You WILL still need lots of mold releasing wax or prep on any plug!
Don’t worry I may be stupid but even I will put wax on a plug!
When I say ‘just primer’ I meant as in without painting it with a colour.
Ive never tried with any auto type paint, but im sure i read here recently someone saying 2k was ok. Personally i wouldnt put a plug id spent ages preping to possible hope or heresay just incase that particular paint was not quite the same as they used. I have used a polyurethane wood sealer with no problems it dries fast and damn hard, polished to a high gloss, no reaction and easy release. You could also use a polyurethane 2 pack as used in the marine industry, or Duratec primers ok, i`ve used that as well.
Baz
Acylic 2k paint will work fine…just make sure you leave it a good few days to fully harden, before laminating starts.
If you need to improve plug or mould surface, you can use polyester spray filler, rather than acrylic, but for ultimate finish a polished acrylic top coat is very good.
d87…I wasn’t thinking you were stupid or anything, just if a complete newbie was reading on here & read that you just had to you spray 2K paint and no wax for mold releasing…:eek:
OK?
Thanks guys.
In case anyone else wondered 2K primer does react with per gelcoat
Strange…never has with any of the moulds I have made using 2k materials!
However if its not fully hardened, then there may well be problems with reaction.
There is in fact a note about suitable paints to use for surfacing plugs on page 113 of the Forbes Aird book (ISBN 1-55788-239-8)…which is very well worth while getting hold of for anyone who needs information on basic techniques.
Should be hard after 2 weeks. Is the 2k primer different to 2k top coat. Maybe the primer is different to allow the topcoat to bond to it.
Topcoat is MS (medium solids) and primer is HS (high solids), not had any problems with either.
I used churchill paints 2k acylic primer and the although the gel coat didn’t stick to it it made the paint soft, soft enough to scrape down to the surface.
what does the 2K refer to in these primers?
2 pack paint. i.e a colour and a hardner/activator
Sounds a lot of trouble, but as I say never had any problems myself, and neither has a friend of mine who has been a laminator for nearly 20 years.
With any 2k material you must be 100% certain it is fully hardened, and if there is even the slightest trace of solvent smell its not hardened, and there may well be problems.
DId you wetsand the primer finish super fine ? As in 1500-3000 grit ?Then polish ?Then mold release ?
Proper surface finish is a fundamental with something like this.
ANYTHING will stick to ANYTHING if its porous.As far as composits goes…lol
V’
It didn’t stick it made the paint soft.
This doesnt generally happen if you use 2k materials to surface plugs, and you need to look at how long you allowed the 2k to dry.
If drying time has allowed full hardening of 2k, then it may be that an additive in the gel-coat you are using is the cause of the problem.
Easy way to overcome this is to use polyester spray filler, which can be easily applied with a spray gun having a 2.5mm nozzle.
The spray filler can be sanded to a pretty good finish, but you do need the gun set up I mentioned earlier to apply it properly.
Hmmmm… seems like something is going wrong somewhere. I would have thought 2 weeks would be more than ample for primer to dry. I am loathe to try it again as repairing a plug twice will likely drive me over the edge! Perhaps I should use wax and pva to create a physical barrier to get me through this stage and if I ever do any more molds then perhaps I will go with the poly spray filler. Thanks for the suggestions and help so far.
The problem is almost certainly being caused by something in the gel-coat you are using. Rather than messing around with PVA I would use polyester spray filler, before you try again.
I used a loyds approved polyester resin with aerosil added to thicken it. It was only a test patch as I normally use a uv proof clear gelcoat which is pretty expensive.
If I had any hair left I think I would be pulling it out now!