Please forgive me but I’m new to composites. At present, I’ve only done a couple of test pieces just to start getting a little experience and familiarise myself with the process and the results that I can expect from various practices and materials. So far my test pieces consisted of flat sheets of carbon and glass fibre of varying thickness with a PE gel coat & resin, produced using plastic coated chipboard as a mould. The mould was initially prepared with 3 to 4 coats of wax followed by 2 coats between each release.
Following these test pieces I’d just like to ask what other peoples views are on the following:
-
I spent an age picking brush hairs out of the gel coat.
a. Is this normal when brushing gel coat?
b. Is there a cost effective alternative?
2) I found that the catalyst (MEKP) had lifted the graduations off of the syringe that I used to measure it out and that the little rubber piston inside was braking up and leaving traces in the catalyst the next time I used it.
a. Is it normal to use a new syringe on a regular basis or is there a more durable/reusable alternative for metering small quantities of catalyst?
3) I was disappointed to find that the finish of the carbon test pieces were marred by streaks left in the gel coat which I presume came from the mould release wax.
a. Have I over done it with the wax or is it normal to have to put a lot of effort into polishing the gel coat to a deep glossy finish?
b. Should I be cleaning the wax from the mould between releases and if so what with?
Any help with the above issues would be greatly appreciated.
Rob