Hi Martin,

It sure looks sunny where you are!

Mmmmm, the photos of the flat sheet sample do look very good; a test like this is always helpful. I agree that this suggests there is no problem with the material. I wonder if there is an element of 'over-working' the prepreg in the more difficult areas. This is a phenomenon that can occur with the critical surface ply on a component layup too; if the surface is put-down, lifted, put-down, moved,.. etc.; it can cause minor problems along similar lines to what you're experiencing with the tooling system. This is difficult advice to give because we're trying to tread a line between making sure the material is well-and-truly down into all the details of the mould and yet at the same time not overworking it (which in the case of the XT135 surface ply can mechanically force the gel surface into and through the scrim. If this rings any bells though and you think to yourself "maybe I could be over-working it" then it might be worth a small test on a compound mould where you actually try to be a but less conscientious; of course you've still got to get the material into the corners but with an awareness to not overwork it. Generally speaking, we're still getting good feedback and seeing good finish on moulds produced by less experienced and less conscientious laminators than yourself which makes me wonder if you're actually trying too hard with it?
[EDIT] Just looking again at your very first post I can see that the problem areas are not in the difficult corners (where would all have expected them to be). Is there anything you're doing in the lamination on those flat areas that could be different? - You've now made flat sheets with the material and they were good and you've got most areas of your complex mould are good, but the flat areas (which we've proved can work) are showing the problem.