POLYCOR® TOOLING VE SP

Identification

Chemical Family

Vinyl Esters, Vinyls, Vinylics & Vinyl DerivativesVinyl EstersVinyls Vinylics & Vinyl Derivatives

Product families

Other characteristics

Brand

POLYCOR

Functions

Surface Finish

Cure

It is recommended to recheck the gel time in the customer plant because age, temperature, humidity, promoters and catalyst will produce varied gel times.

Markets

• Automotive & Transportation
• Industrial

Technology

Composite Materials

Product Safety

The primary reason for using tooling gel coats to manufacture fiberglass molds is to produce a high quality, durable and glossy surface. Most of the frequent defects result from poor applications. You may avoid them following the suggestions below: 1. Do not use varnish as a sealer or finish coat when preparing a plug (styrene in the gel coat will soften the varnish). 2. Proper spray technique is very important to eliminate porosity in the gel coat film. Poor atomization, dirty spray up equipment, bad catalyst / tooling gel coat mixing can cause porosities in the gel coat film. Knowing tooling gel coats will not be as too tolerant of inaccuracies in poor applications as are production gel coat. 3. Tooling gel coats appear thick in the container. After mixing the gel coat, it becomes sprayable. Do not overmix, however. Over-mixing breaks down viscosity, increasing tendencies to sag and causes styrene loss, which might create porosities. Tooling gel coat needs mixing when opened (and daily thereafter). The gel coat should be mixing to the sides and bottom of the container with the least amount of turbulence possible. Air bubbling should not be used. It is not effective and only serves as a potential for water or oil contamination. 4. Always keep the container covered (except, of course, when transferring material). An open container is easily contaminated and allows for more styrene evaporation. 5. Each coat must cure as a total film, rather than several thin films which might cure independently of each other. It is essential to cover over-spray and thin passes as soon as possible – within 5 minutes. Thin, independently curing films can create a textured effect when the surface is sanded and buffed. 6. Never reduce tooling gel coat with a conventional paint or lacquer thinner, or acetone. 7. Disperse catalyst thoroughly in tooling gel coat. Poor distribution causes uneven cure, print-through, and premature release from plug before lay-up. 8. Print-through (fiber pattern) and distortion are directly proportional to film thickness. Thicker films resist printthrough and distortion better than thinner films. 9. In spray application of tooling gel coats, use slow, even strokes, triggering the spray gun at the end of each stroke to prevent excess buildup at overlaps. 10. Do not apply tooling gel coat over wet Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) parting film. 11. Install an oil and moisture trap on the compressed air line leading to the spray gun to remove lint, rust, oil and moisture. 12. Use the catalyzed tooling gel coat within its working life, with proper allowance of time to clean equipment. 13. Do not add anything, other than the right amount pigment paste, appropriate amounts of recommended promoters and the exact level of catalyst. 14. Vinyl Ester Tooling Gel Coats are not compatible in the liquid state with Isophthalic or Isophthalic/NeoPentyl Glycol materials. So, equipments must be completely clean of them before using Vinyl Ester Gel Coats. 15. Do not use more than 3.0% catalyst in Tooling Gel Coats, as this may cause excessive shrinkage of the gel coat & pull it away from the plug. For adequate cure, do not use less than 1.2% catalyst. 16. Vinyl ester base polymers have limited UV Resistances. So, it is recommended that molds stored outside are protected from UV exposure. This may be accomplished by covering these molds, or inverting the molds so the top surface is not exposed to sunlight.

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Application Methods

Spray