Wax Experts Need your opinion/fact....

[JRL]

Heres the details:

Mould: 95" X 36" x 9" square. Its in the picture below, the gray box Im working on in the background. Only think of that design as a female (as thats the plug in the picture).

The sides have 3 degrees of draft. All the ribs on the base have 5 degrees.

Finish: Class A (maybe 1 or 2 visible scratches), other than that its a mirror.

Heres the situation:

My boss wouldnt let me reinforce the large flat areas on the part (wanted to use balsa). The layup consisted of 1 layer of 3/4" mat, and 2 layers of 1 1/2 mat. So needless to say, when we went to pull it out it flexed better than any bodybuilder ever could. This wedged it, and made it harder to pull out.

We used 5 coats of mequires #88. Let it vent overnight. Then did the layup.

After demolding the part had flexed so badly that it spider cracked the gel, and actually delaminated in the weaker areas (the middle). Not to my surprise.

Heres the baffling part. After demolding the mold surface was hazy? Seemed as if the wax transfered, or, baked on the surface. But the layup was anything but hot. I didnt do the surface prep so I cant say how well the wax was applied (to much, to little, to much buffing, I dont know). Did my co worker apply to much wax? Or not enough? And what are normal causes for hazing?

Any help would be appreciated.

[fiberglass jack]

was the wax buffed between coats, 1 layer of wax buff wait a hour or so and wax and buff again, do this 5 or 6 times and you should be good, sounds like the 5 coats was layed up on each other and not buffed, your boss sounds cheap, the mould is to flimsy and needs to be stiffen, othe wise the mould will warp and twist and your parts will be crap.

[JRL]

Originally Posted by fiberglass jack

your boss sounds cheap, the mould is to flimsy and needs to be stiffen, othe wise the mould will warp and twist and your parts will be crap.

Couldnt agree more. They like short cuts. But to me a short cut always ends up costing you more time and money. As this most recent one has.

The wax was buffed between layers. About 30 minutes between applications.

The mold I prepped turned out perfect after demolding. We used the same wax. Only thing I can figure is that my co-worker put really heavy coats of wax instead of thin.