Spoke to this guy yesterday,the knowledge that him and the team have is next level,you can tell he is passionate about the product,he never once tried to make me buy anything just gave solid advice and technical support,I have been considering fully getting involved with carbon/fibre glass for years but after our conversation I literally purchased £700+ worth of bits last night.keep up the good work guys.
Wow, thank you very much. That feedback means a lot; you're right, we're not sales oriented, we're outcome oriented and we'll always try to give honest advice about what would be best for our customers and if that's our products or services then that's great, if not, that's OK too! Looking forward to working with you, thanks for your support and positive feedback.
I haven't seen sheet wax since my early foundry pattern making days. Great for turning existing castings into cheap patterns by adding wax in areas for contraction allowance and machining allowance. What I would associate with filleting wax was you could get wax extruded in long length so if laid into an inside right angle corner it formed a ready made radius fillet. Nice technique worth remembering.
Just a note from across the pond - I absolutely love your videos! Your products seem superior to what I've found locally. I wish shipping wasn't cost prohibitive. Thanks for great content
Guys, yes, absolutely. We get this. So much of our support, and views and feedback comes from the US. We know it's difficult for you guys to buy from us, pretty much all down to shipping. We would love to be able to support our US followers better and we are thinking about ways we could do that. In the meantime, stick with us, enjoy the content and know that we love having your views, comments and support. We'd love a US division and maybe some time soon we can make that happen.
I'm down to go in on a group buy to save on shipping... I use composite envisions now... but seems like these materials would make my life so much easier, lol.
Amazing video , the sheet wax is really amazing. The epoxy putty is something I was thinking of for so many months. Whenever I visit UK I make sure to visit easy composites just to have a technical conversation and buy some stuffs. I am expecting a video on manufacturing of drone propellers using core material and prepreg. Thanks from India.
Once again, absolutely outstanding content. Good mix of information. Fantastic presentation. Professional camerawork. A++++++++++. If I had a request, I know you've already done this before, but a full project really reinforces the idea that I can go out, buy these kits and make stuff. I've bought some stuff from you before, but if you started with a Mold making kit, a prepreg kit and a pattern, and showed it end to end it'd be GRAND. Cheers bud.
Hi Stan, thanks for the comments. Yes, we take this on board. You're right that we have done several full projects (usually over a number of videos) but we are conscious of making some more 'accessible' projects using our starter kits. The second part of this video uses our laminating starter kit to make the component so is hopefully along the lines you're thinking.
lol i wouldn't have completely failed school l learnt more from the internet then school hell from what i have learnt if i had the money i could build my self a basic nuke. schools dont know how to adapt to there students i learn more from watching or getting hands on then off a piece of paper. growing up on a farm i was around machinery a lot after i spent tonnes of time with my old man i learnt the ins and outs of engines by the time i got to year 11 i could overhaul a damn engine all by my self year 11 opened up automotive class and i took it thinking it would be a walk in the park nope first day they gave us a work book a good 1 1/2 inches thick and it all went over my head if they had given me an engine and let my prove my self that way i would have it striped by the end of the day but it was all paper nothing hands on so i drooped that class. now when I'm not helping my old man i do odd jobs around the other local farms and i always get asked why i dont become a Pro Diesel mechanic. school never did much for me hell they never even tried to stop the bullies but when i did stand up to them i was some how the bad one yet hear i am on a farm making food for people to eat and all the bullies are on the steers dong hard drugs.
@@easycompositestv very well done, I do not need to do anything with composites, but I feel strong desire to create some carbon part after watching this video.
Thanks Anthony, that's great to hear. We're just putting the finishing touches to the second part of this tutorial which I guess you'll find interesting or helpful too. Look forward to working with you.
Have been watching a few of the tutorials, Great videos guys, very interesting and easy to follow, I'm now hooked and keen to find a project so I can have a go this👌
Why when I watch your videos it's all looks so simple and when I start making something myself I always have whole bunch of different problems!?)) Thanks for your videos guys, they really help a lot) Your videos are big part of my humble successes (you can find them on my channel, but they are mostly in Russian)
To be totally honest, it might well be the materials you're using. In composites, there are so many possibilities for incompatibility between materials that you can often find something not releasing, or not curing, or no spreading, or infusing as you expect. One of the reasons for our success is because we carry a limited range of materials and know exactly how they all behave with each other. The processes we demonstrate will work exactly as they should if you're using these exact materials, as soon as you start using alternative materials then you pretty much have to start over again with testing for compatibility and suitability. So, you shouldn't feel bad if you experience some problems, we all have to go through that process.
@@easycompositestv nah its that you make it look so easy! Ive tried many times to produce parts that end up needing 50 hours work to end up with a part that no one wants to pay a fair price for!
@@theravedaddy When I watch some of these videos I come away with the opposite impression. There was definitely a lot of work for such a simple part. Not something I'd want to do as a one-off unless I had a lot of spare time to kill.
@@rickden8362 i started out all enthiuastic in the beginning, located a market for certain parts, started making them and getting through the teething problems and then chynaaa comes along and floods the market making my efforts not worth the cloth i used. I gave up.
@@theravedaddy I hear ya. I always assume these videos are at least twice as hard as they look and will take probably three times as long the first time.
If i want make a mould directly on the parts (like a clutch cover) i need a barrier for dont make the epoxy tooling gelcoat stick? if i dont have the epoxy putty i can use a normal epoxy resin and chopped strand mat on top of gelcoat, or i have to use another system like the kit uni mould? thanks for an help btw, really useful and good tutorial!
