Hi folks,
My small firm makes specialized stringed musical instruments; specifically hybrid guitar/viola/bowed guitar (guitar formatted violas called "
GuitarViols" that have been popular in the soundtrack industry for the last 20 years). In any event, I have been applying composites to my
otherwise wooden instruments; particularly carbon graphite/fiber cast fingerboards as high-performance precision playing surfaces. This has
been going well for the last 6-7 years! The pivot to CF for structural material is next! Though I have been at this for some years, I have a lot
to learn!
Anyway, I have been developing models from carbon fiber/flax/hemp in various vacuum infusion/composite mold approaches. So far so good!
(Though I am still getting that lay-up routine down). On the other hand, I am finding out the (hard way) what a pain finishing Carbon Fiber cloth
can be! (fish eye/ wick suck effect etc). I have tried various thixotropic epoxies for an in mold gel coat (but have found those a bit too brittle and
even tenacious (even with ample PVA). So, I reverted back to a pour on approach which turned out a bit better but there were some fish-eyes
(not many, but...). Even though I gave it a good acetone wash. I have read that dish soap water also works? Or, would spraying a light acryllic
lacquer be compatible? Sort of a way of priming it with a clean light coat? Also, what effect does 3M spray glue (holding cloth in position for infusion)
have on finish impurities/prep? Is there a better approach?
I am also considering any epoxy compatible gel coats and giving the in mold approach a chance (just afraid of screwing up my main mold). The pic above
shows a glimpse of the part. (This got sanded off and I did a pour and, no shot of that but it showed promise). the other approach was that of gravity pour
while upside down like a boat hull. (Sorry about the sideways images, the black one has the pour-over)
Anyway, I welcome any thoughts that lead to success! I am going to be doing a lot of these! Thanks in advance!