Hello to everyone!!, as I’m new in this forum I’ll introduce myself, my name is Leandro, I’m from Argentina so obviusly my lenguage it’s not english… i’m sory for my grammar mistakes and spellings, feel free to correct me so I can learn english too!!, beyond that I’ll try my best effort to make me undestand. Congrats and thanks to everybody because this great forum has already teach me a lot!!!
Now…to the real matter. I’m attempting to build a kiteboard with a wooden core, for the first trial I’ll use 280g/m roving fiberglass and a surface veil (very light matt). So the hole piece would be ( 1 layer Matt veil, 1 layer roving, wood core, 1 layer roving, 1 layer matt veil). I want to do resin infusion on both sides, obviusly it´s a complication to do so, but I trying to achieve a very light, air free laminated, with a smooth glossy finish… The problem is that if I put the resin hose on one side and the vacuum line on the other, the resin it will never impregnate both bottop and top side of the board; my thought was to put two resin intake hose, one crossing by the center all along the board on the top side and the other-one in the same way but on the top side, and the vacum lines on both rails of the board. ¿you think that it might work??. I made two flat silicon hose for the resin intake, if I dont use peel ply or release film (just the bag, I already proves that this can be released out the laminated with any problem) ¿I’ll have any problem with resin flow?, I suspect that the resin just won’t flow under bag trough the fiberglass… but any flow media that I use will leave an impression on the laminated surface ¿or don’t?..if I come up with a way to give a little pressure on the resin line (beside the vacuum) ¿it will help?.. please I need some advice. Thank a lot.
Your best bet is to:
-a. PErforate the wood (1mm hole, 20mm centres)
-b. Use an infusion mesh both on top and bottom.
-c. Use a perforated film (large perforation) or better, use Compoflex 150 from Fibertex. (if that is available)
-d. Infuse from left to right
Your board will need some rework after that, but it is only limited to sanding and coating.
Other options:
-groove the wood, so it acts as a flow medium
-only mesh on top. Perhaps grooves in the wood on the bottom (press chicken wire into wood)
Hi Leo,
I would go for the Herman way with only mesh on the top, unless you have a bottom totaly flat. July in Cordoba coud be a little could, so you have to pay attencion to your resin cps (check out resin data sheet) and the temperature were you are working.
Hi Herman, thanks for your answer. Sory I think that I didn’t give understand myself quite good… jaja, I made a little draw with Paint and attach it on my reply (I’m using my girlfriend’s laptop… it was the only program to use) so it’s easy to see what I mean. My doubts are if with this schedule will work, if I have to use anything (flow mesh or wathever) to helps resin cross from the resin line to the vacuum lines trough the laminate even the short distance between lines (like 25cm)… I’m triyng to avoid infushion mesh, perforated films to get the smoothest finish posible without rework, and/or the groove idea is not possible because this kiteboar won’t use graphics, the core wood wiil be the “look” of the board… ¿if a I add a little pressure to resine intake it will not help??
PD: If I have to do some after rework on it, ¿it’s possible to use the same epoxy resin with a paint pistol so it leave a clear finish?? (the idea is to see through the clear laminate)
Avoid using vacuum lines or resin lines on the product, they will leave a nasty imprint. The texture you get from infusion mesh is not that problematic.
For finish: use a good PU paint (car paint) and not epoxy. Epoxy will yellow rapidly, and will not apply that nicely.
Ok Herman!! thakns a lot, I’ll try as you said and the with more experience I will test some other schedules. Hey Pablo it’s seems yo kwow Córdoba ¿have you been here??, ¡yes it is a little cold in these days!! actually we are in winter right know so the resin it’s a little more viscous but i’m working in a place with regulated temp so it’s ok. Thanks for your replys, I’ll put my hands on the job now, if any new ideas come up please let me know. Thanks again.
I suggest doing a couple of small scale tests, plan before doing them, and mark them (can be a number or a technique written on the wood).
If you make 3-5 samples with different approaches to the problem, you quickly see what is working for you.