Yes you can but you need to be a little bit more careful with acetone because it can be more aggressive to the mould than mould cleaner. The other thing you'll find is that it's easier with mould cleaner but the mould cleaner solvent is less volatile (so, evaporates less quickly) and so it softens the wax more before it just evaporates away.
So if I need to make a quick mold and don't want to have to spend the time laying up layers of glass under the gelcoat (which can also get bubbles) I can use a putty of filler and strands with resin that I mix some hardener in? That's GENIOUS!
used this already very good material how ever it does not come out very easy, sticks both to the part and the mould, its a pain in the ass to clean it. Thank god the mould cleaner from easy composites :D
Hi Tan, yes, agreed, sheet wax has always had that problem. It’s not so bad when you’re working all in epoxy (no solvents to soften the wax) but with polyesters and vinylesters the cleanup job is a pain. Also agreed on the mould cleaner!
I have been a good cutter for over 30 years. Not only do we give out kits and materials pattern makers often asked for wax. As a young man when they came to the hatch and asked for sheet wax I would always reply no sir we only have the good stuff
Clutch protectors are a requirement for racing now and they are not available for older bikes. I'll be placing an order later on this year to make one thanks to this video.
That's great, we love to hear of people enjoying our videos but of course we're a business and if it motivates you to get involved and place an order then of course that's what helps us to make more videos :)
Would it be possible to use this method to create a 2-part mould? For example, using the wax to get the form of a turbo compressor housing, creating the mould the same way as in the video, but once the epoxy putty has cured, leaving the wax in place and applying a gelcoat layer and further putty. Once cured removing both halfs and using bolts to apply presure on the flanges to the carbon inside?
Yes you could use it to create the "void" for the carbon fibre to sit in with a compression moulding 2 piece tool. You would have to ensure your lay up is the right thickness for it to work neatly. Also don't forget your dimensions will be displaced by the thickness of the wax.
@@mattygerbil123abc Not using the EG60 and EMP60 that we used in this video but we do have high temperature versions of these products; EG160 and EMP160, which would be suitable.
Well done as usual! Thanks for making it. I never had any success polishing epoxy gelcoat much. Is this something special? Perhaps hitting the first layer with the hair drier would be useful to pop any air bubbles.
Epoxy gelcoat is normally just *harder* that a polyester or vinylester gelcoat. This does indeed make them harder to polish but certainly not impossible. The key would be making sure you've done the rubbing back properly with the abrasive paper (no underlying scratches) and then using a suitable polishing compound. The NW1 we use in this video is designed for very hard materials, like epoxy, and so does a much better job that most compounds.
Thanks Alex. We'd love to take the credit but most of what we're showing is techniques that are widely used in the composites industry, we're just helping to make them more accessible. Sometimes we do bring some advancements of our own, especially in resin infusion.
Would love to hear your thoughts on how to deal with inserts in a composite part! I'm making a kevlar/carbon longboard currently and I'm trying to figure out the best way to bolt the trucks to the board. These videos are gold and I really hope you keep making them! :)
Thanks Scipier we certainly plan to. There are lots of different ways that inserts can be included or combined with composites. One simple but effective method, for something like a longboard, would be to include a metal plate inside the laminate. Especially if you have a thick laminate with a core, you can cut the core out where you want the hard points and swap it for a metal plate. This plate could be drilled and tapped in advance or afterwards. The reinforcement can rub over the metal plate top and bottom, encapsulating it into the 'sandwich' This is simple but effective. We are planning a video on this and other fittings/inserts in the future.
nice job easy composite, I am still waiting for those technics you promised gonna make a video about that get used in building planes thank you for your amazing videos I can't wait for the next one thanks
To think I was about to give up on trying to make molds cause the difficulty in getting good flange this video pops up. Great job guys btw can I use any sheet wax
Hi Neilon, thanks, I'm glad this helps. As for what sheet wax you can use, I'm not sure what other kinds there might be or what their properties are. The sheet wax we supply is specifically for composites, it's precisely calibrated for thickness (important for offset moulds, less important as a temporary flange barrier) and it's self-adhesive. If you can get these properties then it's probably the same material and of course, depending on where you're based you could always buy it from us to be sure!
WeKnife is a chinese company. They most likely didn't receive trademark protection from the UK. Easy Composites has every right to use this logo, especially since its in a completely different market.
Great vid as always. I wanted to ask what release agent i should use if i am not using sheet wax/making an offset mould. I can see on your website the Blue PVA release agent, mould release wax and easy lease release agent. Which would be best for use on a plastic part on which i would prefer to leave the original surface unharmed?
I'd like to make a guitar case. Can I use the same technique or do you recommand another way for larger pieces? I obviously dont own specialised equipment like a vacuum table or stuff like that.
Hi Tigrre, if you're starting with a guitar case made out of another material and want to make it in carbon fibre then you would take the moulds directly off the original case (because you want the carbon fibre part to be the same size as the original), you wouldn't need to use the sheetwax like we use in this video because otherwise you'd be making a mould (and part) that's slightly bigger than the original. In terms of making the carbon fibre part then yes, the process you could use could be exactly as you see in this video, you could improvise the vacuum or just not bother at all and then tidy up the surface with clear-coat.
Hi Marko, it would be exactly the same process, from start to finish. The frame protector is just an example of the process, you can apply this process to any parts you need to make a cover for.
