some of the videos I have seen on youtube show people putting a light coat of epoxy on and letting it get a little tacky and then laying the carbon down. I have never heard any one mention this method on here. Whats the best way to keep the carbon from fraying and looking like crap when you lay it?
That method of "pre-wetting" the mold works well for reducing the air bubbles for the finished "carbon look" part (after its popped out and clear coated). It can get messy if you don't plan/have a helper with large pieces of wet fabric. The
whole idea here is you are using thin, strong carbon to re-enforce the side of your boat. The one layer of 5.7oz (or similar)fabric is somewhat delicate to work with, so having the boat propped up on it's side, and dry, the "patch" is easy to position....then wet out. You might have to carefully tape the "patch" in a couple of places to hold it where you want it until the resin goes on. Don't get carried away with the baby powder, too much, and you can contaminate the carbon an make it a mess. If you are going to paint over it, don't worry, Talc is a major ingredient in body filler.
What style of fabric are you planning on using? The tighter the weave, the less likely it will fray but the harder it will be to conform around complex bends. I'd be afraid to let the resin get tacky because that's when it starts to gel up and depending on the resin, the gel stage can be fairly short before it starts getting hard.
If you lay out the fabric on a sheet of plastic, pour the resin onto the fabric, lay more plastic over top, and squeegee the resin into the fabric then you'll not only help keep weight down but you'll also help prevent fraying. Then just spread a little resin over the area and squeegee the fabric again. That's the anal way to do it...
The easy way is just to spread the resin with a paint brush and carefully apply on the edges. I'll be honest, I primarily use the easy way but I also rarely spend the extra money on carbon because the weight savings isn't as important.
Pre-wetting works great on thicker materials like 12oz bi-ax, just like you mentioned (I do the same thing). Have you tried using Peel Ply over your lay ups yet? It helps to keep the little loose strands of glass from sticking up and is easy to squeegee over. It works better than plastic because it helps to release air (I used to use plastic too).
Post up those pix of your finished work!
