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Epoxy Resin

I just glanced through this thread and noticed one point that I think could be more fully addressed. Someone mentioned something about fiberglass being "cloudy" after using epoxy - what that means is that the cloth wasn't thoroughly wet out. When doing a layup, fiberglass cloth MUST be thoroughly wet, at which point it becomes transparent with virtually no white visible. Glass that's not thoroughly wet out is significantly weaker and much more prone to delaminate. One thing you can do to help speed wet-out is to use a hair dryer to warm up the area you're working on, heat will make the epoxy thinner and it flows into the glass easier.
 
Hey guys , i did mention in a previous post that mats with a binder (CSM) like #1708 are designed for polyeyster resins and though they are sometimes used with Epoxy resins with satisfactory results , the binder may cause clouding and prevent through wet out and to tell you the truth using a mat like # 1708 with epoxy is a waste of resin considering it takes that much more resin to thoroughly wet the fabric out opposed to using fabrics with NO chop or continious strand mats (binder) which is NOT recomended to be used with Epoxy resins .
 
Seeing that this is a thread started by Robbie on Epoxy i would like to mention that there are many different Epoxies to choose from and some are better then other's and with that in mind i often use four different brands of Epoxy and one is made by Shell that takes 48 hours to cure with a .......V E R Y ........long pot life that i get from Skater #2 I often use a resin made by Plasco that is used in the Areo Space industry which is a High Impact / Room /High Temperature Laminating System that offers five different hardners that range from 30,45,60,75, to 165 minutes which i often mix and match resins using there in- fusion which is a thinner resin depending on the lay up and what needs to be done #3 the last one that i use is # 635 that gives you the best bang for the buck which is sold by us composites , and #4 which i use ocasionally is made by West System which i started using in my late teens .
 
This seems like as good a place to ask my question, what epoxy would you guys recommend to use for laying up carbon fiber, I have two small panels on the inside of my windscreen faring that we're originally covered in upholstery and screwed into the faring what I would like to do is replace those w cf panels w a downturned leg mounted to the deck for extra strength the tail end of the fairings has turned into a common grab spot for getting into the boat and they need some extra support
 
jazzy said:
This seems like as good a place to ask my question, what epoxy would you guys recommend to use for laying up carbon fiber, I have two small panels on the inside of my windscreen faring that we're originally covered in upholstery and screwed into the faring what I would like to do is replace those w cf panels w a downturned leg mounted to the deck for extra strength the tail end of the fairings has turned into a common grab spot for getting into the boat and they need some extra support
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Jazzy first off how big are the panels and how clear do you want then to look and the reason i ask about the panel staying clear is most Epoxy or Epoxies will yellow over a period of time because of UV rays .
 
Jazzy i failed to mention that i use this product on many Jet and V drive boats where a clear finish is needed inside of the boat where you will see all the wood grain of the balsa , ect , or west coast look...... if you know what i mean. http://www.adtechplastics.com/pc-1424-26-proclear-clear-epoxy-system.aspx and if you would like to purchase those panels already pre made check this site out and go to rigid Carbon Fiber Panels off to the left. http://compositeenvisions.com Hey guy , if you are not concered with any of the above or yellowing the #635 Epoxy Resin from us composites will work just fine .
 
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The panels aren't very large maybe 4x52 with a taper from the 4 at one end to an inch at the other, yes I want them perfectly clear they will be matching my dash panels which I bought pre made and had machined
I tried some sample pieces w the west system epoxy and wasn't very happy w the results
We
 
Jassy , when making these panels gravity will be your best friend seeing that your shinney surface or best surface will be the first one on the bottom and if you like i will post a pic .
 
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