Stand Up Paddleboard infusion


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andrew.spencer.2
andrew.spencer.2
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I was just having a gander at your charming resin infusion starter kit, and was wondering if it would fit my needs. I've only ever done wet hand layups in the past, so jumping straight into resin infusion vacuum bagging is a pretty big step for me. 

I watched the very helpful video tutorial on infusion which answered a lot of questions, but it's a little different from what I want to do, which is this:
Coat a 3.5m Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP, think really big surfboard) in carbon fibre. It's a hollow wooden affair, entirely sealed in sanding sealer as to be non-porous. 

Firstly, is it even possible to coat an object on all sides with a vacuum infusion? Should I try to do the top and bottom separately, or can I do it all in one go? What sort of resin should I use? How would I place the infusion feed spiral? 
Sorry for the barrage of questions, if anybody has answers, I would really appreciate some guidance.

ChrisR
ChrisR
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Yes you could do both top and bottom at the same time but you mention it's hollow wood so infusing may not be the way to go (one little crack in the finish and it will suck all the resin into the hole and that's if you can pull full vacuum on it and prevent the core from deforming).

If you were wanting to infuse then I would make a 2 or 3 part mould off the core, infuse the top and bottom layers seperately, bond together after infusion and add a foaming epoxy or PU to make the core
andrew.spencer.2
andrew.spencer.2
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Oh, I see. I definitely wouldn't want to fill the board with resin. Although, with the sanding sealer liberally applied, I'm fairly certain it's airtight. I've had it in the water already, and it didn't absorb anything anyway. As far as deforming goes, I've attached a picture of what it looks like on the inside (has a plywood skin on the deck now). I can stand on it if that's any indication. 

I've never pulled a mould off of anything before, your suggestion sounds awfully complicated to my feeble mind. If you'd really recommend steering clear infusion, I suppose I can always go back to hand layup.
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ChrisR
ChrisR
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Seeing the picture, if you were to wrap it and vac you would probably end up with an undulating surface between the spars/ribs

If you want to lean out the resin once you've done the wet lay, you could carefully drape peelply over (assuming epoxy - not tried it with polyester) and pat down with a sponge or similar then let it cure, it will suck some of the resin out or you could wrap the lot and vacuum bag but only pull a partial vacuum just to help consolidate the laminate
Warren (Staff)
Warren (Staff)
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I do think you will struggle trying to pull a full vacuum on that.  Even wetlay vacuum bagging would likely cause the sagging issue between ribs.

You would need to do a wet lay up and just be very careful with your resin usage and consolidation.  As said, peel ply can help soak up some excess resin.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
andrew.spencer.2
andrew.spencer.2
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Ok, now I'm confused. Perhaps I didn't explain fully that the previous picture was just to show what the board looks like structurally on the inside. I don't actually have a photo of what it looks like now, but here is a shot of it with the deck skin on. It basically looks like a giant solid wooden surfboard.  What I had in mind was doing something like they've done in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBr5IzK4U8o
But I can't quite tell because I don't speak French. 
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brainfart
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We know your board is actually closed. But the fact remains that it most likely won't survive the pressure/vacuum. If there is only one small crack or hole you will suck lots of infusion resin inside. And such a crack has to be expected once you bag it and put it under vacuum.
ChrisR
ChrisR
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They are infusing onto a solid foam core rather than a hollow wooden one, that's how they can do it

andrew.spencer.2 (11/06/2014)
Ok, now I'm confused. Perhaps I didn't explain fully that the previous picture was just to show what the board looks like structurally on the inside. I don't actually have a photo of what it looks like now, but here is a shot of it with the deck skin on. It basically looks like a giant solid wooden surfboard.  What I had in mind was doing something like they've done in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBr5IzK4U8o
But I can't quite tell because I don't speak French. 

andrew.spencer.2
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Aha. Thank you all for your advice. it sounds like I had better stick to laying it up by hand without the vac then. What resin would you recommend in that case? Thinking of just a single layer of 200 gsm carbon all around, although I am tempted by the jute or flax maybe? Sorry to keep inflicting myself upon your wealth of knowledge like this...
Dravis
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If you "just" want to skin the wooden construction in CF/flax/jute, then go for a single layer of 200gsm..  one side at a time
Start off with a thin layer of the black coating /skinning base resin (for the CF), let it cure to a tack, to hold the CF fabric, and wet lay , and cover with peel ply.
Use laminating resin.  You can also just use some black pigment in laminating resin for the first layer, it is just to make a black base for the CF, since a single layer can be a bit transparent/gappy

Wrap it with perforated release film and some old sheets or the like to absorb excess resin.   Leave one side to cure fully, then remove all cover materials around the edge and do the other side.

When it has all cured, remove all cover materials and the peel ply form both sides, sand it down lightly and get a paint shop to clear coat the whole board.

If you want areas of the board to be really grippy, just leave those areas as they are straight from the peel-ply... BigGrin When they are wet, you will see the CF through the otherwise grey/matte areas, but they will still grip, until they are well worn ...  I use that method on gun-stocks made from CF.. but sometimes apply a very thin clear coat to the rough areas.

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Edited 10 Years Ago by Dravis
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