I'm currently working on a project were I'm making a mould of a
spherical garden ornament. The garden ornament is the plug, I filled,
sanded, painted and smoothed it, then I applied several layers of
release wax and then PVA. When I applied the fibreglass it caused the
paint to soften and blister, and it peals away when I try to remove
the fibreglass mould.

I have tried using car bodywork repair paint, the high build type that
is easy to sand, I also tried ordinary household vinyl emulsion. Both
of these have caused the same problem.

Could anyone tell me what type of paint won't react with polyester
resin, that I can obtain in the UK?

Other postings have mentioned Duratec but we don't seem to get that in
the UK, is there a similar product I can get here?

Others have mentioned polyurethane or polyester paint. Can I get these
in B&Q or Halfords or online somewhere? Is melamine paint viable?

Cheers for the help.

Ivan

Why not use epoxy? After it has cured, practically nothing will
react with it. You don't mention which type of resin you are using
for the fiberglass mold, but I'll guess that it's polyester rather
than epoxy. The solvents used with polyester resin are far more
reactive than the epoxies.

Jim - AMA 501383

Ivan wrote:
I'm currently working on a project were I'm making a mould of a
spherical garden ornament. The garden ornament is the plug, I filled,
sanded, painted and smoothed it, then I applied several layers of
release wax and then PVA. When I applied the fibreglass it caused the
paint to soften and blister, and it peals away when I try to remove
the fibreglass mould.

I have tried using car bodywork repair paint, the high build type
that is easy to sand, I also tried ordinary household vinyl emulsion.
Both of these have caused the same problem.

Could anyone tell me what type of paint won't react with polyester
resin, that I can obtain in the UK?

Other postings have mentioned Duratec but we don't seem to get that
in the UK, is there a similar product I can get here?

Others have mentioned polyurethane or polyester paint. Can I get
these in B&Q or Halfords or online somewhere? Is melamine paint
viable?

Cheers for the help.

Ivan

Use gelcoat........spray....... sand............buff........wax........stay
away from PVA then build your mold with a gelcoat base to start.

frp

Hi Ivan,
I feel for you. It's frustrating isn't it? Anyhow, here's what you should
do next time -

Use ONLY Nitro-cellulose Lacquer as the final coat on your plug. I've heard
that Acrylic Lacquer is also ok but I've never used it. In the colonys, its
marketed as ICI (Imperial Chemical Industry) DUCO. Apply Duco in thin coats
letting each coat flash off before the next coat (abt 3 mins in the tropics)
then one thicker flow coat. Then its done. Let the paint harden for at
least a few days until there is absolutely no smell of thinner when you put
your nose to the plug. Then and only then do you apply wax.
If you're feeling rich, you can also use epoxy paint and most 2 pack paints
but I don't have personal experience with these. But I dare say that a
harder paint will make the demoulding easier since Duco is somewhat softer
and MAY deform slightly under mould shrinkage. But I've not had major
problems with duco. But you also must make sure that there are no soft
spots under the paint or the mould will shrink into those soft spots making
the mold surface less tahn perfect.

email me directly if you have more questions.

cheers
Arnold

Ivan wrote in message
om...
SNIP
When I applied the fibreglass it caused the
paint to soften and blister, and it peals away when I try to remove
the fibreglass mould.