Thoughts on wet bagging a single layer laminate on the leading edge of an experimental aircraft wing (click link to see drawing).
So after reading many posts on here I’m planning on the following steps:
[FONT=Calibri]1. [/FONT]Cut several 6 inch wide strips of 7781 eGlass on a 45 bias using “perfect line tape” from fiberglast (the tape will also prevent the strips of fabric from deforming)
[FONT=Calibri]2. [/FONT]Position the cloth on the leading edge of the wing (dry) and tack in position with a light mist of spray adhesive.
[FONT=Calibri]3. [/FONT]The wing will be oriented with the leading edge UP at this point so to prevent resin from dripping/running down onto the wing while wetting out the cloth I will mask the wing off immediately below the edges of the dry cloth.
[FONT=Calibri]4. [/FONT]Mix resin and wet out the cloth by pouring an adequate bead of resin down the middle of the dry cloth for the length of the laminate
[FONT=Calibri]5. [/FONT]Using a squeegee, carefully squeegee the resin each direction from the center to saturate the cloth and remove any air bubbles
[FONT=Calibri]6. [/FONT]Add a layer of red stripe peel ply (the exact size of the laminate) and squeegee any air/wrinkles/excess resin out of the laminate (pre cut and ready to install prior to mixing resin)
[FONT=Calibri]7. [/FONT]Remove the masking tape that was used to prevent resin from dripping/running down the wing
[FONT=Calibri]8. [/FONT]Add a strip (each side of the laminate) of 1” or 2” breaker tape to prevent resin that may squish out from under laminate while under vacuum from contaminating the wing (specifically the area between the edge of the laminate and the edges of the vac bag).
[FONT=Calibri]9. [/FONT]Add an layer of perf release film that is 1 ½ -2” wider than the laminate (pre cut and ready to install prior to mixing resin)
[FONT=Calibri]10. [/FONT]Add a layer of breather cloth the same size as the perf release film (pre cut and ready to install prior to mixing resin)
[FONT=Calibri]11. [/FONT]Bag the laminate and pull a light vacuum (of course the bag tape had already been applied prior to spray tacking the dry laminate to the leading edge of the wing).
From the point of mixing the resin to pulling vac on the bag, I need to be at or below 20 min if possible with the assistance of a helper… I will be mixing a test batch of vinylester resin (refrigerated prior to mixing to extend gel time) catalyzed at .75% to see if I can get the gel time past 20 min (maybe even up to 30 min).
Do any of you more experienced guys see anything that I’m doing wrong? I need this to be successful the first try… The reason I’m bagging the laminate is to ensure a perfectly level/smooth laminate that requires VERY little sanding/shaping prior to primer as the amount of work involved to sand/shape the wing leading edge to get it to this point was substantial (and that was sanding/shaping an easy to sand micro balloon resin mixture) .
Also, I’ve never used breaker tape before… looks like this stuff is designed to keep resin off of areas its not wanted. Is there any downside to using this stuff? As in, am I going to have a problem getting primer to stick to the wing where the breaker tape was installed once the laminate is complete and the consumables removed?