Hi to all,
I prepare to build a tender with epoxy west system resin and carbon fibres.
Can i use vinyl gel coat in the mold or i must paint it after infuse it ?
Thanks
George
Most vinyl ester gel coats will not be compatible with epoxy. It would be better to paint or prime after the epoxy part is cured.
R&G in Germany sell epoxy gel coats.
Is these suitable for this situation ?
Your opinion ?
Regards
George
I simply do not believe that any epoxy resins have suitable UV resistance.
Duratec have polyester and vinyl-ester top coat resins that they say can be used as an in mould coating “gelcoat” and are also compatible with epoxy resins for the remaining laminate. These resins dry completely tack free and probably glossy too so I would still abrade the IMC/gelcoat with a scotch brite and then set up the epoxy infusion laminate.
http://duratec1.com/duratec/?page_id=590
Another alternative could be to use any polyester or vinylester gelcoat and then do a hand laid 225g CSM skin with a polyester or vinyl-ester resin that fully cures. Then abrade the back of the CSM ready for the epoxy infusion.
No issues infusing epoxy over un-prepped Duratec topcoat, I use it all the time as an in-mould coating with epoxy laminates and have done for 4 years now. Simple as spray it in the mould, layup once it’s cured for 24 hours, infuse. It’s a solid bond.
I think there are better epoxy systems out there then west systems. Their TG isn’t to high but it’s easy to use.
Maybe i find a solution.
I ask Scott bader in uk and has gel coat which fits direct in epoxy resin.
Thanks for your posts
George
Yeh Scott Bader have their Crystic Glosscoat which is almost exactly the same as Duratec. It doesn’t have any UV stabilisers in it though, so it won’t provide any UV protection.
I send tomorrow the exact type of scott badder
Hi Sygeor how did you get on with the Scott Bader crystic gelcoat and epoxy resins, keep to know as want to try it myself but can only get it in 20kg buckets as have to know it works first. Thanks