where to find flexible epoxy?

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#1

hello guys , ive been looking all over the net for this type of product , a high elongation epoxy , the one used for those diving fins and stuff like that …

i found this site : http://www.carbitex.com/ and i saw a vid, and in it … they just layed a single sheet and rolled it in some sprayers , and thats it … it seems . and to get their “special stuff” well … u cant , its propietary and u just buy the carbon fiber from them …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlzRhGCVwdk

and another thing i found is this : http://www.easycomposites.co.uk/Products/Flexible-Carbon-Fibre-Sheet.aspx , they do sell high elongation resin it seems but , has anyone tried it ?

and this one over at ebay : http://www.ebay.com/itm/EPOXY-RESIN-FOR-SUPER-FLEXIBLE-TOUGH-HIGH-ELONGATION-CLEAR-CASTING-24-OUNCE-KIT-/221268564464?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3384a259f0

… sure it doesnt say the viscosity , but its something i guess …

so , has anyone tried any of these ive found? . or u guys have a “special” one. or if there is a special product for this , can u tell me ? lol and where i could buy it (in US)

thanks guys in advance

#2

I have made my own just by using slightly less hardener so that the epoxy resin does not fully cure.

#3

like , playing with the ratio ?

that seems like alot of experimenting to do , i got some West Systems and some low viscotity from Elite Motoring store on Ebay … maybe i should try some

… but i was looking for more of a complete product that is specifically made for that purpose , i mean , did u saw the vid from carbitex and how the carbon fiber ended up ? its not fully impregnated , was more of a “spray on”

was it a resin ? or something else?

#4

Sicomin have a flexible resin which they say is ideal for car mud flaps. I believe they say flexibilty is something like 400% elongation at break.

#5

You could also consider polyurethane resins?

#6

sure , but … has someone done it with it? i would like to see some examples :smiley:

#7

We use Fiberlay Polyurethane its almost like a high gloss silicone when cured. We have also tried silicone and even acrylic medium. Polyurethane gives the exact results as Carbitex

#8

hmm i would like to test that , is it low viscosity enough for vacuum infusion ? is it hand laid?

#9

Hi, Why flexible resin. I am sure that Epoxy resin with standart viskosity should works well in this case. You schould choose long cure hardener and epoxy with hight temperatur resistence.
I was thinkng to make my own blades for my freediving fins too but I still did’t have time to make mould.

#10

so , lowering the ration on the resin:hardener mix will make that type of flexibility?

like rubber ?

#11

I’m not a chemical engineer but that sounds like a bad idea. I leave the experimenting for the guys who know the chemistry.

West Systems has G-Flex epoxy. There are others. The polyurethane idea sounds interesting.

#12

ok , im gonna check them out , thanks for the tip :slight_smile:

#13

I have done this to make a flexible hinge with Kevlar.

It an easy experiment to make with your existing laminating resin.

Just try it and you will know by tomorrow.

#14

messing with the mix ratio is probably not the way to do this… yes you might have more flexibility but, then the resin properties will basically go to hell.

I found some resin that is highly flexible that some one here told me about, haven’t tried it yet but the stats look good.

http://www.sicomin.com/products/epoxy-systems/flexibles