Im trying to get into composite building (a hobby), but I am facing problems in finding some material here in Guatemala.
Fortunately, I found a supplier for most of the components needed, but I am still missing some of them needed for Vacuum Bagging: Peel Ply and Breather material.
Are there any alternatives in common material that I can use insteads of them. I was thinking about using common fleece cloth as breather material. Will this work?
What about the peel ply?
Thanks
Peel ply or release film is needed. Im guessing not many carriers deliver to guatemalia?
If you use nylon bagging film you can poke holes in it and use it as release film. I have found that not much sticks to it. But keep in mind that it will never give you the same results.
A lot of breather material is just teflon coated cotton/nylon. If you can find teflon spray, experiment and see what works.
If you have peel ply/release film you can use fiberglass as breather also. Although it wont “peel” quite as well as if you use the real stuff.
Also if your just starting out bagging, dont expect perfect parts. Bagging is a real pain to get rid of all voids/bubbles.
And if I were you I would use the slowest curing resin you can find. As in you bag it today, and remove it from the mold 24 to 36 hours later. Youll need the extra time to work out any bridged areas, and it will give any air plenty of time to find its way out of your cloth (sometimes with the aid of a squeegee on the outside of the bagged lamenant).
In a pinch, I’ve used thin plastic sheeting, pierced a ton of tiny holes in it, and there’s the peel ply…and I found a really great household cloth-ish stuff from Germany that’s more of a compressed, formed fiber type stuff…sucks up resin right good!
nylon cloth works well.
Ive heard of pantyhose material working…or similiar material.