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ahender
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+xRemember the pot life is only relevant to its time in the pot. For a large infusion you use perhaps a kilo at most in the jug at first as it will fly out initially. Then only top it up when it needs it with enough to be used up well within the pot life. Pot life is dependant on volume of resin, temperature, size of the pot, and other factors. Thank you.
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Warren (Staff)
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Remember the pot life is only relevant to its time in the pot. For a large infusion you use perhaps a kilo at most in the jug at first as it will fly out initially. Then only top it up when it needs it with enough to be used up well within the pot life.
Pot life is dependant on volume of resin, temperature, size of the pot, and other factors.
Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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ahender
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+xThe thicker you make it, the more chance it will look cloudy when finished. Also a much thicker gelcoat can be more brittle under flexing. Thank you. I'm leading up to my first infusion, a 12 foot canoe. The IN2 resin description indicates pot life is 80-100 minutes. I'm assuming this is based on a mass of around 200 grams at approximately 70 degrees. If there is a basic formula on how how the pot life is reduced based on mass increase? Is it proportional?
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Warren (Staff)
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The thicker you make it, the more chance it will look cloudy when finished. Also a much thicker gelcoat can be more brittle under flexing.
Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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ahender
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+xThe problem with brush coating and infusion is getting the layer smooth enough. Otherwise, the brush strokes and undulations of the uneven surface distort the carbon weave slightly as the vacuum presses it down tightly to the surface. This isn't a problem for wet lay up with brush applied GC50 as a thin layer of wet resin between cloth and gelcoat means the fibre floats on the resin flat rather than distorting. Thank you again. Would there be an issue if the GC50 exceeds the recommended .5-.7 mm?
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Warren (Staff)
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The problem with brush coating and infusion is getting the layer smooth enough. Otherwise, the brush strokes and undulations of the uneven surface distort the carbon weave slightly as the vacuum presses it down tightly to the surface. This isn't a problem for wet lay up with brush applied GC50 as a thin layer of wet resin between cloth and gelcoat means the fibre floats on the resin flat rather than distorting.
Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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ahender
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+xIf you're referring to GC50 itself, you can only apply a single coat, as it won't bond well to itself, unlike conventional polyester gel coatings (which shouldn't be used to make epoxy parts) Once applied, it can be left up to 24hrs and still bond okay to the epoxy. I have, on very rare occasions, left it a little longer and things appeared to be alright. Ideally, though, it is usually ready to go after a couple of hours at reasonable ambient temperatures. Thank you very much for answering my questions. At a recommendation of approximately .5 mm to .7 mm in thickness, it seems this would be impossible to do using a roller. I am not set up to spray the gel coat.
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MarkMK
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If you're referring to GC50 itself, you can only apply a single coat, as it won't bond well to itself, unlike conventional polyester gel coatings (which shouldn't be used to make epoxy parts) Once applied, it can be left up to 24hrs and still bond okay to the epoxy. I have, on very rare occasions, left it a little longer and things appeared to be alright. Ideally, though, it is usually ready to go after a couple of hours at reasonable ambient temperatures.
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ahender
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+xYou can certainly aim for the tacky stage if you're looking to use it to help hold your fabric in place, but you can leave it until completely cured to the touch also. It's usually okay to leave it overnight if needs be and it'll still adhere well to the epoxy. It's doesn't apply very well with a brush, but rolling it might give better results. Spraying is usually the best method of application as it's quite thinly formulated, so it might not adhere too well to mould sides if applying by hand Thank you. I'm not equipped to spray right now. If I roll, how long do I wait between applications? Alan
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MarkMK
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You can certainly aim for the tacky stage if you're looking to use it to help hold your fabric in place, but you can leave it until completely cured to the touch also. It's usually okay to leave it overnight if needs be and it'll still adhere well to the epoxy.
It doesn't apply very well with a brush, but rolling it might give better results. Spraying is usually the best method of application as it's quite thinly formulated, so it might not adhere too well to mould sides if applying by hand
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