Skinning job with polyester

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#1

Hi all,
I’ve got a large skin job to do, and due to time and money constraints, I’m looking to do it with polyester. I normally use EP519 from Alchemie and it works great, but I won’t have time for lacquering as its quite a bit to do, It’s all ABS plastic bits. The money issue isn’t really the resin cost but the time to lacquer (I pay £13 a kg for EP519).
I’m thinking of using surfboard resin for its clarity.
Can anyone be of assistance? What I’m concerned about is polyesters ability to bond to ABS. Thanks in advance.

EDIT:
Learnt something new last night!
ABS stands for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. I read on a boat building forum that polyester will make a chemical bond with ABS whereas epoxy will only make a (very strong) mechanical bond, hence a better choice for skinning ABS plastics.
Can any of the experts out there give their 2 cents on this?

#2

I’m not an expert however I have been skinning plastic car parts with polyester and so far so delamination issues.

#3

Try puting polyester over polySTYRENE foam:o

#4

Scuff ithe part with an agressive paper for some bite, and then swipe across it with a torch and you should be good to go.

#5

Is the torch to evaporate styrene or release agents?

#6

I’m not sure what exactly it does, I’m told is changes the molecules on the surface:wacko:. I’ve done plenty of parts without using a torch but I think it did improve adhesion when I started do it this way.