- Joined
- Jul 19, 2020
- Threads
- 41
- Messages
- 3,202
- Reaction score
- 12,118
- Location
- Northwest Arkansas
- Vehicle(s)
- Ford Bronco, BMW R1150 GS
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
Continental Structural Plastics, which is alleged to be the new supplier for the MOD top contract, makes composite products with a honeycomb inner layer as follows…Opining time. We work on a fair amount of heavy trucks which means fiberglass hood, fenders and the like. In my me time I am a wood butcher and have played around with veneer.
Qualification time: I have not seen any of these tops in person so my next thoughts are going to be based on assumptions.
First, I assume there is some sort of mold or vacuum system used for these laminations. Either way, they would come out of it with edges that have squeezeout from the resin/epoxy and require trimming. Possibly one reason for the raw unfinished appearance.
Second, it’s been my experience that when doing layups, especially when vacuum pressing/bagging, the edges seem to be where delamination or poor bond happens the majority of the time. I always oversize my work piece so I can trim back to “good wood”. Of course the resin/glue/epoxy, has to allow adequate open time to allow setup and trapped air to work itself out through built in vents or around the edges. Too much pressure and you can crush a filler core or squeeze out too much epoxy. Not enough and you don’t get a good bond to each layer and have air bubbles trapped. Uneven pressure and all of the above. Not under pressure long enough and all of the above.
Looking at some of the pics it appears the separation is mainly around the edges. It probably isn’t a complete delam otherwise it would be showing up in different areas. My guess is either not enough resin squeeze out, not enough pressure around the edges or wasn’t under pressure long enough for the epoxy to kick.
Sponsored
Last edited: