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Originally Posted by Bushwacker
Did you try chilling the resin in fridge to keep it from kicking off to fast?
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Hey, Denny, interesting you should ask. I actually went the other way. I'm using epoxy, which is higher viscosity than vinyl or poly resins to start with. As it cools, it gets even more viscous. Temps in my shop this weekend were in the mid 60s, so I warmed the resin to about 75° so it would flow better. When I started, I wasn't sure whether it would be better to warm the resin, or warm the glass the resin was being infused into. Now I know.
on the second attempt, I left the resin at ambient temperature and used a heat gun to encourage flow as needed. Worked much better.
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Originally Posted by flyingfrizzle
Looking good! You made that look ez, and it turned out well and looked very professionally done.
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Thanks for the kind words, Mr. Frizzle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyingfrizzle
I am planning on doing some infusion laminates on the race boat to keep it light as well. I got plenty of tacky tape (bead mask from metal sheeting), spiral tube (wire guard from electrical control wiring) and some of the peel ply but curious where you got your bagging connectors from. Are you using the aluminum reusable type? I have seen them on flea bay a few times but would like to find a good supplier for bagging materials before I start trying it.
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I would be careful with substitute materials until you try them on a very small infusion. As an example, I bought tacky tape from two sources and there was a noticeable difference in performance. I don't know if a tape that's not formulated for vac bagging will perform like you want. It has to stick well enough to seal, but it needs to peel of easily without leaving residue after you're done.
Your spiral tube shouldn't be a problem if it will hold up to 25" of vacuum without collapsing. You want to make sure your bag will hold every inch of vacuum your pump will pull. If it won't, you have a leak that will infuse air into your laminate as it cures. Did I mention you want to make sure you have the right tacky tape?
I got my materials from US Composites, Merritt Marine Supply (both in Palm Beach) and Lowes. Bagging film, peel ply, and the better quality tacky tape came from US Composites. The polyethylene tube, both spiral and plain, came from Merritt.
The fittings that seem to work best are simple 3/8" nylon hose barb tees you can pick up from Lowes, Home Depot,or Ace. I wrapped the base of the barb in tacky tape and squeezed the bag down over it to seal. Here's one after debagging the laminate:
The starboard side turned out pretty good and was a lower stress process. Still learning...
Dave