When I have infused my parts I get some very very small pin holes. What can I clear coat them with to make them shiney?
erm clear coat just get some automotive clear coat. Remember you get what you pay for 
- Preferably primer and paint.
- If one must show the material for some reason, a high quality automotive grade clear top coat.
Thanks! I did try some cheap clear coat but it didn’t fill in the holes. Thanks again!
Reviving this thread! What do you guys think is the best meathod for clear coating infused parts with pin holes? I use a super high quality clear coat and they dont fill the pin holes unless I really flood it. I then end up with sags and runs in very detailed areas and cant wet sand / polish them out because of the detail.
Do you think reducing the clear coat to a very thin liquid would help? One coat of very thin clear followed by the proper amount of properly reduced clear coat? I want to offer very high quality results and finishes so this is mind racking!
And yes, these parts are made for strength and show so the visibility of the CF is very important!
Why are you getting pinholes? You should work on your procedure so you don’t get them, then spraying with clear will be easy.
No idea what is available in the USA, but in Europe you can get a great product from Map Yachting, which is a PU paste, black, which you can smear over the surface, filling the pinholes. After curing you can rub the part with some cloth, and the debris comes off. After that, paint as usual.
Map Yachting Bouche Pores is what it is called.
Whaat! I need to search it! Someone suggested black shoe polish… Id never.
What!!! lol
I once sold a 16 ft carbon sailing boat to a difficult guy. He wanted me to paint it white. I warned him that some minor pinholing could be present, even after painting. He was OK with that.
Of course after painting, there was some minor pinholing in a 4" round patch, nothing more. This guy went beserk and wanted to deduct money from the buying price. I told him to come back the next day, and I would have fixed the pinholing. I did. With white shoe polish…
About pore filler:
Check datasheet 45 and 46 on this page. (it is about carbon masts)
Haha did he notice?
Sounds like a good product. Is it perminent. Or just a tempry fix for an area with pin holeing
He never noticed.
The Map Yachting stuff is permanent. (1K polyurethane)
Make sure your mold is polished. Nice and Shiny. release it like you normally would then spray the mold with your clearcoat. let it tack up and then infuse over the top. your parts wont have pinholes and will be as shiny as your mold.
Do some tests with that. Not all clear coats will work, but PU based ones should do fine mostly.
Also keep an eye on open time. The most popular PU paint in NL has an overcoat window for epoxy of only 20 minutes or so.
Some inmould coatings I tried for that company came loose after infusion, due to longer setup times.
Anyhow, applying a coating of some sort DOES improve pinhole prevention. The slightly rough surface seems to help get rid of pinholes. (so do not let the PU paint flow, but after 2 minutes or so, roll over it again to get that nice textured orange peel surface)
Again, revive!
Just spraying a quick wrapping that i did with clear coat and it keep fish eye all the time, leaving dryspots!
Ive preped this by keying up with 600 grit and using IPA to get rid of any grease or dirt…
Stu
How did you wipe with IPA? Using solvents to get rid of contaminants can be a tricky job.
-soak a piece of cloth in solvent
-wipe a small piece of the part
-dry with a clean, dry cloth
-do the next piece of the part, with overlaps
-turn and replace the clean dry cloth very often
-repeat the above at least 3 times.
Letting dry the solvent does not help. It only moves the contamination from one spot to another.
If it is greasy contamination you want to remove, try water and ammonia (10:1 ratio). This is an excellent solvent, does not dry fast, and is so cheap it can be used to really wash the surface. It also is no fire hazard, but the smell is awful.
i just used lint free cloth, soaked it in IPA, wiped, hairdryer dried, wiped again.
i try not to touch the part on the “shiney” side at any point unless im sanding
ive been looking at 2k clear coat to finish the parts, as im currently using a premium clear coat…
Try soaking the cloth in IPA, wipe the surface, and dry with a cloth.
The IPA dissolves dirt, but then you still need to remove it. Drying with a hairdryer evaporates the IPA, but the dirt will still be on, just in another place.
Other things i have been thinking about with this is the “clear coat” i have been using…
Now i have used some premium car paint lacquer, its not bad stuff, smells really strong.
I cant find anywhere on the can what substance it really is… ive got a feeling that its not liking the epoxy resin.
are there certain clear coats that are better for epoxy resins?
Stu
p.s. thanks for the tip