Carbon fiber roof - making the mold

Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

Back

Carbon fiber roof - making the mold

Author	Message
Warren (Staff)	Warren (Staff) posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Administrators Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 8.5K	I would give that voided area a real good prodding with a rigid tool to see if it caves in. If still in one piece then I would try injecting the gelcoat. You've nothing to loose as if it fails, it will break off on the first use of the mould and you can then just do a conventional gelcoat repair. Warren Penalver Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
	Reply Like 5
BlackNDecker	BlackNDecker posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 92, Visits: 251	Decided to put some work in on the mold. I pulled it out to the back yard for trimming: And after trimming I moved it down to the basement...this is where I will be setting up the vacuum bagging and infusion: There is one significant trouble spot where the chopped fibers did not completely support the gel coat...there is some undermining of the hole with tracking laterally. My thought is to mix up some gel coat and inject it into the cavity with a syringe...thoughts on this approach? ant Edited 10 Years Ago by BlackNDecker
	Reply Like 5
BlackNDecker	BlackNDecker posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 92, Visits: 251	Thanks so much! I was really hesitant to chisel out and/or try to sand all these superficial imperfections. I'm gonna scrape and fill as suggested. Edited 10 Years Ago by BlackNDecker
	Reply Like 5
davro	davro posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 300, Visits: 2.2K	Looking good ! Repairing those little alligators will be easy, just grind out an neat shape and fill with gel coat with some wax additive or just tape a cup over the small repair to remove air while it drys, then get sanding, compounding and polishing. If you are going to do and infusion without repairing the mould fill in the voids with release wax. Looking forward to seeing the product David Stevens YouTube: Comment \| Rate \| Subscribe Instagram Composite Projects Body Package for Dax Rush RC Car Touring Body 1/10 Scale
	Reply Like 5
Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	Yeh it'll be fine. Scratch it up well, it's just easier than trying to sand inside the alligatoring. Make sure it's clean. This is the method I always use to repair any alligatoring, all my repairs are still perfect.
	Reply Like 4
BlackNDecker	BlackNDecker posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 92, Visits: 251	Hanaldo (13/06/2015) Nah use a scalpel to pick away any loose bits and just scratch up the imperfections. Then use a pop stick to dab the gelcoat into the low areas. Remember to fill them proud of the surface so you can sand it down level. So just to be clear, scratching/roughing up the area with a scalpel will be sufficient to create a strong bond between the mold surface and the "repair" gel coat?
	Reply Like 5
Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	Nah use a scalpel to pick away any loose bits and just scratch up the imperfections. Then use a pop stick to dab the gelcoat into the low areas. Remember to fill them proud of the surface so you can sand it down level.
	Reply Like 4
BlackNDecker	BlackNDecker posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 92, Visits: 251	VVS (13/06/2015) If you take a look at the last picture I posted on my bike build you will see a mould done using the uni mould system, ive polished the in part piece and left the outside as was, you can see the difference between the two parts is quite pronounced and was done in half an hour with the drill and foam mop, very easy to do and well worth it. Thank you...I will try to have a look. I'm having a bit of trouble navigating the forum with my iPhone 6+ presently. When I click on an individual thread it loops me back to the main forum page.
	Reply Like 5
BlackNDecker	BlackNDecker posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 92, Visits: 251	These are very small, shallow surface imperfections in confined areas... Should I: a) sand and scuff with 80 grit then spread a thin layer of gel coat over the surface imperfections? b) chisel the small areas down to the fiberglass underneath and fill with a thin layer of gel coat?
	Reply Like 4
Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	Definitely worth repairing, especially given it is a large flat surface. Will only take 20 minutes of sanding to get it perfect. I suggest doing the repairs sanding it flat and through to 1200, then give the whole mould a flat down with 1200 before compounding. You'll be amazed how much better the surface can be.
	Reply Like 5