I’ve seen multiple peel ply’s out there and some are worthless. I’ve used some where youll nearly ruin your workpiece trying to remove it. There are some good ones which will peel off with minimal effort, even on complex shapes. I would stick with a transmissible peel ply like you’ve been using as you’ll get a better resin to cloth saturation without over saturating the carbon.
Special note, for any kind of vacuum bagging or complex layup I prefer Pro Link. We have excellent results with their resin and a ‘friendlier’ working time. Moreover, in hot summer months I prefer the viscosity of Pro Link especially on our Convex models and anything with a channel bottom. Pro Link tends to stay put which is great for pasting as well as keeping hot coat from pooling into channels and gutters.
Dane - I’ve got another Vac. Bagging question for you. With some of the high-tech carbons & aramids that you use & the deep concave’s, do you have any problems getting the cloth tight down into the channels. I read somewhere (maybe here on Swaylocks) about somebody “dusting” the blank with contact adhesive (like 3m Super 77) & sticking the cloth down dry first before laminating & bagging. I would be concerned with the solvents in the 77 melting the blank. do you have any tips that you would care to share?
Hello Dane-
Thanks for being in the Hot Seat.
When you use ‘exotic’ fabrics (carbon fiber, carbon/aramid, nets, etc) are you bagging them directly against the peel ply or using a scrim or thin glass as an outer layer to hold extra resin and facilitate the ‘wet’ look?
Thanks, J
Hi Dane, I was at OEX in Point Loma recently and saw the sup you made for Eric. I haven’t ridden one of your boards yet but they sure get the prize for cool looking.
Here are my questions, please…
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Do you think adding your carbon channels to the DECK rails of a pointy ended stringerless 8’-6" x 29" x 4" surf sup made with 1 pound EPS foam would decrease the chances of breakage? Or would it be better to run a 3" wide carbon tape “stringer” from nose to tail on each side? (The rest of the board will probably be glassed with 6+6+4 E cloth on the deck and 6+6 E on the bottom.)
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If you don’t recommend your style of carbon channels, or a 3" carbon tape “stringer,” then what glass schedule would you recommend to achieve maximum strength and minimum weight for the same hand laid up 8-6 surf sup?
Thanks
I go directly against the peel ply. I’ve done multiple cloths at once but I wasn’t happy with the result.
I go directly against the peel ply. I’ve done multiple cloths at once but I wasn’t happy with the result.
Yes guys do this all the time. I don’t like it. It introduces a contaminate into your lamination. Epoxy is so tempermental I just don’t like introducing unknown variables into the equation.
Personally I prefer pasting the workpiece with epoxy and letting it tack up before I form the cloth on there. Yes it takes much longer but it’s a better way. Under vacuum, youll be drawing pasted epoxy up through the cloth from the board without anything that shouldn’t be there.
Hey thanks for that.
Sorry bud, I’m not licensing anyone to use this construction method at the moment, but not to worry there’s plenty of other excellent ways to achieve what your after. Yes I believe unidirectional is a good start. Or perhaps just a good old stringer. Check out Marko for a custom blank with a 1/16" bamboo stringer. Plenty strong and real light. At first blush I felt like the glassing schedule might be a little overboard. maybe instead of double six on the bottom try a single layer of six with a good lap margin and a single strip of six ounce running down the middle or unidirectional carbon instead.
Thanks Dane! -J