Carbon Fibre Gel Coat?

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Carbon Fibre Gel Coat?

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AdamHutchin	AdamHutchin posted 10 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 8, Visits: 53	Hi, I've been reading through the forum but can't find the specific answer I'm looking for so wondered if anyone could advise? I have some previous experience (although quite a long time ago now!) of working with pre-preg carbon and wet lay up glass but have yet to try wet lay up carbon. When I used pr- preg carbon, it was just laid straight into the mold and vac-bagged. When I used glass, I first coated the mold with a gel coat, allowed it to go tacky, then laid in the CSM. With wet lay up carbon, I'm unsure of the correct process here and there seem to be different answers around the internet. I know it's a bit of a noob question but I thought I'd post here as this is where I'll be ordering the materials from and there are often differences between manufacturers products to consider too. My aim is to produce a few cosmetically pleasing, lightweight, non-structural parts. I will be vac-bagging the parts and have the resources to cure at elevated temperatures. My question is, can I achieve my goal by applying a layer of epoxy to the mold and proceeding with the lay up or should I allow that coat to go tacky before proceeding? I have seen different recommendations from different sources. Alternatively do I need a separate gel coat? I intend to use EL2 Epoxy Laminating Resin and "Easy-Lease" release agent, the mold contact surfaces are a mixture of mild steel and chrome. Thanks in advance.
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Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	What I do when I'm using in-mould coatings, is apply the chemical release agent as per the instructions (so 5 coats of Easy-lease I believe). Let that sit overnight if you can, but at least an hour. Then apply 2 coats of NON-SILICONE release wax over the top, and be REALLY gentle with your application. Don't buff it too hard, you really want to buff it as lightly as possible so you can see the gloss return but you aren't buffing off your semi-permanent release agent. What this does is it raises the surface tension again slightly. So if you are using the GC50 which is formulated to be thixotropic and avoid sagging/separation, it makes it a lot easier to get a good application, even on vertical surfaces. Are you able to spray the GC50 at all? That really does make it easier. You should be able to brush the GC50 using the semi-perm/wax combination as well, but the issue then is its very difficult to get a smooth finish with a brush, and you can end up distorting the weave of your carbon which creates an odd appearance under the gelcoat. I'd really recommend spraying any clear in-mould coatings.
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