hi

im loking at the pros and cons of pre preg as it cost more to bye but you don't need to bye the resin so does it work out the same price? obviously ill need to make an oven and vac pump but just wondering how it all works out




so give me your views on pre preg against resin infusion




cheers Rob 

In the past I had always favoured pre pregs since it is mostly superior if you are building high strength structural parts and weight matters. I feel it is a far easier process than infusion especially for newcomers to composites. There is less materials involved in preparing the laminate stack with all consumables, no meshes, no pipes or plumming. Having the oven is a once off thing and then you are off and running with it.

These days infusion has come a long way with many new materials, cores and other that are made specifically for the process so it just much more understood and there is plenty of advice on line. It's still a tricky process though and easy for newcomers to underestimate the attention and detail needed for success. As Hanaldo said, with infusion you can then just pick up any fabric material and infuse so the available palate of materials is endless, carbon, glass, Kevlar, wood, natural fibre, printed cotton, anything can be encapsulated in the laminate.

Getting great cosmetic finishes with pre preg is not easy without a real pressurised autoclave whereas infusion can give you a great finish with UV stable gelcoats/paints straight from the mould every time assuming all went well with the process.