in mold clear coat gloss question

[Tuff]

I’ve been building racecar parts and most everything we do is duratec grey primer but I have a couple parts that we want clear carbon. I have done a couple parts in clear and im using duratec 904-061h clear I’ve done layups were I let it sit for couple hours and then ive done one were I clear the night before doing my layup. Both times the part does not come out shiny but more of a satin finish. We reclear parts with an automotive clear but was wondering if that’s what everyone is doing or is your stuff look like glass out of mold? This is all bag infused using epoxy btw.

Thanks,Mike

[asusc]

I’ve been building racecar parts and most everything we do is duratec grey primer but I have a couple parts that we want clear carbon. I have done a couple parts in clear and im using duratec 904-061h clear I’ve done layups were I let it sit for couple hours and then ive done one were I clear the night before doing my layup. Both times the part does not come out shiny but more of a satin finish. We reclear parts with an automotive clear but was wondering if that’s what everyone is doing or is your stuff look like glass out of mold? This is all bag infused using epoxy btw.

Has more to do with your mold than the gelcoat. How glossy was your plug? How much time have you spent wetsanding, polishing, waxing your mold?

[sychrovsky]

Didn’t you try to buff it ? My parts come out little cloudy too, I just buff them out to a gloss

[Tuff]

I will try buffing the mold, and for buffing yes it buffs easy but to many tight detail areas that are to hard to get at. that’s why we were just reclearing the parts since I have a spray booth its not a problem

[asusc]

I will try buffing the mold, and for buffing yes it buffs easy but to many tight detail areas that are to hard to get at. that’s why we were just reclearing the parts since I have a spray booth its not a problem

In the future, its much easier to make sure your plug is super glossy. If you can achieve that, you’ll save yourself tons of time fixing things later, particularly on a complex mold.

[a_double]

In the future, its much easier to make sure your plug is super glossy. If you can achieve that, you’ll save yourself tons of time fixing things later, particularly on a complex mold.

Hi can you please share your steps on achieving a super glossy plug. I do wetsand down to 2000 then i move to 3M perfect it rubbing compound then finally Perfect-it-2-Foam-Polishing-Pad. so with this i have not been able to get that super glossy finish or maybe there’s something i’m not doing right. any help will be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[asusc]

Hi can you please share your steps on achieving a super glossy plug. I do wetsand down to 2000 then i move to 3M perfect it rubbing compound then finally Perfect-it-2-Foam-Polishing-Pad. so with this i have not been able to get that super glossy finish or maybe there’s something i’m not doing right. any help will be greatly appreciated.

thanks

What is your plug made of? What are you finishing it with? Primer? What type of primer?

How complex is your plug? Are you able to block sand it?

What is your sanding schedule before the 2000?

How are you polishing? DA? Random? By hand?

We spend A LOT of time getting our plugs right. Sanding, filling, sanding, priming, sanding, priming some more, sanding, priming some more, wetsanding, wool pad with a Flex rotary, then various other pads and polishes with a Flex random orbital.

[a_double]

What is your plug made of? i’ve been having surfacing issues due to the fact that i’ve been using sheet wax so i haven’t been able to get a class A surface on my plug therefore i spent lots of man hrs trying to get rid of the imperfections on my mold, anyway over the weekend i bought a surface primer from my paint shop and i managed to test it out and so far the results were +ve, therefore i think i will be able to sand and polish it which will give me that top notch surface prior to laying the gelcoat. quick question on the prep steps prior to applying the gelcoat, should i wax and PVA? or just wax and leave out the PVA?

What are you finishing it with? Primer? What type of primer?

How complex is your plug? Are you able to block sand it?

What is your sanding schedule before the 2000? [600 -> 800 -> 1000 -> 1200 -> 1500 -> 2000]

How are you polishing? DA? Random? By hand? [i’m polishing by hand though i have a variable polishing machine, i cannot use the machine due to pad size and shape of the mold]

We spend A LOT of time getting our plugs right. Sanding, filling, sanding, priming, sanding, priming some more, sanding, priming some more, wetsanding, wool pad with a Flex rotary, then various other pads and polishes with a Flex random orbital.

i have added my responses in the brackets