Can i make a mold with this kit without making it offset? I want to make some new interior trim pieces for my car, and i dont want to reskin, i want it to be 100% Carbon fiber. Would i just use mold release on the car part then cover with gel coat, and just leave out the wax sheet???
iam putting mavcoat release and then airbrush on some pva on sheet wax. Then poly gel-coat. My parts are in primer out of the mold, same process, mav/pva/primer/gelcoat.
@@easycompositestv no, l use sheet wax to represent the thickness of the velomobile carbon body like you did, Then start making a plug dwn in there in the floor, then pull 2 part mold/tool from the plug. But l have mavcoat release in usa. im old school l put couple layers over tooling gel then putty, im new to putty. l use your fillet'ing wax.
Yes, absolutely; we added this feature at the start of the year. It’s called project lists, Easy Composites staff can also see these lists if you need us to help out or make suggestions on what products you might need for a project.
Hi, yes, polyester can be a bit more problematic with sheet wax. It's not unusable but we do normally find that polyester softens the wax and the mould usually ends up with wax pretty well stuck to it. It can be scraped off (it's wax at the end of the day) but it is more work. There are sealers available for sheet wax to make them more resistant to polyester. The main advantage to epoxy over polyester for a mould is that an epoxy mould can be used for direct contact with epoxy resin, such as when we make the carbon/epoxy part in the following video. Epoxy has a real habit of sticking into polyester moulds, no matter what release agent you use!
You would use either tooling pre-preg which has its own gel coat built in, or a high temperature gelcoat and resin laminate to make a mould for pre-preg use. You would not mix the two processes.
Ahh, right, I see. Yes, you could you do this. The sheetwax is 'high temperature' wax and the XT135 tooling system can be cured at a very low initial temperature (65C) so you should be able to do this. You'd need to make sure the wax was fully supported though, because of course the whole thing would be under vacuum pressure.
Thank you very much for the video. I have a question, in case of making clutch housings or any other part that is exposed to higher ambient temperatures, I understand that high temperature resin EL160 is necessary, is this the case or does it work with EL2?
How to repair hole in a blue, gray, or green tarp sheet that has eyelets spaced apart on its edges? Splice another to one that could use a repair to make larger.
What resin should we use to make exhaust shields? I can’t find nothing about high temps resin and I am not sure. That yours will be good in this case as your service temp only goes max to 160 Celsius
Careful handling can avoid this, but yes, if you damage the wax, it would be visible on the mould necessitating some sanding and polishing of the mould to fix it.
great posts as always. it would however be even better if the demo's are summarised by an estimated cost of materials to really understand if one should have a go...
Hi Christophe, that's where the project page on our website comes in. RUclips is just a video platform but if you follow the link (in the description) to the project page on our website you'll find much more information about the project, along with links to all the products used. In a new version of the project pages (going live in a month or so) you'll be able to see an exact cost breakdown and even buy the products instantly, in the correct quantities. For what it's worth, this whole project would cost you less than £100.
your videos are excellent but i have a question, when you remove sheetwax the mould will become a little bit bigger, so the carbon detail you make in this mould will be bigger right?
Hi Lasha, yes, that's exactly the point. In this video we're making a mould for a 'cover' component that will fit over the original part; for this reason we *need* the mould to be bigger than the original component. If you watch the second video in the series you will see us make the part and hopefully then it will be more clear to you.
Will the epoxy and gel coat shrink or deform if you used a low temp oven (e.g. 75 C) to soften the wax? For a complex shape I can see the wax becoming difficult to remove.
For our EG60 and EMP60, the 'Tg', i.e. the maximum temperature the gel and reinforcement can go to without any problems is 60°C. At 60°C the wax would not really have changed a great deal in terms of removal. It's probably more helpful to use more heat from the heat gun, aimed directly at the way, to aid with removal. Generally speaking, if you're using sheet wax with epoxy resin, like we are in this tutorial, then you're unlikely to have any trouble removing it. When using sheet wax with polyester or vinylester resin then it can be more of a problem and that's where sheet wax sealers can help.
How good does the surface of the mold come out from the sheet wax? Could you use duratec primer on the wax and sand that down to make a smoother finish? The mold parts look a little wavy in the video.
The soft nature of the wax means you may struggle to overcoat it. The mould surface can usually be easily sanded smooth as long as the gelcoat layer is thick enough.
The whole point of this process (the reason we're using sheet wax at all) is that we *want* the difference in size between the original and the mould, so that the cover component will fit correctly. If you don't want the size difference then just take the mould straight off the component.
Hi. I've used your wax sheets to create molds for some cover, but at the time of disassembly, the wax remains attached to the surface of the gelcoat and I don't know how to detach it. By heating it I removed most of it, but the surface remains contaminated, how can I remove it? Thank you.
Hi folks, just revisiting this video and I've a couple of questions; If the sheet wax was heated, could it be rolled out to thickness again (like scone mix) and reused? Does the mould need flatted and polished or could I just flat back the carbon part and hit it with lacquer? Ta .
When heated to melting point, it is not possible to reuse as the resultant liquid will be a mix of wax, adhesive and release agent traces etc. The finish from the wax is only medium gloss so it benefits from a light flatting and polish to get the best finish.
Can you show how to make a mold for an RC aircraft wing? Obviously it would have to be made in two parts, one for top and one for bottom. Then once parts are made the two wing halves would have to be joined into one wing. I would like to recreate the RC aircraft with carbon composite to make the body much lighter.
