What is the longest pot life vinyl ester infusion resin available in the US? I have a large infusion project, 1/2" thick. I need very low viscosity and a long pot life. No oven so epoxy is out. Thanks!
I have some AOC vinyl ester infusion resin that has a 50 minute pot life. It gets pretty warm on a thick laminate.
Totally depends on setup. A non accelerated VE can be promoted by yourself, and using the right recipe, you can achieve 3 hours or longer.
Norox MCP peroxide has a very low foaming tendency (perhaps the first 5 minutes), a very slow first degree cure, a reasonable second degree cure, and it keeps the heat down.
But I prefer adjusting my infusion strategy for a 1 hour fill, so I do not have to reach the edge of possibilities.
Can you show what you are doing?
Next time I’m at that site I’ll take some pics…
Can you run a lot of feeder lines?
Yes. I can also surround the entire part with spiral tube feed lines and vac from the top, like in RTM… which I think is the way to go. I have to post pics so you can wrap your minds around it…
I just read what I wrote and probably confused ya’s. I’m going to infuse a mold over a male plug. So picture a Jon boat laying top side down. So the resin feed will be around the gunwale and the vac(s) will be up on the “floor” of the boat.
I tried out a catalyst for vinylester that was heat activated. It didn’t start reacting till it was heated to about 160. There was definitely a ‘pot life’ as I catalyzed a gallon batch and left it for a few days only to find it exotherming en mass. But that was a few days. I could see its benefits but, we ended up not using it.
I’ve herd that Norox MCP or CHP does have a long cure time but once it kicks it kicks like a rocket giving you a more than less brittle part? Is that true?
How long do you need? Derakane has a recipe list that can go over 60min pot life. Also, not all epoxies need heat to cure, not sure why you threw that out right away.
CHP probably, but MCP has a low peak exotherm, and is slow reacting.
CHM-50 can be like a rocket. I did a 27mm (1" and a bit more) laminate, which went to 150 degrees Celcius (some 300 degrees F). Still no major shrinkage or warping, by the way.