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CMax
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Group: Forum Members
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Hello, I am new to composites. I have started with few sets from Easy Composites. I made a few tests on plexiglass and unfortunately I do not get a glossy surface on the carbon plate. In addition after 24hrs the resin did not fully cure and the plates are a bit soft  Please see the pictures. I applied Easy Release Agent 2 times. 1 application and then after 5 minutes the second one. The ration resin to hardener was 100:30. (Slow) Can you please advice 1) What can be wrong? 2) How many applications should I do with Easy Release and what should be the time in between?   Thank you!
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Warren (Staff)
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You need to fully follow the EasyLease Instructions. You were lucky the part didn't stick. A new mould needs the full 6 coats, 15 minutes between coats and an hour after last coat before use.
I don't think that alone would have caused your issue. If the mould was gloss, the part will be gloss . If its still soft then its not ready to demould. Slow hardener at 20C can take 24-30 hours before it is ready to demould. At the lower temperatures many are experiencing this time of year, that could be a lot longer.
Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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CMax
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Group: Forum Members
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+xYou need to fully follow the EasyLease Instructions. You were lucky the part didn't stick. A new mould needs the full 6 coats, 15 minutes between coats and an hour after last coat before use. I don't think that alone would have caused your issue. If the mould was gloss, the part will be gloss . If its still soft then its not ready to demould. Slow hardener at 20C can take 24-30 hours before it is ready to demould. At the lower temperatures many are experiencing this time of year, that could be a lot longer. Thx Warren, will follow the recommendations
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CMax
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Group: Forum Members
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@Warre +xYou need to fully follow the EasyLease Instructions. You were lucky the part didn't stick. A new mould needs the full 6 coats, 15 minutes between coats and an hour after last coat before use. I don't think that alone would have caused your issue. If the mould was gloss, the part will be gloss . If its still soft then its not ready to demould. Slow hardener at 20C can take 24-30 hours before it is ready to demould. At the lower temperatures many are experiencing this time of year, that could be a lot longer. Hi Warren, I tried one more time. There was no air leak. I waited for 36 hrs. Here is the result. What could be the problem? 
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oekmont
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there is either a mixing mistake or something wrong with the resin. This soft stage usually only occurs for a very short time with conventional cold curing resins.
-what temperature is there during the curing time?
- could you tell us how you weight the resin? how much resin and hardener did you weigh exactly?
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Warren (Staff)
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Also there is a lot of pinholes which suggests not enough resin went in or you sucked too much out which is easy to do on small pieces. For best cosmetic results we recommend leaving the resin feed open a bit longer than the vacuum line to allow extra resin in.
Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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CMax
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Group: Forum Members
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+xAlso there is a lot of pinholes which suggests not enough resin went in or you sucked too much out which is easy to do on small pieces. For best cosmetic results we recommend leaving the resin feed open a bit longer than the vacuum line to allow extra resin in. HI Waren. I closed the resin feed and waited for 5 min until the air is sucked by the pump.
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CMax
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Group: Forum Members
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+xthere is either a mixing mistake or something wrong with the resin. This soft stage usually only occurs for a very short time with conventional cold curing resins. -what temperature is there during the curing time? - could you tell us how you weight the resin? how much resin and hardener did you weigh exactly? Hello. I mixed 100:30, 70 grams of resin and 21 gram of hardener. The temperature was around 18C.
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Warren (Staff)
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Mixing ratio looks fine, although it is a small batch for an infusion. Check the accuracy of your scales. Temperature is a little low but should still cure.
You shut the ports the wrong way round. For cosmetic parts we recommend shutting the vacuum line first, then the resin feed last to allow a bit of extra resin into the part.
Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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oekmont
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Group: Forum Members
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+x
HI Waren. I closed the resin feed and waited for 5 min until the air is sucked by the pump.
if you did not degas the resin in a vacuum chamber before the infusion, this will cause the pinholes, you were asking about. you basically degas the resin under the film, and without any flow, the air stays where it degassed, wich is in your part. as Warren said, first cut off your vacuum line, and afterwards cut off the feed line. the longer you let additional resin in, the better the look, but the higher the weight.
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