KD0EM

Hello Mart, Thank you, I was going to spray the tooling gel-coat on the plug, but after opening the can and found that it was so thick, I decided to brush it on, thought it would take to much thinning to get it to spray. By the time I get home from work tomorrow night it will have been about 24 to 26 hr. I got a bit more trimming to do on it yet, I might give it a try then.
Harold

Dreamin Hemi

Mart the problem with gelcoat is that it's basically resin with pigment and a few other additives. Resins (and gelcoats) have a shelf life. If left on the shelf too long it can begin to kick off slightly on it's own, especially when not kept cool. I've had to call my supplier back after discovering "extra thick" tooling gel in a recent 5 gallon batch. Found out it was almost a year old and you could lift the mixing can up with a stick inserted inside. They replaced it without arguing with another drum that yielded the same results. Both drums had dates only a month apart, and were over a year old when I received them. A third try with another drum with a 2 month old date was tried and this time had a nice consistency.
Same thing happened earlier also about 5 years ago when I was building a full scale 20' hull, but this resin was so bad it actually began to kick off inside my chopper gun. Further examination revealed the 55 gallon drum was 13 months old when it was delivered and had chunks of kicked off resin floating around and stuck to the sides of the drum, and was extremely thick.

The fresher the better, that's why every reputable supplier stamps a date on the cans (or barrels).

KD0EM

I am not 100% happy with the way the canopy mold came out, but I think it will work to make my canopy, I learned a lot making this mold. I did not have near enough gel-coat on the plug, I know now you got to have all positive angles, some of my sides was not 100% positive or 90 de. I got the mold off the plug, but the plug is in 1001 peaces.
Harold

MaxCorvette

Hi Harold,

It does seem smooth, maybe a bit thin, but smooth is more important.
You can always add a few layers on the outside if the mold flexes to much.

Looking forward to see the first canopy

Marcel

martno1fan

Harrold sorry i missed your reply but it seems you got there in the end,actually i tried spraying gelcoat and to be honest i found it a pain in the ass.I went back to brushing and have to say i cant tell the difference and i doubt anyone else can so i will continue doing it.Im sure Hemi will disagree but hey im happy my customers are happy so its all good.Oh yea my mate has a aeromarine hull and guess what the gelcoat was brushed on,you can see the brushmarks when its held up to the light.I will be doing some experimenting with gelcoat pigmenst or should i say candy paint pigments in clear gelcoat,the supplier asures me hes tried it in poly resin with good results so ill give it a go i will then coat over that with white gelcoat as i dont want a seethrough boat lol.
Mart

KD0EM

Hello, I have got the mold touch up now, six coats of mold release wax, and two coats of pva, and what I think is two heavy coats of white gel-coat, now I am waiting for the gel-coat to kick off and harden. I have got 1 ½ oz fiber glass mat and 6oz fiber glass clothe. I am thinking of putting one layer of each in the mold, I think that should be enough for a canopy I hope.
Harold

KD0EM

Hello, Ok I got the fiber glass laid up and waiting for it to harden up, so I can trim off the excess glass around the sides. I think I will be popping it out of the mold tomorrow afternoon.
Harold

KD0EM

Hello, Ok I got the fiber glass laid up and waiting for it to harden up, so I can trim off the excess glass around the sides. I think I will be popping it out of the mold tomorrow afternoon.
Harold

PS. Ok so I could not wait till tomorrow afternoon to pop the canopy form the mold, I just got done doing it, and I am vary happy with the results of it. I had no trouble popping it at all.
Harold

dwr9

Looks great! Doug

KD0EM

Thank you Doug for your comment, this is my frist plug, mold, then canopy.
Harold

Paul M

looks pretty freakin perfect to me

KD0EM

Thank you Paul M, Yes I am happy the way it came out, now I can get back to the hull and deck.
Harold

Dreamin Hemi

Told you it would be perfect! Very nice work, now get cracking on that hull!

-Scott

martno1fan

Looks nice Harold i knew you wouldnt be able to wait all night ,i have that problem too,good tip for you sit it back in the mould till you need it to let it harden off propperly and that way it wont twist.When you apply the gelcoat dont let it harden before laying your resin and cloth etc ,wait till its just dry but still tacky then paint your resin over the top and lay your cloth matt or whatever you use then you get better adhesion to the gelcoat layer just a tip for you but well done it looks great.
Mart

STEVE MARSHALL

That turned out great, just like the rest of the boat, cant wate to see it running.
Steve

MaxCorvette

Looking good Harold!
Only 2 layers of glas? I use epoxie but my canopies are made of 6 layers and 3 different weights of glas.
Then again i use the canopy/lid to carry the whole hull to the water if I run alone.

Now start on the hull again! Hope to see this Cat run in a few months.

Marcel

KD0EM

Thanks you all, Scott, Mart, Steve and Marcel for your comments and tips, Mart thank you for the tip on putting it back in the mold, I did not do that till this morning after reading your reply, I hope it is still going to harden with out twisting, it fit nicely in the mold. Marcel it is a bit on the thin side, nice for keeping the weight down, but then I do not know how it will stand up after time getting knocked around over the water! I think I can still put another layer or two of glass in it. I can seal around the edges of the mold with clay. What you think?
Harold

martno1fan

You should be ok as is with the thickness mate,i use 2 layers of matt on my hulls canopy 300 csm then 450 on top they come out light and strong.No cloth on mine as i try to keep costs down as much as i can .If your worried its too flimsy add another layer it wont hurt .
Mart

fuelman8

Harold

Had to get back on to tell you what a great job you've done with this build. Your time and patience has really paid off.[sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=teeth_smile.gif]

KD0EM

Hello Tony. Thank you vary much for your nice comment. You just made my day a lot better now seeing you back on the forum. I just came in from the garage, I was working on the hull some trying to get it ready for paint, I am thinking of redoing the nacatucts, I am not all that happy the way they turned out, I am also making a new mold for the louvers that go on the back of the sponsons, they will have more area for heat to get out.
Harold

martno1fan

Harold if you want to add another layer of glass just put some masking tape round the edge of the mould then put the canopy back in and glass it,no need to seal the edges with clay unless you really want to.If your worried about resin getting into the mould why not glass the canopy out of the mould then sit it back in there to harden off ,a coat of wax on the mould wont hurt just in case any does get in there.
Mart

KD0EM

Thank you for the tip Mart, I am not sure that I am going to put another layer of glass in it, it is not all that flimsey after it hardened up good.
Harold

Dreamin Hemi

It's just a hatch, my last one was made from one layer of 1.5 oz mat and doubled up areas that would flex. It was the best one yet! Light and very strong. I wouldn't worry either about that extra layer. Keep the great pictures coming!

lildude2599

Hay man been a long time would like to see some up dates.

KD0EM

Hello, I am sorry that I have
Not made any up dates for a
While, I have gone back to plan A, I have decided to mold the cat after all, so I am making some hull changes, I am lowering the tunnel 10 mm, I think I am going to widen the ride pads to 35 mm I have them 30 mm now, I went back into the frist few posts and seen where Marcel told me they should be 35/36 mm wide. I will try get some up dates on soon. Thank You,
Harold