brerrabbit Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Peel ply is very pricey stuff. Seems like high thread count nylon, or something similar would be well worth the search Any experience here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Stewart Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 I've used "nylon fabric" from walmart with good success meaning that it peeled off just fine. Only problem was that it was black so you couldn't see air bubbles which is one of the reasons to use peel ply in the first place. I was vacuum bagging however so it wasn't really a problem. I've also heard of using old baggy spinnaker nylon but never tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 "Rip stop" is the stuff you're looking for. You can get it at any fabric store like Joann's. Make sure it's not coated, as there are two versions of this stuff and the coated suff will contaminate the epoxy surface. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lathrop Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Once you know how peel ply works, its easy to pick a substitute if a cheaper one is available. First, you want a material that epoxy doesn't stick to very well. Most synthetics meet that requirement unless the threads are fuzzy. Epoxy will lock into the fuzzy threads, whether it sticks well to the material or not. If the synthetic material has a high thread count and is not fuzzy it will work. The shiny look is an indication that it does not have fuzzy threads. Coatings may be a problem but I don't know how you can tell if material at an outlet store is coated or not. Unless you are making a structural joint over the peeled epoxy, I don't think a coating will be a problem anyway. In that case, sand before joining the bulkheads, etc. So how does peel ply work? The high thread count insures that the epoxy that comes through the material only does so in tiny tendrils between the tightly woven threads. When you peel it off, the force is concentrated along a very small edge and it is easy to exceed the PSI limit of the epoxy and break the tendrils. There is no magic to peel ply and any material that meets the above requirements will work. Make very sure that your material does not contain any cotton or other natural fibers. This is what happens when you have some cotton in the material. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluejacket28/ Of course, you can just buy some peel ply and avoid the risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brerrabbit Posted December 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 Thanks a lot guys Wooden boat forum has lots of negatives about the 'old sail' idea, mostly refering to contaminants screwing up a mult laminate thingy Good thinking Best price on peel ply? Wooden boat forum speaks of $.33 psqft Again, great help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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