Hi guys, Been looking at the resin infusion vids and it looks pretty straight forward. (famous last words) I want to make a 250mm diameter cylinder approx 1000mm length. However I need answers to a few questions please... How likely is it for the resin to reach the the other side and leave corners/edges dry? If its quite likely tips to prevent this? If this happens is the part still salvageable or ruined? Second question, This cylinder needs to be stiff (very very stiff) and upto 15mm thick, it does not matter if its thinner. What sort of layering would you use to achieve the above. Third question, I don't have a mandrill so intending to use a prepared sonotube cylinder, would release from this be difficult? Last question, cutting carbon fiber outside in the garden, would the dust just diffuse in the wind or linger in the garden for a couple of days? Looking forward to get started in this hobby, got loads of little projects planned... thanks, Jan

I am planning to lay the carbon on the outside of the Sonotube.

So I can easily apply the gel coat before I lay the fibers.

but

After infusion and the process having cured.

Would I be able to just brush the Gel Coat to the outside of the cured part?

Hi Jan,

I've not tested this exactly with the GC50 gelcoat but a couple of things jump out at me suggesting this would not work too well:

Firstly, the GC50 is designed for liquid epoxy to bond well to it, this is different from liquid polyester bonding well to cured epoxy (polyesters in general do not have good bonding strength themselves - GC50 works because it expolits the excellent bonding performance of epoxies).

Secondly, being a gelcoat, the GC50 is not designed to cure fully when in contact with air (i.e. the inside surface when it's been applied to a mould) and so you will have to contend with an unusual surface that would need to be rubbed off before you could start to flat it properly.

By all means give this a go but if it doesn't work (ideally on a test piece) then my suggested route would be to use our Epoxy Coating Resin to build up a few layers on the surface of your tube, then flat and polish that surface (the coating resin is very good used in this way and will stay completely clear even as it is layered over itself) and then finish the tube with a 2k lacquer or clearcoat.

I hope this helps and look forward to seeing the finished part.

Matt Statham
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Sales