Occupation: Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators

Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators

Laminate layers of fiberglass on molds to form boat decks and hulls, bodies for golf carts, automobiles, or other products.

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Release air bubbles and smooth seams, using rollers.
Spray chopped fiberglass, resins, and catalysts onto prepared molds or dies using pneumatic spray guns with chopper attachments.
Mix catalysts into resins, and saturate cloth and mats with mixtures, using brushes.
Check completed products for conformance to specifications and for defects by measuring with rulers or micrometers, by checking them visually, or by tapping them to detect bubbles or dead spots.
Pat or press layers of saturated mat or cloth into place on molds, using brushes or hands, and smooth out wrinkles and air bubbles with hands or squeegees.
Select precut fiberglass mats, cloth, and wood-bracing materials as required by projects being assembled.
Bond wood reinforcing strips to decks and cabin structures of watercraft, using resin-saturated fiberglass.
Trim excess materials from molds, using hand shears or trimming knives.

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Apply layers of plastic resin to mold surfaces prior to placement of fiberglass mats, repeating layers until products have the desired thicknesses and plastics have jelled.
Inspect, clean, and assemble molds before beginning work.
Cure materials by letting them set at room temperature, placing them under heat lamps, or baking them in ovens.
Apply lacquers and waxes to mold surfaces to facilitate assembly and removal of laminated parts.
Repair or modify damaged or defective glass-fiber parts, checking thicknesses, densities, and contours to ensure a close fit after repair.
Mask off mold areas not to be laminated, using cellophane, wax paper, masking tape, or special sprays containing mold-release substances.
Check all dies, templates, and cutout patterns to be used in the manufacturing process to ensure that they conform to dimensional data, photographs, blueprints, samples, or customer specifications.
Trim cured materials by sawing them with diamond-impregnated cutoff wheels.