I'm in the middle of my first attempt at carbon fibre laminating using the CarbonMods starter kit with the 100 to 30 ratio resin and when I apply the base coat of resin I cannot get it to keep an even coverage over the surface of the mould, it just wants to pool up at the bottom of the mould leaving dry patches on the angled faces.

Photos help always a lot.

Sorry I cant seem to upload any images, posting this from my mobile. 

That may be caused by not cleaning the surface area before applying the resin using Pre-cleaner surface and wax remover or, if you did use pre-cleaner, not removing it properly or not allowing it to evaporate before applying the resin. in any case, when that happens you can immediately remove the resin with acetone or laquer thinner and start over or, allow the first layer of resin to cure and apply subsequent layers over again. it will catch on the second or third try.

I did not use any pre cleaner, it was not included in either the mould making or laminating starter kits i have. my precess was as follows:

after releasing pattern from mould i flatted back the gel coat with wet & dry from 600 grit up to 1200 grit, then polished with G3 polishing compound, Then applied 5 coats of Number 8 Mould Release Wax, followed by a coat of PVA Mould Release Agent, once it was dry i applied the resin and this is when i noticed the dry patches forming.

i waited for the resin to thicken up a little and gently brushed it back over the affected areas, in the end i had a pretty smooth layer.

I had a little difficulty in getting the first layer of carbon sheet in to the mould without it sticking to the resin before it was fully in the bottom of the mould, resulting in the weave being quite badly distorted on one face, fortunately that face will mostly be cut out for a grommet mounted led fog lamp. In hindsight i would have carefully folded the fabric and introduced it from a different angle allowing me to open it out into the mould.

I pulled the part from the mould this morning and i was pleasantly surprised at the finish, there are few dry spots but nothing that will be too visible & to be fair it is better than some parts i have paid a lot of money for from a motorsport supplier.

Hi Ryan,

Thanks Matt.

I'm glad to see that i had followed the instructions correctly and that it is normal behaviour of the resin under these conditions.

I am also keen to know more about the process of laminating without the first coat of resin, the next part i have planned to make is quite a bit more complicated and it would certainly be easier to lay the fabric to a non sticky surface.

For those who are interested here are links to the finished item:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151801986912812&l=ff3043527b

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151801987037812&l=d98436234a