How To Save An Infusion Gone Wrong

[CatBuilder]

Today was my first day using all new materials (and epoxy) for infusion. I'm now using "the best", but there are still challenges.

My Airtech green flow media bunched up in some places and made very sharp little points that put holes in the bag. Guess "the best" isn't that much better than the stuff from Home Depot I was using. Really, it isn't that much better than 6 mil poly and Liquid Nails. But, I'm now using it.

These tiny holes were everywhere. There were too many to be able to tape them all up, so I reasoned out a way to save the laminate that will work with any infusion that is starting to take on air.

Here's what you do if you see a lot of bubbles going up the infusion, threatening to suck the laminates dry and leave you with a weak layup:

1) Make sure the infusion worked - all glass must be clear and see through
2) Turn off the vacuum and just let it drop back to 0HG, 0PSI, 0Bar, etc...
3) Keep a very close eye on your mixing bucket to see when the thin film of epoxy left in it turns a little thicker than honey from it starting to polymerize.
4) At the moment the epoxy starts to be able to stand up on its own (in the bucket), start the vacuum back up and leave it under vacuum until full cure.

What this does is allow the epoxy on your part to get close to curing, but still in the range of vacuum bagging. This way, you cannot suck any air into your laminate to dry it out (because it's too viscous now) and you can really suck the laminate together nice and well.

This technique saved my rudder from having dry spots today.

Here are the photos...

[hoytedow]

Good save, CatBuilder!

[CatBuilder]

Thanks, Hoyt! Notice anything familiar in those pictures??

[hoytedow]

Yes I do. How's it holding up?