Hi there. I am looking to perfect the professional finish of my product. It is wet lay up of resin and pigment over a variety of fibres, including glass fibre and Kevlar, over long thin objects of around 3” wide. Do you know if anyone doing similar work that could help improve technique and get the finish to professional level? Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks. 

What problems are you having with the finish?

It is possible with practice to get a good cosmetic finish with wet lay.  However depending on what you are trying to make, you may find other methods of manufacture easier or offer more consistent results.

Have you got any photos of how things are coming out now?  It is often possible to work out what the issues may be from inspecting the part in a photo.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant

Thanks Warren for the reply. Much appreciated. The problems I'm having with the finish are res still some overlap as the tape wraps round, ie it’s not as flat a finish as I would like. Also, trying to work out the best direction to wrap it, whether up or down, and how to tie it off after wrapping. Also, trying to get the best combinations of pigments and effects for the colour range. I’m really hoping there’s someone out there experienced with wrapping fibres with resin and getting a great finish. Also, there may be a way to wind or braid these fibres onto the wood, in which case the process could be mechanised. I hope that makes sense. Any thoughts? Thanks again. Duncan

Hi Warren. Another option is perhaps filament winding. Do you know anyone that could help with this? Many thanks. 

Wrapping individual fibres like that is always going to need a bit of surface finishing.  Filament winding is usually used to make tubes.  I am not sure if there is anything off the shelf for DIY use although I have seen similar on youtube in the past so maybe worth a search to see if there is a good DIY video showing something that might work for your process.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant