+x

 

Matt (Staff) - 4/16/2020 8:29:57 AM

Hi Andre,

We too use glass sheets and the XC110 prepreg to produce perfect finish carbon fibre sheets; our manufacturing department uses this combination every day to produce 20+ sqm of sheet so this is a combination we know very well. We have no reported issues with Easy-Lease and have not experienced any problems ourselves, however, to rule that out and get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible for you I think it's probably a good idea to send you a new bottle out of the very latest batch. I'll also check which batch we're using in manufacturing at the moment.

I can see that Warren has mentioned this already but it will probably be helpful to you if I reiterate our own application process for our glass sheets. Our life-cycle looks like this:

1. We use brand new, standard toughened glass sheets (with NO special coatings, UV filters or other treatments)
2. New sheets are cleaned with mould cleaner to remove any residual contaminants from the manufacturing process.
3. We use lint free cloths to apply Easy-Lease chemical release agent. We normally use 2 small pads, one wet with release agent and the other clean. As we wipe on gently with the wet one, we wait a few seconds for the solvent to evaporate and then very gentle wipe over with the dry one to smooth out the application. This is to prevent any smears.
4. We wait 15-20 mins and repeat the above step. We apply 5 applications in total, to a new sheet.
5. We wait several hours before using the glass sheet in production.
6. Release will be perfect, the carbon will just peel away from the glass.
7. We then re-apply the one application of release agent, in the same way.
8. The cycle continues of re-applying once each release.

Using this process we have never had a sheet stick in my memory (more than 8 years of production like this) and our carbon fibre sheets have a completely perfect surface finish. So, I'm sure we can help you to get the same!

The only things that affect the release are as follows, and all of these factors are KNOWN to affect the release so they all need thinking about:

1. The release agent: Is it suitable? (Easy-Lease is). Is it in date? Has it been stored correctly? (lid tightly sealed).
2. The glass sheets: Are they plain, toughened glass or are they treated or coated in some way?
3. The cure: Has the prepreg fully cured before you try to release it. If it's not fully cured, it will really stick to the glass sheets, no matter how good the release agent it.

So, you'll notice that the one we've not explored here is #3, the level of cure. As you'll know, aluminium is a great conductor of heat. Your aluminium sheets are also possibly quite thin. Both these things mean that the prepreg on the aluminium sheets will get the heat from the oven very quickly. Glass on the other hand is not such a great conductor of heat and your sheets are probably thicker too meaning it's possible that in the same oven the prepreg for the aluminium sheets is being more fully cured than the prepreg on the glass sheets.

We'll arrange to send some new release agent out to you to rule that one out. I suggest you look into the glass you're using to check there's nothing strange about that and also check your cure cycle to ensure you're achieving a FULL cure on the prepreg. There's no harm in curing for longer so that's an easy one to rule out too. The answer can only be one of these three things.

All the best, Matt