how the F*&% do you lay this up without a bubbles??? I’ve used 3k 2x2 for years with no problems. I do wet layup but am considering a prepreg for this pesky material. any tips???
Its always good to let us know in your question what your full system is for a good response.
What type of resin…are you bagging as well ? How deep are you pumping , as in 29hg ?etc.
From there more can be spoken about your situation.
right now i am using west 105 resin with 207 clear hardener with a JB DN-285N pump…i’ve used perf and non perf plastic…it just seems like it takes too much effort to get all the air out of this particular material…i’ve made only a few parts that don’t have a ton of air bubbles…the rest look like the fender photo. Sometimes i feel like i just failed to get the corner with the stick…other times(now most) i feel like the material just keeps air in between the weave.
Is there any reason you cannot use polyester resin and a gel coat?
I have had the same problem with that fabric trying to make cosmetic parts and found infusion to work better. MTI tubing seems to work well for a nice cosmetic finish, which i assume you are trying to get with that 12k flat tow checker board stuff. If you spray a gel it usually just ends up with bubbles trapped behind the gel.
i’ve never tried infusion…yes going for cosmetic…something about the larger pattern that stands out visually from a distance.
here is another example of wetting out a bunch of layers on a table and then cutting around a paper pattern…this seems to be the worse way to do it(opposed to wetting out the mold then applying dry fabric to the mold)…the only problem with putting it in dry on a wet mold is that the fabric falls apart soooooo easily…hence the desire for prepreg…anyone make their own prepreg using a fast hardener???(no autoclave or oven)…or a medium hardener?? i have a low heat option(box with hair dryer)
Personally I would just use polyester and a gel coat for that… Let the gel go off to a slight tack and wet it out with a good thin polyester resin… Put a thin glass tissue or a 100gr chopped mat glass behind the carbon to help get the air off the surface too…
Doing this large weave with Infusion would give a best result. It makes me wonder if you fully wetting out your fabric to begin with ? Or losing some vacuum integrity at some point and its lifting somewhat.
That crf rad shroud looks good in the spread tow! Please say you’re not going to hide that under some graphics!? lol Two of the other parts you’ve made being the rear disc guard and lower fork guard?
What about heating the resin with a hair dryer or heat gun so the resin becomes really easy to flow around all the fibers and helping to move the air away?
yea no graphics for sure…heating the resin seems like a good idea except it might pull out too much resin into the breather…more resin…but then i risk blackout(black pigment)…maybe with the non perf. Yes, rear guard and fork guard.
worldwealth…i thought the same thing…time to get a vacuum gauge.
You might try reducing the amount of breather or use a perf-ply with fewer/small perforations.
If you heat the resin adjust your hardener accordingly, you want time for the resin to gas out slowly to avoid air bubbles. You might be getting hydraulic locking from to much resin with some air trapped in the layup. INfusion with MTI helps alot of this,also prevac your resin for air after mixing. I have made wing tips out of the same material in a hand layup and then v-bag and ended up with the same results as the picture.
I just used the MTI hose today in which previously I had the same problems with 12k weave after running a test the MTI hose made a huge difference. Surface quality and pinholes completely eliminated.