Motorsport Composite Fundamentals: Applying Release Agents

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Applying Release Agents

03.55

00:00	With a solid plan in place and all the materials on hand, we're ready to start on our practical work.
00:05	First we should make sure the mould is clean to avoid any possible contaminants or debris getting into our laminate.
00:12	There are specific mould cleaners for this but a simple wipe down with wax and grease remover will do the trick.
00:18	We'll also bolt our mould sections together at this point.
00:21	The locator keys help the sections snap into place and then we secure them with M8 hardware.
00:26	There's no need to crank them too tight, just a light nip.
00:30	Serrated flange nuts make it easy as we don't need a spanner on the backside.
00:34	Before we apply the semi-permanent chemical release agent that we discussed in the previous module, the supplier specifies the use of a mould sealer for new or porous moulds.
00:44	We'll specifically be using Chemlease 15 sealer easy.
00:48	So, following the application instructions from the manufacturer for wiping it on, which is the most accessible alternative to spraying, we start by saturating a clean cotton cloth to apply a smooth and even film of the sealer.
01:02	When the sealer film starts to evaporate or flash off at the edges, we can use a second clean dry cloth to wipe the surface in a circular motion, lightly buffing the surface until it's dry.
01:13	After 15 minutes a second coat is recommended and then we need to leave the mould for an hour to fully cure before applying the release agent.
01:22	The supplier's applications instructions should be followed for the Chemlease 4190 easy release agent as well.
01:29	Wet a clean cotton cloth with the release agent and wipe a smooth film over the entire mould surface, working into all the tight details but avoiding runs.
01:38	Before the film dries, we wipe it off with a second dry cloth and then wait 15 minutes before applying the next coat.
01:45	A minimum of three coats is required but we'll do five as this is a new mould.
01:49	This will give us multiple releases before it needs to be reapplied.
01:53	After the final coat has cured for 30 minutes we're ready to start the next step.
01:58	We did have some chipping of the gel coat on both moulds around the mounting tab that secures the fender to the car inside the door jamb.
02:05	This was a difficult area to laminate and was clearly lacking reinforcement up to the mould surface.
02:11	A simple fix is using plasticine to fill in the chipped area.
02:15	It's easy to mould it to shape by hand and it really doesn't need to be perfect as the area isn't going to be visible.
02:22	And while we're at it we might as well apply mould release wax to the rest of the mould surface.
02:27	Again, it's not required as we've got our semi -perm chemical release agent but it won't hurt.
02:33	For this we're using Meguiar's Miracle Gloss following the product's instructions carefully.
02:38	Using another clean cotton cloth we apply a thin but even coat of wax to the surface of the mould right into all the details and over the plasticine.
02:47	Then we wait five to ten minutes for the wax to haze up.
02:50	We should be able to see the thin layer of wax change to a cloudy lighter colour as it dries.
02:55	Using another clean cotton cloth we use the same buffing motion to wipe off the haze completely.
03:01	After this we need to wait for another 20 minutes for it to fully cure before applying the next coat.
03:06	Five to eight coats are recommended but we'll just do three since we've already used the chem lease.
03:11	And that's all our release agents applied so before applying the gel coat in the next module let's recap the main takeaways.
03:18	With our mould surfaces clean we need to apply a sealer before the release agent.
03:23	For this we used chem lease 15 easy following the supplier's instructions, a common theme in these modules, and then bolted the mould sections together.
03:31	Next, we applied five coats of chem lease 4190 easy before tidying up the details with plasticine and using three coats of Meguiar's Miracle Gloss mould release wax for good measure.