: Your main concern beyond the obvious characteristics of strength is
: "will it wet out easily and clear" . When all the
: discounts are over and the debate over strength, if you have
: glass that's showing the weave you will be an unhappy person.
: Many fabrics that have great strength for a light weight cloth
: have a very thight weave and the wet-out is not good or more
: laborsome. Ask them to send you a sample and ask them about how
: well it wets out because you want a clear finish. Most of the
: places that sell kits are involved in wetting out glass and
: carry glass that they have tried with good results as far as the
: wet out.

: I speak from experience. I once got some glass that was not wetting
: out well. It has to do with a host of things like the finish,
: fibers, the weave and more things than I know about.

Fiberglass by itself won't stick to the resin well, it needs to be treated (sized) for the resin you'll be using. The problem we have with kayaks is most glass is used with one of the esters (polyester or vinylester) resin and not epoxy. The sizing is different for those resins and while the epoxy will stick to it, it won't wet out well and very likely won't wet out clear.

The good suppliers of glass will advertise what sizing is used and what resin it's for. If the supplier you're using doesn't say, it might be worthwhile finding a better supplier.

Bill H.