Question on binders

General Composites Discussions Products Talk
#1

Just some trivia for my own satisfaction:D

What dissolves the binder in CSM? The poly resin or the MEKP which gets added to it?

And what is the binder made of, styrene?

Thanks!
Owen

#2

Yes, it should be a styrene binder in FG mat and the liquid styrene in PER melts it to allow the fibers to flow.

But I’ll have to check a book on it later to be 100% for sure…

#3

Thanks, I have a lot of chopped mat and was wondering if you could pre-dissolve the binders and then “hang it out to dry”. When done, could I infuse through the mat???
Owen

#4

save yourself the time and money, just buy continuous strand mat if you want to use mat in an infusion. Reg CSM is horrible for infusions.

yes it is styrene that dissolves the binder in mat though

#5

Yeah, too much time and money involved in making a setup to soak the chopped mat.

JM mentioned to me once, soaking old pre-preg in something to get rid of the resin while keeping the CF…???
Owen

#6

Soaking old out dated CF Pre-Pregs in ACETONE will wash the epoxy out and then you can use the CF cloth.

I forgot which member on here that posted that, but thanks!

#7

I tried a small square last nite…it softened it up and left a white residue on the container. But when it dried out, it was pretty stiff still. It may have resoaked up the resin cuz a lot of the acetone was gone.

Anyone have any info on how to do this properly?