Mold making

[SayMikey]

Im about ready to try to mold a cowl,do i need tooling gel? Is tooling gel epoxy?polyester? or all its own? Just messing around at this point but i want to learn to do it right,i have vacum bagging equipment and want to start with something easy.

 

[htbboats]

Mike,

I sure don't think I'm an expert but call me tomorrow and I'll try to get you started in the right direction.

Mark

 

[Kez]

Im about ready to try to mold a cowl,do i need tooling gel? Is tooling gel epoxy?polyester? or all its own? Just messing around at this point but i want to learn to do it right,i have vacum bagging equipment and want to start with something easy.

I am not sure if there is such a thing as epoxy tooling gel but the gel coat I used before are all polyester or vnylester. I used it as the first coat of a mould layup as well as the first coat when laying up the part. I have never seen an eposy tooling gel but I guess mixing in some thickneing agent such as Cab-o-sil will work.

 

[RCUK John]

Take a look at this site

http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/

And specifically the PDF file

http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/Web_FibreglassGuide.pdf

(Use copy and paste, the linking did not seem to work for me)

John

 

[rctinman]

Mike, I've used West Systems aluminum powder mixed with West Systems resin for the first coat of a mold. Brush on two coats of this, then start with your cloth. I know there are better systems are out there, but this easy to get, and I didn't need to spend a lot of $$ to try out moldmaking. BTW, it turned out great.

Steve Ball

 

[Terry Keeley]

The hardest part is making the plug! :blink:

I've made a few molds over the years and here's what I've settled on:

1. Prime and sand the plug smooth with 400 grit. Foam makes great plug material, coat with a thin layer of cloth and West Systems to seal. Make the base big and you'll thank yourself later on.

2. Wax with 3 coats of Partall #2, brush 1 coat of Partall Film #10 (PVA), http://www.rexco-usa.com/part2.htm

3. Brush 2 coats of "vinyl ester tooling gelcoat", my supplier calls it G23X, it's made to take post cure heat.

4. Apply 2 coats of 6 oz cloth with "isophalic" or "tooling" resin, made for mold making.

5. Apply 2 coats of 18oz "tooling cloth", made to drape well over molds. I used that chopped strand "mat" for my first few and this cloth is much easier to work with and much stronger.

If you can't have the smell of fiberglass in the house you can use epoxy but it'll be expensive. I've used "cabosil" mixed with the resin to make a gelcoat.

Have fun!