Hi folks,

I'm trying to do my first infusion at the moment, and I'm being driven crazy by the vacuum leaking.

The mould I made myself, it's been painted with 2k automotive paint & clearcoat, the surface finish is good but not perfect (a few minor bits of 'orange peel' texture).

I've tried bagging it three times now, the last time I tried applying the tacky tape to the bag first (which I found a lot easier actually), each time it will leak though.

I have spent ages working the tacky tape in to make sure it's firmly pressed down, no creases etc. Where the vac line enters I made sure the connector was clean and no creases etc.

Initially I had applied release agent to the whole mould, including where the tacky tape goes, after the 2nd attempt I tried to clean this off using brake cleaner in case it was causing an issue, but still no vacuum. I don't know if that could be the issue, but I presume the brake cleaner would remove the easy-lease...

I can hear the bag moving slightly as the vacuum fades and it seems to come evenly from various places, so I can't pinpoint one place where the leak is occuring.

Would appreciate any tips on this as I'm going mad!

Thanks,
Rich

In my experience, 99.9% of leaks come from the bagging tape. It can look absolutely perfect and sealed, but that doesn't mean it is. I often have to heat up my bagging tape to 40 or 50 degrees, then go around it thumb by thumb pressing it down and sliding it around to really make sure it's down, making doubly sure to press down the pleats and hose connections. Your thumbs will be very sore by the end of it.