i have a flat piece with slight curve that i keep trying to do, but there are always huge resin puddles that come up after a while. i’m using the wet lay-up process and using the original part as a mold. any suggestions?
Hm… .not sure if I’m following. Got pics?
oops im sorry i meant puddles, not puzzles. some areas of the sheet will be nice and saturated after the first layer, but some areas are later flooded with resin as it sets.
Are you referring to the clear coat?
nope not the clear, but the first layer of resin. usually this happens on a wet layup only. i’ll lay the part in resin, then lay the fabric, then lay the first top layer of resin. then once this dries, this is where i notice some parts are smooth and some of the areas have a few extra layers of resin. im guessing the resin from underneath rose up during the curing or something like that.
so you don’t notice the puddles till it drys?
yea that’s right. sometimes i’ll notice the puddles appear while curing, but the resin will be too tacky to smooth out by then. im guessing the resin just rises up from under the carbon fiber while curing and gathers up top?
Sounds to me like you need to find some better lighting conditions. For a while, I worked under only two 60watt bulbs in my garage. I had problems with puddles forming because I couldn’t see them. So, I went to walmart and bought three incandescent bulb holders that light up the area like the surface of the sun.
how do i avoid those puddles tho? do i have to lighten up on the resin i’m laying? this only happens when i do wet-layup.
i can clearly see them but usually when they appear, the resin is already pretty tacky.
can you get a picture of what you are describing??
I just want to see the area it is doing it at and maybe can help
How much resin are you using before you lay your fabric? I personally would go with gelcoat prior to the layup. Wait till it gets tacky and lay your fabric down. apply resin to the fabric.
If you are handy with a spray gun your the depth of the gelcoat will be uniform.
Can you spray gelcoat thru a normal gravity feed paint gun?
yes you can. I recommend a 2.0mm tip and thin the gelcoat with styrene by 10%
im laying just enough resin to cover the surface and hold the fabric down, basically im just quickly brushing it over the surface.
i’ll try to get some pics up soon.
yeah pictures would helpa ton, I bet we can figure it out for you