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x3n
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Group: Forum Members
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Hello Guys & Easy Composites Team, I have used wrongly the Hi-Gloss Pattern Coat for my mould instead of the Polyester Gelcoat GC50.  First I prepared the mould with 3 layers of wax (soft hand polishing) and one layer of PVA. Than I put a thicker layer of HI-Gloss with a brush onto it. I wanted to do a carbon fibre hand laminate after curing. Does it makes sense now or do I have destroyed my mould with the wrong coat now? What happens if I continue with the hand laminate now? Does the mould will separate from the hand laminate or the hi-gloss coat? Thanks a lot for your help and support in advance. BR
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oekmont
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I would not risk it. The high gloss primer is specially formulated to give extra little tack to other resins. You could even take epoxy moulds from it, wich is problematic with other polyester resins. Any other polyester would have been better.
However, you could try to sand it with a coarse grit paper, without "demoulding" the gelcoat.
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x3n
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Group: Forum Members
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Thanks oekmont.
You mean to sand it an try the laminate? That would be a better option than i‘ve done now.
These are my first tries.
Hopefully the gelcoat is giving extra little tack to the mould.
I’ve applied now just one layer of carbon fibre with few reinforcement and put in in the vacuum bag. Lets see what happens...
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Hanaldo
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I wouldnt bother sanding it, it typically doesnt work well and theres a chance you hit your mould which would be bad. Just layup a layer or two of 225g CSM with polyester or vinyl ester resin onto it and use that to pull it off the mould cleanly. Your mould should be fine, but the gelcoat is wasted. Better to waste it with a few more cheap materials rather than expensive ones.
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x3n
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Group: Forum Members
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The release worked well. I'm happy with the first try. Even if the part is not that good. Too many air bubbles  I will now do another part using the GC50. Already sprayed with a 1.4mm nozzle gun. It worked well. Now I'm going to work with carbon strips instead of using a whole cloth. It was very difficult to apply and put it without any bubbles into the mould. The part is too complex for it. I think it's a form where Prepreg works much better but for me it´s not an option at the moment. Thanks guys  Following some pictures...
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oekmont
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If you work with gelcoat, I would always advise to do resin infusion instead of wet layup with vacuum bagging. In fact, even without gelcoat I would prefer resin infusion. If you have bagging materials and a decent pump, there is really no reason not to infuse. The part will be of a much more consistent and better quality. And it is just as much effort.
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x3n
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Group: Forum Members
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+xIf you work with gelcoat, I would always advise to do resin infusion instead of wet layup with vacuum bagging. In fact, even without gelcoat I would prefer resin infusion. If you have bagging materials and a decent pump, there is really no reason not to infuse. The part will be of a much more consistent and better quality. And it is just as much effort. I thought about it. But do you think I can avoid the air bubbles with an infusion? The form is quite complex. Does the layup fit the shape perfectly with infusion? Of course I would prefer it too. Also because working with a wet layup is s***  Next, is the infusion mesh absolutely necessary?
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oekmont
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Group: Forum Members
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You could certainly get this air bubble free with infusion. If you avoid the mayor mistakes it is almost guaranteed to get a better result compared to wet layup. For a part this size flowmesh is mandatory. Flowmesh is the biggest down point with infusion. But there are relatively flexible ones, wich can get into moulds like this without an enormous amount of cutting.
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x3n
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Group: Forum Members
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+xYou could certainly get this air bubble free with infusion. If you avoid the mayor mistakes it is almost guaranteed to get a better result compared to wet layup. For a part this size flowmesh is mandatory. Flowmesh is the biggest down point with infusion. But there are relatively flexible ones, wich can get into moulds like this without an enormous amount of cutting. Cool - I think I will try it. What a the mayor mistakes? Can recommend something to me?
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Warren (Staff)
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Key thing with infusion is do not go near resin until you know you have a good sealed bag. If your bag is leaky, you will likely just ruin the part.
The other areas you can see on your finished part are mostly bridging related which is about ensuring your fabric and bagging stack are (and stay) tightly against the mould surface. Trying to do that part in one piece was ambitious And it might be easier breaking it into a few smaller pieces.
Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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