Trying to mold my doors...:((((

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Trying to mold my doors...:((((

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BlackNDecker	BlackNDecker posted 11 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 92, Visits: 251	Greetings all, I just discovered this website and it looks like a great resource for novices like myself. I've been trying to mold my doors but have run into repeated failures. I've posted this previously on compositescentral.com, but was hoping to get some feedback from you all. I cleaned my door and flanged it, then sprayed several coats of PVA (next time I will use mold release). I then applied gel coat with a roller and brush. The temps were low when I applied the gel coat (approx. 49* F but I mixed extra MEKP and have had success even when allowed to set at -10* F). Here is a pic of the door after the gel coat was laid down: So I when I checked on it this afternoon (approx. 16 hrs later) I noticed a new problem I've never seen before with gel coat...it pulled away cleanly from the plug in some areas. Would this be due to nonuniform thickness?? Edited 11 Years Ago by BlackNDecker
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The Fibreglass King	The Fibreglass King posted 11 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 69, Visits: 652	Hi blackNdecker, I also think you should definitely start again on this project. Firstly remove if possible all traices of the silicon. As mentioned before, this really is not a good material for the purpose you intended, a good product for this is modeling plastacine white is preferable as using coloured plastacine can stain your gel coat, when it comes to gel coat or fibreglass production you really need to try and control the temperature in which you are working for the chemicals to perform correctly, ideally the temperature should be no less than 17 degrees Fahrenheit / 8.3 degrees celsius and no more than 70% humidity you can measure both these conditions using a hydrogro meter these are inexpensive but very useful in composite production. I understand that you are doing this job in your garage but try isolating the area you are working in . Even putting up some tarpaulin and using a small electric heater will help! Preparation is important the on surface you intend to mould from, you need to make sure that the surface is clean and grease free, then I would recommend using either a chemical mould release system or a quality mould release wax I would recommend mequires mirror glaze no8 mold release wax and apply six to eight coats with one hour intervals between coats, As for the gel coat you really do not need such big amounts, 1 kilogram per layer would be more than sufficient, and apply two layers as evenly as possible, do this using a white bristle brush 2" or 3" leave the gel for at least two hours to cure, before laying any materials on to this. Hope you find this advice helpful ?? . Kind Regards . The Fibreglass King
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Trying to mold my doors...:((((

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

I don't understand why the pics aren't showing? I'm using photobucket and posting the IMG links just...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

What % MEKP did you use? One picture looks like the flanking has moved causing the crack, but that...

ajb100 - 11 Years Ago

[quote][b]ajb100 (02/05/2014)[/b][hr]What % MEKP did you use? [/quote] I used 1.5% MEKP in 1...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

As I would make a guess, you have some places that are thicker than other... when curing there will...

matthieutje65 - 11 Years Ago

[quote][b]BlackNDecker (02/05/2014)[/b][hr][quote][b]ajb100 (02/05/2014)[/b][hr]What % MEKP did you...

Alibro - 11 Years Ago

You used a gallon for a door? Unless it was for a barn I would have thought that was rather a lot....

Brian_s - 11 Years Ago

same here those places that not enough gelcoat get same thing like you got or wrinkles.

TomDesign - 11 Years Ago

Thanks for the help everyone. I agree that the uneven layers was likely responsible for the cracks...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Here is a pic of my door flanged prior to gel coat...you can see the silicone caulk all around the...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Silicone is very very bad! It's like teflon, no liquid resin will adhere to it and it wants to creep...

brainfart - 11 Years Ago

Devin Wang - 11 Years Ago

Great advice. Thank you. I will work on refining my technique before I give this another go...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Hi blackNdecker, I also think you should definitely start again on this...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

Thanks so much for the reply! Previously I had a catastrophic failure when I tried to apply 2...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

I always apply 2 coats of gelcoat when using polyester, because my stuff isn't thixotropic enough to...

