My second attempt

General Composites Discussions Showcase
#1

Here is my second try. some of you might recall that I had trouble with voids and bubbles etc, not this time!!! I used a new resin. adtech 820 epoxy, worth the price.

surfaces and curves/edges came out top notch! only problem is that there was a loose strand of carbon under the first layer that I never noticed, and now it’s an eye sore in the final product…

I only used flow media on the flange part and just let the resin flow through the rest of the part, also made it flow the short way through the part( as suggested by some members)

#2

looks great!

#3

Looks better than the last one :slight_smile: On that upper center corner… the weave looks odd there? Did the fabric fully wet out right there in that spot? I ask because my recent infusion came out dry on some corners of the part.

I see your using red ResinFlow #60… i may have to try some of that out.

I’m certainly NOT busting Werks b*lls here… just he said he remembered the resin from AeroMarine Products was kinda flexy once cured… I haven’t noticed as my part came out nice and stiff, it may be due to how many layers of cloth i’m using too. But i certainly don’t object to trying new resins. I or anyone could miss out on a good thing by not trying new things :slight_smile: How much did that epoxy cost if you don’t mind me asking?

#4

good job! watch for the killer stray strains, one small strain ruins a good part

#5

Gotta be happy with that result mate :slight_smile:

#6

fastrr, all the carbon is wetted out nicely, there is a bit of weave distortion simply from massaging the part into all the curvey bits.

I paid $160 cdn for a gallon resin/quart hardener including shipping to my door and taxes. living in this part of Canada has its disadvantages…

the part is nice and stiff, still has a bit of curing to do though. partly the stiff ness is due to the intricacy of the bends, and the fact that there is about 3 layers of 5.9oz over most of it, but the resin is stiff on it;s own in my opinion. (is the adtech resin I’m using the aero marine you are refering to? i’m a bit confused)

#7

Nice work! Looks WAY better than your first attempt.

Good to see someone else using Adtechs stuff. Did you use a surface coat?

#8

no surface coat, just dry carbon on top of the pva.

#9

yeah, screw using gel coat as a surface coat for carbon fiber. It looks really nice once done, but who knows how long it would stay looking that way. And you can just spray clear coat over your finished part. that’s what i am planning to do. Holy crap… your part came out nice and wet on the surface too. Mine came out dry on the surface :frowning: boo hoo for me.

Nah, i am using the Aero Marine Products epoxy on a few parts. I may switch brands though.

Did you use any spray glue on top of your PVA to make the fabric stay ?

I’m doing a pair of those side covers next week for a 2007-2008 Yamaha R1

#10

I just layed the dry carbon right on the dry pva, no spray glue ro anything, I’m a bit skeptical of that glue stuff even though I’ve never used it. I like the freedom to move the carbon around by massaging it into the crevases of the molds…

Gel coat would be great for my glass molds, and getting a nice tooling surface, but it’s a bit too involved for me. If I can get my carbon to turn out like this one did, I’m on top of the world!

I’m doing the simple clear coat thing too. I’m using U-pol spray can clear. very nice finish. I will first cut then sand then clear this piece, but thats still a few weeks away. The last part I cleared turned out nicely!

#11

Looks great!!! Better this time.

#12

Awesome about the U-pol clear, i’ve been wondering how well it works on epoxy/carbon fiber parts. Excellent, i’ll order some. If you were here right now i’d hug you lol.

I’m doing my next part with PVA on the mold and no spray glue… it’s gotta be much better than the mess i caused using spray glue directly on the mold. But then again… i let the spray glue cure for three days before i did the infusion… dumb move on my behalf.

#13

I wouldnt spray glue directly on the mold, unless you were speaking figuratively. I always tack the cloth with spray glue, that way the mold stays clean.

#14

“Tack the cloth with spray glue”

You mean the side of the cloth that is going to be placed down into the mold first?

#15

Yeah. I barely mist it and it works perfect. Sprayed the mold once, and only once. Ill never do it again.

#16

Amen brother, Amen. I will never spray a mold with spray glue ever again. I had to use acetone and rub like crazy to get most of the dried glue off the mold, now i’m reworking the entire mold surface with various sandpapers and then rubbing compound, then polish.

The plus side of doing all this rework to the mold is… it will be a much better mold when i’m finished. It’s hard to explain in words, but i’m modifying the mold so there will be less trimming work for each part pulled. I know some of you are going… " huh:confused: "

lol

#17

I bet i’ll have 45-50 hrs time into this one mold when it’s done.

#18

here is the other side to go with the earlier one. everything was going good until I sprung a leak because of the pva tearing around the resin intle line as I was handling it :mad: so I got a bunch of air in the part, can’t see the bubbles in this pic but they are around the outer edges. There are also a few pinhole voids in the body of the part.

Guess i learned a lesson, don’t wax over the area where the sealant tape will be subject to a bit of handling, the pva doesn’t hold too well on a waxed surface:(

#19

Looks good to me :slight_smile:

So this is the left side, and the last part you showed us was the right side… or visa-versa.

Very nice. What does your “lay up” consist of for reinforcements?

#20

thats right, this is the left side :smiley:

I’m using a few layers (2-3) of 5.7oz carbon