The moulding principles are identical to any other multipart mould for which we have a video which should help here: ruclips.net/video/keBwRhkfuOQ/видео.html
Hi Sylvester, I don't know of a method or process for usefully reusing the sheet wax. It's to broken up to be used whole again and I'm not aware of a way to recycle it into another usable material. Filleting wax makes sense as a suggestion but the consistency and behaviour of these materials is very different.
i'm sure i've missed this being answered in the past but do you have any suggestions for obtaining materials in the USA? Thank you! Love watching these. edit: noticed a similar question in the comments. We'll see! ty
Hi, well, I've answered it but only to say that we really want to be able to do more to help our (potential) customers in the US. For some of our materials, mainly the non-hazardous ones, it's not too expensive to buy from us directly, especially if it's materials that are difficult to source locally. For hazardous materials, like resins and solvents, we can ship to the US but it can be pretty expensive, mainly because of the 'dangerous goods' surcharge that FedEx (or other couriers, to be fair) charge to handle the paperwork of dangerous goods on aeroplanes. Although only in the early stages, we're certainly now thinking about what are options might be to support you guys better.
We need more teachers like Paul in this world.
Haha, thanks for the kudos.
i like how you always also talk about not wasting and/or reusing materials
Spoke to this guy yesterday,the knowledge that him and the team have is next level,you can tell he is passionate about the product,he never once tried to make me buy anything just gave solid advice and technical support,I have been considering fully getting involved with carbon/fibre glass for years but after our conversation I literally purchased £700+ worth of bits last night.keep up the good work guys.
Wow, thank you very much. That feedback means a lot; you're right, we're not sales oriented, we're outcome oriented and we'll always try to give honest advice about what would be best for our customers and if that's our products or services then that's great, if not, that's OK too! Looking forward to working with you, thanks for your support and positive feedback.
I haven't seen sheet wax since my early foundry pattern making days. Great for turning existing castings into cheap patterns by adding wax in areas for contraction allowance and machining allowance.
What I would associate with filleting wax was you could get wax extruded in long length so if laid into an inside right angle corner it formed a ready made radius fillet.
Nice technique worth remembering.
Just a note from across the pond - I absolutely love your videos! Your products seem superior to what I've found locally. I wish shipping wasn't cost prohibitive. Thanks for great content
Jep!
Agreed! Easy Composites needs a US division.
Guys, yes, absolutely. We get this. So much of our support, and views and feedback comes from the US. We know it's difficult for you guys to buy from us, pretty much all down to shipping. We would love to be able to support our US followers better and we are thinking about ways we could do that. In the meantime, stick with us, enjoy the content and know that we love having your views, comments and support. We'd love a US division and maybe some time soon we can make that happen.
I'm down to go in on a group buy to save on shipping... I use composite envisions now... but seems like these materials would make my life so much easier, lol.
As a Junior, I' ve learned lots of things from your videos. Please keep up with manufacturing stuff with different methods.
Thanks Furkan, we’ll certainly try.
Amazing video , the sheet wax is really amazing. The epoxy putty is something I was thinking of for so many months. Whenever I visit UK I make sure to visit easy composites just to have a technical conversation and buy some stuffs. I am expecting a video on manufacturing of drone propellers using core material and prepreg.
Thanks from India.
Thanks Akshay, great to hear from you. Look forward to seeing you again on your next visit :)
Once again, absolutely outstanding content. Good mix of information. Fantastic presentation. Professional camerawork. A++++++++++.
If I had a request, I know you've already done this before, but a full project really reinforces the idea that I can go out, buy these kits and make stuff. I've bought some stuff from you before, but if you started with a Mold making kit, a prepreg kit and a pattern, and showed it end to end it'd be GRAND. Cheers bud.
Hi Stan, thanks for the comments. Yes, we take this on board. You're right that we have done several full projects (usually over a number of videos) but we are conscious of making some more 'accessible' projects using our starter kits. The second part of this video uses our laminating starter kit to make the component so is hopefully along the lines you're thinking.
You guys make THE best videos. very good editing. Not boring or too much propaganda and useless noise. THank you!
Thanks for your comment, glad you enjoy our videos and editing style!
Loving the frequent videos as of late.
Thanks, we're doing our best. It helps a lot having a full-time editor now, you wouldn't believe how long these things take!
Very well done Paul, The polish on vlads bike frame looks amazing.
Thanks! Yep, that's why it needs this frame protector! (Well, this one doesn't actually because it never leaves our studio!).
Thanks to this well explained video and the technical help of Easy Composites I have managed to make my first mould and it looks great.
Glad it went well for you!
Been wondering how to create offsets for ages and now it’s super easy
Great, that's just what this video was for, glad it helped.
These videos are fantastic. Great technical information delivered in just the right depth. Thankyou!
Thanks for the feedback, glad you find them useful.
If my teachers were this good at teaching I wouldn't fail any class
Well, yes, indeed. But then if your teachers got to spend a full week preparing 15 mins of class then you'd expect it to be pretty good!
lol i wouldn't have completely failed school l learnt more from the internet then school hell from what i have learnt if i had the money i could build my self a basic nuke. schools dont know how to adapt to there students i learn more from watching or getting hands on then off a piece of paper. growing up on a farm i was around machinery a lot after i spent tonnes of time with my old man i learnt the ins and outs of engines by the time i got to year 11 i could overhaul a damn engine all by my self year 11 opened up automotive class and i took it thinking it would be a walk in the park nope first day they gave us a work book a good 1 1/2 inches thick and it all went over my head if they had given me an engine and let my prove my self that way i would have it striped by the end of the day but it was all paper nothing hands on so i drooped that class. now when I'm not helping my old man i do odd jobs around the other local farms and i always get asked why i dont become a Pro Diesel mechanic. school never did much for me hell they never even tried to stop the bullies but when i did stand up to them i was some how the bad one yet hear i am on a farm making food for people to eat and all the bullies are on the steers dong hard drugs.