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Hi blackNdecker, It is exactly how Hanaldo says, that your first coat has not...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

Thanks everyone for the input! I am definitely not giving up on this project. It's critical to my...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

[img]http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx10/swolehead/null_zps6b125f6d.jpg[/img] Sure it does ;)

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Hi BlackNdecker, No problem at all, nice clean up job! Keep us posted and good...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

I decided to mount the door on the car to mold it...it would've been heart breaking to mold a warped...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

nice poker game :) btw trust me doors not go bad they taken or mounted as they oem. so far so good...

TomDesign - 11 Years Ago

Lol...thanks. My concern now is trying to apply gelcoat to a vertical surface:-[

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Hi blackNdecker, When you apply the gel coat start from the top and work down,...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

The fillet wax arrived and I massaged it into all crevices:...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Do 5-6 coats of release wax, 2-3 mist coats of PVA and then 1-2 heavier coats of PVA.

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Thanks Hanaldo! I went back and cleaned up the fillet wax and straightened up all the lines so...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

D-day goes down on Friday......

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

You want to build the mold with West epoxy and apply it to the coupling coat? You better do a small...

brainfart - 11 Years Ago

I have used epoxy as the tooling resin on a polyester gelcoat with one layer of 225 csm and...

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Hi, BlackNdecker, I would also go for the polyester resin! What lay up are...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

One other thing if you are not using a Rapid Tooling System and are building the mould traditionally...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

man work more simple not try to invent bike. polyster resin and 450 frp for mold for first layer...

TomDesign - 11 Years Ago

@ tomdesign, I totally agree keep it simple! 😉 . Kind Regards ....

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

So I have a really good feeling about this.... The working conditions were 13* celsius and medium...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

After waiting a little over 4 hours, I laid down a quick second coat with a roller on the large flat...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

It's too cold in your garage. That's why you apply such a thick coat, the viscosity is higher....

brainfart - 11 Years Ago

[quote][b]brainfart (17/05/2014)[/b][hr]It's too cold in your garage. That's why you apply such a...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Yeh this is what I hate about ester based gelcoats and resins. The application is always so...

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Hi blackNdecker, It does make quite a bit of difference to the gel coat if...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

I wouldn't worry about orange peel anyway, you can flat that out with 1200 after.

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Thanks fellas! Your input is GREATLY appreciated. So I'm progressing right along...coupling coat...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Looking good mate. I use woven rovings on my moulds too. Very solid stuff. Bit hard to work with on...

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Laid down the woven roving...got it as thick as 3 layers around the door sills. I am now out of...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Due to the shape and size of the door, it might be worth adding two wide bits of wood into the...

ajb100 - 11 Years Ago

Great news!!!!! [IMG]http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx10/swolehead/null_zps7f8ed430.jpg[/IMG]...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Hey BlackNDecker, Have you finished building the door(s) yet?, I'm curious to know how you...

Tones67 - 10 Years Ago

Scrape most of it off with a popstick or similar, then give it a quick wipe with MEK (NOT MEKP) or...

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

I was using acetone initially but it seemed to take the surface off the gel coat...so I used a rag...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

EC have a mould cleaner that works well when removing the wax. Chris www.carbonfibreworks.co,uk

carbonfibreworks - 11 Years Ago

Ah. The EC Unimould system might be different to the systems I use, never had an issue with using...

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Hello Black nDecker, Was just wandering how your project is going? Have you done any more?...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

Thanks for the follow up! I spent all my money on the mold supplies and had to wait on a...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Hello BlacknDecker, Look Forward to seeing how you get on! Good luck, keep us posted!!...

The Fibreglass King - 11 Years Ago

Just placed another order with easycomposites...ordered all my supplies for vacuum infusion. The...

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

Looks good and glad that all the problems got worked out. this is something I am looking into...

kidpaint - 11 Years Ago

I will silicone caulk the windows in place. I want the doors to look OEM from the outside.

BlackNDecker - 11 Years Ago

This is great, i'm planning on doing my doors in the near future and this has been helpful and...

Dogger - 10 Years Ago

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