Poor Man's vacuum bagging - works great, in right application

charlescarlis

Rank: Mate

Registered: Jun 30, 2018

Last visit: Nov 21, 2024

Posts: 593
Posted: Sep 04, 2018 - 12:20 PM

So I'm re-furbishing a lot of parts on my Cat - one is the righting pole that's made from a windsurfer mast. The years of sun exposure and the type of material really took a tole on it; it has fuzzy fiberglass all over it, almost like the last layer of glass was infused with something besides resin.

So, I had a bunch of 3 foot strips of 1.6 ounce cloth left from a previous project and some REALLY old Pro Set epoxy...like 5 years on the shelf and hardner is nasty brown. Yup, test mix in a bowl kicked off nicely and even endothermed...

I tool the pole, starting at one end, I sprayed a dab of spray glue on it, stuck down a strip of cloth and started spiral winding it down the shaft. Each time I ended the strip, I'd lock it down with a little spray glue and start another right on top. Did this down the entire length of the shaft. Mixed resin and hardner according to instructions (and by weight - more accurate), poured into a small plate (to slow reaction), then using chip brushes, painted on the resin and worked it into the cloth. The big pain in the rear on these types of projects is how to get the cloth to lay down tightly and reliably. Then I remembered a trick; I have a roll of that very stretchy cellophane used to wrap up boxes for shipping and it does not particularly like to stick to epoxy.

So, after I had the wet, toxic stick soaked (only used 2 Dxie cups for an 8 foot length), I wrapped the entire pole in a spiral fashion, opposite of the fiber glass weave. I knew it wouldn't come out "pretty", I was just trying to get all the loose corners and stuff to lay down to the point I could likely sand and paint it.

Next morning - Surprise! It worked. I then unwrapped my present (kind of fun) - and the results were way better than I could hope for; Almost zero dry spots and a nice, smooth finish. The wrinkles from the cellophane are there, but I'm thinking, leave it alone; light sanding to get rid of amine and spray a UV protective clear coat. I also have a full-blown vacuum system, but man was this EASY.

Now to figure how to post pictures...

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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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charlescarlis

Rank: Mate

Registered: Jun 30, 2018

Last visit: Nov 21, 2024

Posts: 593
Posted: Sep 04, 2018 - 12:34 PM

In album...bad pics and doesn't do it justice, but you can clearly see how the texture of the wrinkled film printed through. Actually gives the stick a textured, yet smooth finish (easier to grip when wet, maybe???)[https://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures?g2_itemId=130355]

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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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