@@easycompositestv Well played. The time and effort certainly shows, top notch quality videos, and greatly appreciated!
Lol 😂
@@easycompositestv very well done, I do not need to do anything with composites, but I feel strong desire to create some carbon part after watching this video.
It's very generous of you to make these videos.
Thank you, we love to share this information and hopefully help people to achieve more with composites.
This is exactly the video I was waiting for. Cheers and looking forward to investing in your kits!
Thanks Anthony, that's great to hear. We're just putting the finishing touches to the second part of this tutorial which I guess you'll find interesting or helpful too. Look forward to working with you.
I didn't know sheet wax existed. This was great!
That's great, glad we've introduced you to a new method.
Have been watching a few of the tutorials, Great videos guys, very interesting and easy to follow, I'm now hooked and keen to find a project so I can have a go this👌
Again a great video, pls keep them coming on a regular basis 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thanks Jeroen, we'll do our best :)
Awesome content and great quality video. You are the masters of composites.
Thank you very much, we do our best.
good to see you guys posting videos again and thank you! keep up the good work
Thanks a lot, we love doing it. The second part to this video shouldn't be too long.
@@easycompositestv doesn't matter it is long or short. detailed and well demonstrated one would be great!!
I bet even his morning Coffee cup is out of carbon fiber.... XD
It's a material we never get bored of, but, no, ceramic mugs for us, we're from the 'The Potteries', the home of ceramics!
if only these resins wouldn't be so expensive for private people.
@@lenny108 I think the idea is that you're probably selling your parts and the material costs are negligible in comparison.
@@easycompositestv How about carbon-ceramic mugs then?
@@easycompositestv any videos on increasing resin flexibility? Would love to create some highly flexible fiberglass parts for my car.
Welcome back, we miss your videos
Thanks, well, we're producing a lot more at the moment, as you've probably seen. The second half of this on the way too.
That's exactly what I was searching for. Thank's a lot!!!
Glad to hear that, you're welcome.
Brilliant content, very well explained! Love this channel!
Thanks MichaU, appreciate the feedback.
thank you and all your videos are educational and great for a beginner like me
Thanks John, that's good to hear.
I have really enjoy this tutorial video very informative, looking forward to get me some kits from you guys.
Thanks Jorge, appreciated. We'll try to keep them coming!
Why when I watch your videos it's all looks so simple and when I start making something myself I always have whole bunch of different problems!?)) Thanks for your videos guys, they really help a lot) Your videos are big part of my humble successes (you can find them on my channel, but they are mostly in Russian)
To be totally honest, it might well be the materials you're using. In composites, there are so many possibilities for incompatibility between materials that you can often find something not releasing, or not curing, or no spreading, or infusing as you expect. One of the reasons for our success is because we carry a limited range of materials and know exactly how they all behave with each other. The processes we demonstrate will work exactly as they should if you're using these exact materials, as soon as you start using alternative materials then you pretty much have to start over again with testing for compatibility and suitability. So, you shouldn't feel bad if you experience some problems, we all have to go through that process.
@@easycompositestv nah its that you make it look so easy! Ive tried many times to produce parts that end up needing 50 hours work to end up with a part that no one wants to pay a fair price for!
@@theravedaddy When I watch some of these videos I come away with the opposite impression. There was definitely a lot of work for such a simple part. Not something I'd want to do as a one-off unless I had a lot of spare time to kill.
@@rickden8362 i started out all enthiuastic in the beginning, located a market for certain parts, started making them and getting through the teething problems and then chynaaa comes along and floods the market making my efforts not worth the cloth i used. I gave up.
@@theravedaddy I hear ya. I always assume these videos are at least twice as hard as they look and will take probably three times as long the first time.
If i want make a mould directly on the parts (like a clutch cover) i need a barrier for dont make the epoxy tooling gelcoat stick? if i dont have the epoxy putty i can use a normal epoxy resin and chopped strand mat on top of gelcoat, or i have to use another system like the kit uni mould? thanks for an help
btw, really useful and good tutorial!
Glad to see more regular of your spectacular videos and tutorials. Can I use acetone to clean the surface from wax instead of mold cleaner?
Yes you can but you need to be a little bit more careful with acetone because it can be more aggressive to the mould than mould cleaner. The other thing you'll find is that it's easier with mould cleaner but the mould cleaner solvent is less volatile (so, evaporates less quickly) and so it softens the wax more before it just evaporates away.
So if I need to make a quick mold and don't want to have to spend the time laying up layers of glass under the gelcoat (which can also get bubbles) I can use a putty of filler and strands with resin that I mix some hardener in? That's GENIOUS!
It is a specially formulated epoxy putty but yes it does save a lot of time for smaller moulds.
used this already very good material how ever it does not come out very easy, sticks both to the part and the mould, its a pain in the ass to clean it. Thank god the mould cleaner from easy composites :D
Hi Tan, yes, agreed, sheet wax has always had that problem. It’s not so bad when you’re working all in epoxy (no solvents to soften the wax) but with polyesters and vinylesters the cleanup job is a pain. Also agreed on the mould cleaner!
