Is it safe to use a 3/4" thick mdf/malamine surface to lay up a flat composite panel? Will it stick to the melamine if wax released say a dozen times?
I thought about glass, but the cost may exceed my budget for large thick sections of glass plate.
mdf will surely stick cause it might suck in resin. melamine has the outer layer which is not porous and will work if waxed properly, however glass will always have the best surface…
Try your local glaziers.They usually have some pieces with small scratches etc on them they will sell cheap cause they cant be used for windows anymore.Sometimes they have to replace massive shop windows because of scoring etc and they cut pieces they can use out of this glass.I had a friend in the glazing industry who used to make a fortune building custom sized fish tanks out of this type of glass.
Melamine is ok and does release, but it is no-where near as perfectly flat* and shiny as glass which is far better. It’s not too expensive, how big are we talking here?
*Apart from in the unlikely event that you get some toughened glass which can be a bit distorted.