Hello everyone,
Do you know if it's possible to use a topsheet when pressing with vacuum ?
Obviously it would force the resin to escape on the sides of the ski as the topsheet is not porous, and therefore the drain might be different.
Has anyone ever tried this ?
thks
vacuum & topsheet ?
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twizzstyle
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Bleeder
Hi.
Works fine with topsheet and vac bag for snowboards. You'll need to get some bleeder/breether cloth. It's like a poyester insluation fibre but in thinner rolls. Place it just beyond your edges under the overhanging top sheet and it'll act as a channel to drain away the excess resin. Just be careful you don't get it in the layup.
C.
Works fine with topsheet and vac bag for snowboards. You'll need to get some bleeder/breether cloth. It's like a poyester insluation fibre but in thinner rolls. Place it just beyond your edges under the overhanging top sheet and it'll act as a channel to drain away the excess resin. Just be careful you don't get it in the layup.
C.
all right, that sounds ok.
One of my friend working for Pierre Gignoux (manufacturing the lightest touring boot ever : http://www.pierregignoux.fr/France/XpCompetition.php ) told me they were also pressing thanks to vacuum AND a counter mold to enhance the finish (no topsheet on boots of course).
I can understand that you might help the sandwich to adopt the mold (if the whole mold isn't in the vacuum bag), but I cannot figure out if a mechnical help would be sufficient (such as with clamps).
One of my friend working for Pierre Gignoux (manufacturing the lightest touring boot ever : http://www.pierregignoux.fr/France/XpCompetition.php ) told me they were also pressing thanks to vacuum AND a counter mold to enhance the finish (no topsheet on boots of course).
I can understand that you might help the sandwich to adopt the mold (if the whole mold isn't in the vacuum bag), but I cannot figure out if a mechnical help would be sufficient (such as with clamps).
you may want to get a plastic roller to roll out any air bubbles that may get stuck under the topsheet during the manual layup. The vacuum pressure is typically not sufficient to force these out but with a bit of patience and care you can get the topsheet to be just fine. I made one without a topsheet and simply rolled on a sheet of PVC film, when cured the film just peeled off, it was shiny as hell but a bit bumpy and wavey since the vacuum doesn't press a flat surface like a steel sheet with a pneumatic press.
Topsheets take away the finishing step. In other boardsports like windsurf and surf we need to finish up the boards after lamination, typically with a gloss coat or a PU varnish to give a nice shop-shiny finish. You * could * do this with a snowboard/ski but it is just more work.
Topsheets take away the finishing step. In other boardsports like windsurf and surf we need to finish up the boards after lamination, typically with a gloss coat or a PU varnish to give a nice shop-shiny finish. You * could * do this with a snowboard/ski but it is just more work.