I have been a good cutter for over 30 years.
Not only do we give out kits and materials pattern makers often asked for wax.
As a young man when they came to the hatch and asked for sheet wax
I would always reply no sir we only have the good stuff
Clutch protectors are a requirement for racing now and they are not available for older bikes. I'll be placing an order later on this year to make one thanks to this video.
That's great, we love to hear of people enjoying our videos but of course we're a business and if it motivates you to get involved and place an order then of course that's what helps us to make more videos :)
Would it be possible to use this method to create a 2-part mould? For example, using the wax to get the form of a turbo compressor housing, creating the mould the same way as in the video, but once the epoxy putty has cured, leaving the wax in place and applying a gelcoat layer and further putty. Once cured removing both halfs and using bolts to apply presure on the flanges to the carbon inside?
Yes you could use it to create the "void" for the carbon fibre to sit in with a compression moulding 2 piece tool. You would have to ensure your lay up is the right thickness for it to work neatly. Also don't forget your dimensions will be displaced by the thickness of the wax.
@@easycompositestv brilliant, would the mould hold up to oven temps for using pre-preg?
@@mattygerbil123abc Not using the EG60 and EMP60 that we used in this video but we do have high temperature versions of these products; EG160 and EMP160, which would be suitable.
Well done as usual! Thanks for making it. I never had any success polishing epoxy gelcoat much. Is this something special? Perhaps hitting the first layer with the hair drier would be useful to pop any air bubbles.
Epoxy gelcoat is normally just *harder* that a polyester or vinylester gelcoat. This does indeed make them harder to polish but certainly not impossible. The key would be making sure you've done the rubbing back properly with the abrasive paper (no underlying scratches) and then using a suitable polishing compound. The NW1 we use in this video is designed for very hard materials, like epoxy, and so does a much better job that most compounds.
I bet you have for every question an answer! Greetings from 🇨🇭
Thanks Alex. We'd love to take the credit but most of what we're showing is techniques that are widely used in the composites industry, we're just helping to make them more accessible. Sometimes we do bring some advancements of our own, especially in resin infusion.
Awesome stuff as always!
Thanks Caleb :)
Would love to hear your thoughts on how to deal with inserts in a composite part! I'm making a kevlar/carbon longboard currently and I'm trying to figure out the best way to bolt the trucks to the board. These videos are gold and I really hope you keep making them! :)
Thanks Scipier we certainly plan to. There are lots of different ways that inserts can be included or combined with composites. One simple but effective method, for something like a longboard, would be to include a metal plate inside the laminate. Especially if you have a thick laminate with a core, you can cut the core out where you want the hard points and swap it for a metal plate. This plate could be drilled and tapped in advance or afterwards. The reinforcement can rub over the metal plate top and bottom, encapsulating it into the 'sandwich' This is simple but effective. We are planning a video on this and other fittings/inserts in the future.
What an instructive video.
Amazing video quality and information packed in! Huge thanks for your job and your products!
Thanks a lot, we appreciate the appreciation!
You R the "Easy Composite Whisperer"
the hunble bee saves the day once more
Well, sort of. I think these wax sheets are synthetic wax. But still, bees do rule!
These videos are excellent!
Thank you Stuart, glad you like them.
this channel is just amazing ..
Thank you for the really kind comment!
Superbly done thank you
nice job easy composite, I am still waiting for those technics you promised gonna make a video about that get used in building planes thank you for your amazing videos I can't wait for the next one thanks
Thanks Amir, we're working on videos as much as we can. Stay stuned and hopefully the topics you're interested in will come along soon :)
@@easycompositestv thank you so much I can not wait :)
To think I was about to give up on trying to make molds cause the difficulty in getting good flange this video pops up. Great job guys btw can I use any sheet wax
Hi Neilon, thanks, I'm glad this helps. As for what sheet wax you can use, I'm not sure what other kinds there might be or what their properties are. The sheet wax we supply is specifically for composites, it's precisely calibrated for thickness (important for offset moulds, less important as a temporary flange barrier) and it's self-adhesive. If you can get these properties then it's probably the same material and of course, depending on where you're based you could always buy it from us to be sure!
I live in the US
Wow that looks super easy, gunna buy your kit now 😆
Hi Kevin, thanks, and yes, it is a straight forward process. We look forward to working with you.
I have no real use for this...but watched the whole video and enjoyed it 👍
Haha, well, that's just fine Jeff. Glad you enjoyed it.
Nice! I guess the wax sheets technique could be use to make some nice carbon fiber mudguards for a bicycle by applying it over the tire
Yes, you could certainly do that. You'd probably need quite thick sheet wax to allow enough clearance but it can be layered if needs be.
Learn something new everyday, tq❤️
That logo is a registered trademark for WE Knives.
WeKnife is a chinese company. They most likely didn't receive trademark protection from the UK. Easy Composites has every right to use this logo, especially since its in a completely different market.
Great vid as always. I wanted to ask what release agent i should use if i am not using sheet wax/making an offset mould. I can see on your website the Blue PVA release agent, mould release wax and easy lease release agent. Which would be best for use on a plastic part on which i would prefer to leave the original surface unharmed?
For a simple moulding process like that then Mould Release Wax would be the best option.
I'd like to make a guitar case. Can I use the same technique or do you recommand another way for larger pieces? I obviously dont own specialised equipment like a vacuum table or stuff like that.
