excellent for clear coating." I guess you have to look at the "should be" part. I plan to solve this mystery with a side-by-side comparison on the same piece of wood with the same batch of resin, put on at the same time in the same fashion... etc.,etc. The only difference will be the cloth, and I will take extra precautions to be sure that both cloths are fully saturated.

At the risk of being long-winded here, I should finally (I promise) reiterate that the Raka 5oz and 6oz are the same fibers, only woven differently. Therefore science would tell us that they should both respond the same to resin, i.e. when fully saturated would become transparent, except that the tighter woven will be harder to wet out because there is less room between the fibers for the resin to flow freely. We know that if the cloth is not properly saturated then it will not go clear. Fiberglass fibers are clear already, but they look white because the surface of all those fibers put together reflects back light. For example, clear fishing line looks white when wrapped up on a spool because each strand reflects white light off the surface. Put the fiberglass strands in resin, and they become one piece, and the only surface to reflect light is the surface of the total piece, which (if smooth) will reflect just like glass, but will be transparent... just like glass. When the resin does not fill the weave totally, you get areas that still have separate strands that will each reflect light in their own directions, causing that area to show up white. The same principal applies to the surface when sanded and all scratched up. Then it looks dull or even white, but add a coat of varnish to fill the scratches, and the surface again transmits light in one direction, causing it to once again appear clear.

Whew, I'd better not waste any more of Nick's disk space.

Thanks,
-Malcolm