Inquiry to Mold Making; Putty or Fiberglass lay up??

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#1

Hello, I am new here! Here is my situation. I am currently welding an large geometrical Aluminium cover that needs made into a reverse mold. So I know that I need to geocoat first followed by some type of reinforcement.

I am thinking about using a devcon or all-fix putty to place on top of the gelcoat. Reading here now, has me wondering about doing a fiberglass layup, though, I oppose this due to the possible air bubbles that can leak thru.

The down-side is that Good castable putty is expensive and I would need alot.

What should I do and what suppliers or products should I be using. Thanks for the help.

#2

I deleted your other thread due to reposting content. If you have a question pick the most relevant forum and post only once.

#3

I think as long as your gelcoat layer is void free, you can just laminate glass and resin on the top of that for the rest of the mold. It will be stronger, last longer, and depending on what this putty stuff is, be cheaper.

#4

Thanks for the advice. I will go with All-Fix putty epoxy solution. I dont trust and dont want to waste money on fiberglass reinforcement, because of air bubbles that could pop thru the gel coat. i agree it is the best economical solution for large pieces, just not my cup of tea right now

#5

If you are already using the gelcoat, you will not have bubbles going THROUGH the gelcoat if you use fiberglass/resin…as long as you let the gelcoat tack…it will not happen. You have to make sure your gelcoat is bubble free, no matter what you do.

#6

Gotcha ya, I still havent purchased anything, so I will give it a second thought and calculation on cost. The part has lot of edges and I need those edges to show, so I dont know, if the fiberglass will truly capture the shape. hhhmmm. thanks for the info. that is great to know.

What gelcoat do you recommend using, along with fiberglass and resin setup??

#7

Fiberglass will capture any shape if its compex and has edges tear it into smaller parts. Dont be afraid of not doing the whole part in one peice

Dont mixy a fast mix of resin, get some paddle rollers and work your fiberglass into tight areas