Hi Tigrre, if you're starting with a guitar case made out of another material and want to make it in carbon fibre then you would take the moulds directly off the original case (because you want the carbon fibre part to be the same size as the original), you wouldn't need to use the sheetwax like we use in this video because otherwise you'd be making a mould (and part) that's slightly bigger than the original. In terms of making the carbon fibre part then yes, the process you could use could be exactly as you see in this video, you could improvise the vacuum or just not bother at all and then tidy up the surface with clear-coat.
@@easycompositestv Thanks for the answer. I'll try to make one from scratch.
Is there any chance you can make a tutorial on making a dirtbike clutch cover using this or similar method? Please
Hi Marko, it would be exactly the same process, from start to finish. The frame protector is just an example of the process, you can apply this process to any parts you need to make a cover for.
@@easycompositestv Thank you
oh king George III's god, this channel always makes dope content
Haha, thanks. Glad you're enjoying it.
Can i make a mold with this kit without making it offset? I want to make some new interior trim pieces for my car, and i dont want to reskin, i want it to be 100% Carbon fiber. Would i just use mold release on the car part then cover with gel coat, and just leave out the wax sheet???
Yes that would be fine, the sheet wax is only used in this case to create an offset for the thickness of the laminate
@@easycompositestv would you need to make flanges for the part or just put the gel coat straight on
Awesome Video!
THanks, glad you enjoyed it
So cool, so nice, so beautiful. Thanks a lot!
Haha, you're *so* welcome John :)
iam putting mavcoat release and then airbrush on some pva on sheet wax. Then poly gel-coat. My parts are in primer out of the mold, same process, mav/pva/primer/gelcoat.
Sounds like an interesting approach but I guess you're only wanting to make a single component using the wax mould though, which is unusual.
@@easycompositestv no, l use sheet wax to represent the thickness of the velomobile carbon body like you did, Then start making a plug dwn in there in the floor, then pull 2 part mold/tool from the plug. But l have mavcoat release in usa. im old school l put couple layers over tooling gel then putty, im new to putty. l use your fillet'ing wax.
I found this rather interesting. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
excellent work
Thanks Steve.
But how are you going to protect that beautiful frame protector?
That's good one! :) It's a bit like beautiful chrome bumpers on classic cars: you don't want to damage those either!
Haha! Touché. No answer to that... maybe make something out of Rhodium ;-)
I love these mold materials. Can you guys add a wishlist to your store pages? Would be handy.
Yes, absolutely; we added this feature at the start of the year. It’s called project lists, Easy Composites staff can also see these lists if you need us to help out or make suggestions on what products you might need for a project.
So would it be feasible to make an actual mold out of sheet wax as opposed to an offset mold?
You can use it to repair surfaces but it is not very stiff in its own right. Also the surface is not as glossy as would be ideal.
Cool method I haven’t seen that sheet wax or the putty.
Does polyester gel coat melt the wax?
what’s the advantage of epoxy gel coat over polyester?
Hi, yes, polyester can be a bit more problematic with sheet wax. It's not unusable but we do normally find that polyester softens the wax and the mould usually ends up with wax pretty well stuck to it. It can be scraped off (it's wax at the end of the day) but it is more work. There are sealers available for sheet wax to make them more resistant to polyester. The main advantage to epoxy over polyester for a mould is that an epoxy mould can be used for direct contact with epoxy resin, such as when we make the carbon/epoxy part in the following video. Epoxy has a real habit of sticking into polyester moulds, no matter what release agent you use!
Another great video. Many thanks.
You're welcoe, glad you enjoyed it :)
Can this be used to make prepreg moulds? I.e can I use tooling prepreg a after the gel coal and then oven cure?
You would use either tooling pre-preg which has its own gel coat built in, or a high temperature gelcoat and resin laminate to make a mould for pre-preg use. You would not mix the two processes.
@@easycompositestv Apologies, I misspoke. I meant can I use the tooling prepreg after applying the sheet wax to create an offset mould?
Ahh, right, I see. Yes, you could you do this. The sheetwax is 'high temperature' wax and the XT135 tooling system can be cured at a very low initial temperature (65C) so you should be able to do this. You'd need to make sure the wax was fully supported though, because of course the whole thing would be under vacuum pressure.
Thank you very much for the video. I have a question, in case of making clutch housings or any other part that is exposed to higher ambient temperatures, I understand that high temperature resin EL160 is necessary, is this the case or does it work with EL2?
El2 with an oven post cure can go up to around 80C so it depends on the temperature resistance you need.
How to repair hole in a blue, gray, or green tarp sheet that has eyelets spaced apart on its edges? Splice another to one that could use a repair to make larger.
What resin should we use to make exhaust shields? I can’t find nothing about high temps resin and I am not sure. That yours will be good in this case as your service temp only goes max to 160 Celsius
It depends on how hot the exhaust gets but generally you are looking at a specialist resin. None of our resins go over the 160C mark.
I want to make lower fairings for a V Star 1300. We'll need to talk in the future probably using this product.
Great stuff, please get in touch; we'd love to work with you on your project.
When the sheet wax is applied, wouldn't any finger marks or imperfections be transferred to the gel coat and final mold?
Careful handling can avoid this, but yes, if you damage the wax, it would be visible on the mould necessitating some sanding and polishing of the mould to fix it.
Very Educational.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Where can i get this in the U.S
Brilliant thought provoking video Thank you! I am not sure how to view the following video ?
We’re just finishing it off now. Should be ready in a few days. Make sure you’re subscribed and get notifications.
