Shade Cloth as an infusion mesh

Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

Back

Shade Cloth as an infusion mesh

Author	Message
Frobisher	Frobisher posted 10 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 14, Visits: 93	I've heard of hardware store shade cloth being used as a cheaper alternative to infusion mesh. Has anyone here tried it? Was it successful?
	Reply Like 2
nc42	nc42 posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 23, Visits: 365	It can definitely work. There are a few different types though and you want the woven type which can be hard to find. I believe we used to use 40% coverage found at http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft_shade_cloth_material-ft_sunblocker_bulk_shade_cloth;pg103762.html
	Reply Like 3
Frobisher	Frobisher posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 14, Visits: 93	Excellent, I think my local hardware store has woven 30% so I'll try that. I've heard that it infuses faster along the warp direction (lengthways) than the fill direction (across the roll). Have you noticed this?
	Reply Like 3
Matthieu Libeert	Matthieu Libeert posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 955, Visits: 3.4K	I've tried it 4 years ago while I started with composites... Didn't get good results and decided that from that point I would only use products made for composites. By not using the correct materials you waste time and money by having things failing...and to be honest I do not think flowmesh is the most expensive part of the process but everyone has their own ideas and findings about that Matthieu Libeert Founder MAT2 Composites X Sports website: www.mat2composites.com
	Reply Like 3
nc42	nc42 posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 23, Visits: 365	I would tend to agree. The price difference is pretty minimal, around %80. We mostly used the shade cloth as a breather for debulks and long laminates. It did get used for infusion a few times but it was not the primary use. Edited 10 Years Ago by nc42
	Reply Like 3
Frobisher	Frobisher posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 14, Visits: 93	That's less encouraging. I'm going to do some test runs so I'll try the shade cloth and see how it turns out.
	Reply Like 3