Gel coat for mould


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raymonddfz
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Hi,
I have to make a small mould and I have enough coupling coat and tooling resin to do the job, but I haven’t got enough tooling gel coat
Can I use epoxy resin as the gel coat as I want to make an epoxy part from the mould? Then carry on with the coupling coat etc?

Also the part I am making the mould from is a fibreglass polyester item, any issues?
Warren (Staff)
Warren (Staff)
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If this is for the Uni-Mould system then you would struggle to get the coupling coat to bond to the epoxy gel so we would not recommend this combination. 

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
raymonddfz
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Thanks
One further thing, I need to extend an existing mold which was made using the unimold system. Can I add extra barriers and more layers etc
Warren (Staff)
Warren (Staff)
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Yes you can but take care where the gel joins, you may want to sand a taper onto the gel so you get a good overlap which, once cured, you can sand smooth to blend it all together. 

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
MarkMK
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Just to add a little to Warren's advice

When doing repairs to moulds where a bit of the Unimould gelcoat has broken away after a period of time, usually around any areas where the filleting wax was used to fill the parting line between patter and flange, I've found that filling with additional gelcoat doesn't always make for a lasting repair. Despite careful preparation, the mechanical bond will never quite be the same as the chemical one seen during the initial construction of the mould, I guess.

However, I have found that using the Epoxy filler that EC sells seems to offer a more robust and lasting repair, so I tend to use this now. I know that it might not be the recommended product, but you might find that this product works better when it comes to filling any join on the surface of your extended mould and possibly does a better job of adhering itself to a cured, keyed surface. It can be polished too, which should reduce the risk of anything sticking too much.and it's often easier to work into a repair, I've found 

Just a thought...


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