We’re just finishing it off now. Should be ready in a few days. Make sure you’re subscribed and get notifications.
great posts as always. it would however be even better if the demo's are summarised by an estimated cost of materials to really understand if one should have a go...
Hi Christophe, that's where the project page on our website comes in. RUclips is just a video platform but if you follow the link (in the description) to the project page on our website you'll find much more information about the project, along with links to all the products used. In a new version of the project pages (going live in a month or so) you'll be able to see an exact cost breakdown and even buy the products instantly, in the correct quantities. For what it's worth, this whole project would cost you less than £100.
Don't forget to change water for each grit.
your videos are excellent. I adore them. I noticed your vise. is this a product that you are selling?
It is not one we sell. It is a Zyliss Z-Vise
your videos are excellent but i have a question, when you remove sheetwax the mould will become a little bit bigger, so the carbon detail you make in this mould will be bigger right?
Hi Lasha, yes, that's exactly the point. In this video we're making a mould for a 'cover' component that will fit over the original part; for this reason we *need* the mould to be bigger than the original component. If you watch the second video in the series you will see us make the part and hopefully then it will be more clear to you.
@@easycompositestv i didn't listen you well))
Will the epoxy and gel coat shrink or deform if you used a low temp oven (e.g. 75 C) to soften the wax? For a complex shape I can see the wax becoming difficult to remove.
For our EG60 and EMP60, the 'Tg', i.e. the maximum temperature the gel and reinforcement can go to without any problems is 60°C. At 60°C the wax would not really have changed a great deal in terms of removal. It's probably more helpful to use more heat from the heat gun, aimed directly at the way, to aid with removal. Generally speaking, if you're using sheet wax with epoxy resin, like we are in this tutorial, then you're unlikely to have any trouble removing it. When using sheet wax with polyester or vinylester resin then it can be more of a problem and that's where sheet wax sealers can help.
How good does the surface of the mold come out from the sheet wax? Could you use duratec primer on the wax and sand that down to make a smoother finish? The mold parts look a little wavy in the video.
The soft nature of the wax means you may struggle to overcoat it. The mould surface can usually be easily sanded smooth as long as the gelcoat layer is thick enough.
@@easycompositestv Thank you I will start with that and go from there.
liked and subscribed only for paul
Good job ... but how do you fix the difference in the dimension of the piece resulting from the thickness of the wax layer ....?
The whole point of this process (the reason we're using sheet wax at all) is that we *want* the difference in size between the original and the mould, so that the cover component will fit correctly. If you don't want the size difference then just take the mould straight off the component.
You're the best
I wonder if using Vaseline would make a good mold release ???
It works but is messy and does not give a good surface finish.
lovin it!
Love the vid
Thanks Marcus.
put mavcoat release agent on over sheet wax, then tooling gel coat.
How the sheet wax behave with polyurethane expanding liquid foam?
Does it release easily and how the foam surface will look like?
PU foam will release from the sheet wax. The finish should be pretty good, similar to the finish on the sheetwax itself.
What process would I use if I wanted to make a few copies of the frame protector ? If I ONLY had the frame protector to work from .
Thanks
You would take a mould directly from the frame protector much like our other mould making videos. You won't need the sheet wax.
Hi. I've used your wax sheets to create molds for some cover, but at the time of disassembly, the wax remains attached to the surface of the gelcoat and I don't know how to detach it. By heating it I removed most of it, but the surface remains contaminated, how can I remove it? Thank you.
Generally it is scraped off but can be melted off if the mould can handle the temp.
Hi folks, just revisiting this video and I've a couple of questions;
If the sheet wax was heated, could it be rolled out to thickness again (like scone mix) and reused?
Does the mould need flatted and polished or could I just flat back the carbon part and hit it with lacquer?
Ta .
When heated to melting point, it is not possible to reuse as the resultant liquid will be a mix of wax, adhesive and release agent traces etc. The finish from the wax is only medium gloss so it benefits from a light flatting and polish to get the best finish.
Can you show how to make a mold for an RC aircraft wing? Obviously it would have to be made in two parts, one for top and one for bottom. Then once parts are made the two wing halves would have to be joined into one wing. I would like to recreate the RC aircraft with carbon composite to make the body much lighter.
The moulding principles are identical to any other multipart mould for which we have a video which should help here: ruclips.net/video/keBwRhkfuOQ/видео.html
Is this sheet wax reusable? could we transform it into some sort of filleting wax
Hi Sylvester, I don't know of a method or process for usefully reusing the sheet wax. It's to broken up to be used whole again and I'm not aware of a way to recycle it into another usable material. Filleting wax makes sense as a suggestion but the consistency and behaviour of these materials is very different.
OMG where has this been?
Очень крутые видео !
i'm sure i've missed this being answered in the past but do you have any suggestions for obtaining materials in the USA? Thank you! Love watching these. edit: noticed a similar question in the comments. We'll see! ty
Hi, well, I've answered it but only to say that we really want to be able to do more to help our (potential) customers in the US. For some of our materials, mainly the non-hazardous ones, it's not too expensive to buy from us directly, especially if it's materials that are difficult to source locally. For hazardous materials, like resins and solvents, we can ship to the US but it can be pretty expensive, mainly because of the 'dangerous goods' surcharge that FedEx (or other couriers, to be fair) charge to handle the paperwork of dangerous goods on aeroplanes. Although only in the early stages, we're certainly now thinking about what are options might be to support you guys better.
@@easycompositestv thank you! I'm hoping to give some fabrication a go soon. Thinking some door panels! cheers