My first infusion....

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#1

And Im still alive. Wont know till tommorrow how it turned out, but, Im optimistic that it will be alright.

You guys are spot one with your instructions for this stuff. Thanks. Im supprised how well everything went…

Heres the pics:

Resin inlet using BazNos’s instuctions from another thread…

The one area where I know I messed up. Next time Ill give myself more room to work with.

The Ghetto-ness. But it will hold 26.5" so its not that bad.

And the finished infusion with time lines and what not…

I will say this. The satin S-glass I bought from fiberglast.com is REALLY good stuff. I use S-glass all day at work and this stuff blows it away.

So how did I do? Any tips or advice for the next time? (other than I know that my mold should have been longer).

#2

looks good.how long does the bag hold full vacuum for when you switch the pump off?? thats the critical bit i have found.if it holds full vac for 15 minutes or so then your infusion should turn out perfectly,i hope it does and be sure to show us the pics regardless of how it works out so we can help more if need be.

#3

My pump has been off for about 2 hours. Its hooked up to a MAC valve (a vacuum blow off valve). So once it sees full vacuum it shuts off. 40 minutes of the 2 hours was just a test to see if I was going to lose vacuum.

So far Ive lost 1/4" of vacuum. Its still sitting at 26".

I think next time im going to mix the resin and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before I start infusing. Theres a few small bubbles at the end of the part near the vacuum outlet.

By the way Ive been reading your threads. Your parts are looking nice.

#4

im pretty sure it will pop out lovely tommorow :slight_smile:

#5

i would debag it now if its been curing for 3 or 4 hours as its much easier to get the peelply off at this point,just be careful not to bend the part.

#6

I cant debag it for atleast 9 hours. I used a really thin/slow resin hardner combo.

Its just now getting to the gel/setting stage. I went with slow hardner and a 1/4" fittings as a safety thing. Now that I see how quick the part infused (10 minutes), next time Ill use medium hardner and some heat after its fully saturated.

Also Im not sure as to the quality of the resin I used (its a generic local brand). So if I debag to soon it might create worm holes if the resin shrinks while curing.

#7

if you warm the mold and resin it would infuse in maybe 3 minutes tops.

#8

Also, I see you are using a Thomas vacuum pump. I found a pile of them at a surplus store in AZ. awhile ago and bought one. But it came without any wiring diagram for 110V.

I take it also those white HD PVC tubes are vacuum collectors?

You stated a Vacuum “MAC” switch what is the maker, part #, were did you get it and how much?

Looks great and as you have stated, you learn with each attempt!:wink:

#9

My favorite part of that post (aside from the successful infusion CONGRATS) is the NOT FOR PRESSURE label on the PVC. :eek:

And how you centered it perfectly between the 2 caps in addition to it’s perfect placement in the picture.

Teeeheee Teeeheee:D

#10

Yeah. So genius boy under catalized the resin (4 to 1 instead of 2 to 1, must have thought I was at work…). So am I correct about saying that under catalized epoxy will NEVER cure?

About my pump: I bought everything at joewoodworker.com and all the plans for this set up is on his site also.

The PVC tubes are collectors. The 2 large ones are the main resevoirs, the smaller one is a sub resevoir with a check valve attatched to it. So its only under vacuum while the pump is running.

Heres my MAC valve:

As far as the wiring go, I didnt do it. I had my friend come over here with his muli checker and then wire it up.

The 2 red wires need to be hooked up to a capacitor, and the black wires are your pos/neg.

Im really impressed with this pump, and its super quiet.

#11

wish I could say I did it on purpose. I built it like 2 or 3 years ago, so Im not sure what I was thinking. I like it though.

#12

is it out of the mold yet!?

#13

Nope. I under catalized the resin. I must have been on auto pilot thinking I was still at work. Im real irritated with myself at the moment.

Its in a flexible urethane like state. Not sure it will cure beyond this.

#14

so rip it out and try again :slight_smile: you should still get a good idea as to if it would have worked if it dried.

#15

Am doing just that at the moment.

It did infuse all the way. I saw no dry spots. Only problem now is that I have more carbon than S glass. So I guess it will be 5 layers of cf and 2 of S. Man that was an expensive error.

#16

Finally got some pics. Ive been riding around with it in the trunk of my Subaru doing a “poor mans” post cure for 3 days.

Next time Ill either use less spray glue on the mold surface, OR, Ill use a surface coat and apply the first layer during its b stage. On this part the surface really dosnt matter as no one will see it anyway (its a upper bumper support for my Nissan).

Heres all 2.6oz of it (still need to drill holes and trim):