What mold release do you guys think works the best and worth every penny?
Thanks
Any of the semi pernament mold release systems out there. Sure beats throwing out molds from people not waxing or PVA (leaves orange peel unless you are planning to recoat anyways…more work, more costly) them.
Frekote WOLO by Loctite. It’s a semi permanent that works incredibly well.
I use the Zyvax stuff (http://www.zyvax.com/). Plus their help desk is top notch, just ask for Christopher and he will help you work throught your problems or needs. By the way, I am not affiliated, just a customer. Speaking of release stuff, I have another issue, but will not hyjack this thread.
So pardon the hijack, but what is the advantage of the semi permanent vs. waxing and PVA’ing your mold?? I’m assuming it lasts longer and has better release properties??
Thanks,
Looking for inputs for the best mold release for new molds and in the wax form. Thanks
As far as wax goes, I have used several different types including some hardwood floor waxes, but Partall # 2 Paste Wax and Meguiars Mirror Glaze No.8 always work well. The thing I really hate about wax though is all the buffing and applying. Time consuming and really unneeded if you use one of the other products. There are also spray on mold releases that are water based that you reapply each time - FibRelease from Fibreglast and Safelease® 30 from AirTech. Since you have to apply each use, they can get expensive for multi-release situations, but do work well for times when you just need to pull a quick piece.
I have used all the waxes Kyankton is speaking of and can say they are all good, I have also used Johnson’s paste wax for at least 20 years. I love it. I am however using Zyvax on all my molds that need multiple releases.
what’s the green dot for?
It means your on TV! LOL…J/k with ya Dougie, it means your online with this site at that time.
All of the above are great but with newbies in the classroom I only use semi pernament and to have them wax and PVA too, so they learn how to that too.
After years of using partall wax and pva I was frustrated with having spent hours sanding and polishing a mould to give a class A finish only to have pva marks left in the surface of the mould. I tried spraying it with little success(it nearly always left a satin finish or runs!) A foam brish worked well and mixing it 50/50 with alcohol works very well. In the end, the best results were to apply the pva with a clean cotton cloth (tee shirt fabric) saturating the cloth and completely covering every inch of the mould or pattern surface, then soaking up the excess pva and drying it with a hair dryer. It took a bit of practice, but left a glossy surface. However, heating the mould or pattern too much could render the pva useless.
I now use Frekote FMS sealer and then Frekote release with great success. It still takes time to apply and wait between coats, but not as long as wax/pva.
Has any body tried waxing over the chemical release? Is there any advantage , or would it render the chemical release useless?
Semi pernament mold releases are the only way to go. You can wax right on top of it or not. Try 30+ students that all THINK they know what they are doing…not!
At first when I started teaching, there was a day time class and then they would take my night time class and would say they knew what they are doing.
Well, it took after having to throwing out some molds that they didn’t wax or mold release first for me to learn to Semi Pernament mold release all molds after they are made and since then, not one mold destroyed!
What they do is chemically seal all pores on the mold surface and with the first few HOT parts after coating them, the heat cycles cooks the Semi Pernament into the mold surface and never wax again for 6 months to a year (unless you are a mass producer of parts).
Anybody ever tried to spray adhesive on a tool that has been treated with semi- perm mold release (Frekote WOLO)? I have a tool that has a very sharp right angle (looks like a step and runs the length of the part), but is only about an 1/4 inch deep. This has caused me SO MANY headaches, that I thought about spraying some 3m Super 77 directly to the mold, in the problem areas, laying my carbon on it and proceeding with infusion. I’m thinking it will work, I only forsee the part having a hazy finish from the glue. Kinda scared to try it. Anybody ever done this before, or any other ideas?
No, but maybe make a silicone wedge to fit in there before bagging it?
Or are you VIP or wet lay up only?
I have a few molds like that too (Convertible “W” ACVW deck lid grilles) and we have to apply bondo or resin with micro ballons to make a thick paste to allow the reinforcement to form to the tight raduis.
Danny, I have done exactly this on molds sealed with semi-perm release and it works great. Just don’t go crazy with the spray adhesive. I have a mold that is similar to what you have described with a 1/4 verticle edge that runs around the mold. If you do not get the fabric to sit tightly against the edge, the piece will either have voids or will fill with resin and not look right / be weak there. I have used this technique with sucess many times.
Thanks GGROP and Kyankton, I really appreciate the help. Kyankton, are you using 3m Super 77 or a different type of glue? I was using a piece of 18 gauge primary wire with marginal success- simply laying the wire on top of the peel ply and working it into the channel while under vacuum, before the resin feed line was clamped. It worked OK, but I would still get voids and places where the resin would pool. I usually dye my resin black, so it would look like dark spots in parts of the channel- not to mention a distortion of the weave because of the manipulating of the wire.
Do Chemical Releases work as well on polyesters as they do on epoxies?
Also, do Chemical Releases work well on Urethane car paintwork?
How does the micro balloon thing work?
Micro ballons makes the resin into a paste like Bondo or auto body filler! Great for filling in the deep V’s so you don’t have any trapped air pockets.
PS: Danny, you Ebay + items is going out tomorrow as last weekend was a diaster with my van…
So, when using a micro balloon, it will look like dark spots in the finish product? Not quite sure I understand…
No problem. Don’t really need it right now so take your time.
Thanks!!