Mold release agents....??

[Drobie]

Are there common household or hardware products that can be used as mold release agents, or is there a product formulated specifically for this purpose.

Do you use the same thing for laying up fiberglass as you would for vacu-forming?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[AndyKunz]

Yes.

I feel like a real schmuck, though, because I only learned this one a few weeks ago. Gotta read to the end, though, because that's the only place I would change it.

When laying up glass in a mold, you typically wax and wax and wax and polish and polish and wax and polish to get a nice smooth surface that nothing will stick to. On that you spray or brush "PVA" - an agent which sticks to the waxed surface reasonably well (sometimes it balls up and you have to brush it back down). You apply several coats of it.

The purpose of the wax is to keep the part from sticking to the mold. The purpose of the PVA is to let the resin stick to the shape of the mold.

PVA is available from a lot of places for anything from cheap to expensive. I got a gallon of the stuff and I'm down to a quart after making about 80 boats.

PVA, it turns out, is the active ingredient in white glue. :( See why I feel stupid?!

Get yourself a bottle of Elmers, add a few drops of food coloring (I like green), thin it down with water, and have at it!

Oh, for wax I use Mothers Carnuba that I got from the Kar Parts down the street.

When you pull the part out of the mold, the PVA usually sticks to the part. You can wash it off in the bath tub with warm water.

Andy

[Paul]

Hello Andy,


PVA, it turns out, is the active ingredient in white glue.

That's a good one! I'm glad you posted that, I was lucky enough to pick up a set of T-Plus molds and I wanted to try laying up a couple hulls so I'll give it a whirl.

Paul.

[Frode]

I've used foil reelease agents (pva) and wax from R&G in Germany. They worked well. R&G have everythig you can ask for; epoxy, carbonfiber, kevlar, glassfiber, moulding stuff etc. They deliver products to the air- and spaceindustry. If you are steady in german they have a webpage at http://www.r-g.de/. I contacted them and ordered their catalog whitch is more a "how to" book containing tips and procedures to use every moulding technik you will ever need, and best of all; They print a version in English.

Frode

[Drobie]

Originally posted by Frode
If you are steady in

Danke Frode, aber mein Deutsch ist nicht gut. Ich war in Wuerzburg von 72 bis 75, aber ich hatte die meisten vergessen von, was ich erlernte.

Mein Deutsch war meistens Straße Slang irgendwie.

[AndyKunz]

Doug,

Your German can't be too bad - I understood what you were saying and my only training has been listening to my mother and her family talking (she grew up in Hamburg). I had to read your note aloud so I could understand it, though - German in print isn't my strong point!

Andy

[Drobie]

Check this out, Andy.

http://www.systranbox.com/systran/box

What I originally wrote may have been good enough to get by, but I went searching for something to check my grammar and stumbled on that site.

Now you can browse those good Deutch FE sites with ease.

[AndyKunz]

THanks, Doug. I've been using Babelfish. The German isn't a problem if I hear it - it just means I sit in front of my computer and talk to it so I can understand what it is saying. (Now THAT sounds weird!) Spanish is the opposite - I can read it but not hear it unless they speak slowly. Muy poco. por favor!

Andy

[vicman]

Doug, this is going to sound stupid but, it does work and is cheap!

USE YOUR WIFES HAIRSPRAY!!!!!!

Its cheap, water soluable, aerosol types stick to anything, find it anywhere, and dont kill you if you breath it in by accident.
Found that AQUA NET works well on my little epoxy glass hulls, pic on the link.