Preparation

• 1). Cover yourself with safety glasses, nitrile cloves, and a lab coat. The proper clothing will keep chemicals and fibers off your skin and clothes. Nitrile gloves will not deteriorate like latex will when in contact with certain chemicals.
  
  
• 2). Cover a smooth flat table with pore-less peel-ply (a thin sheet of plastic that will keep the table clean and that epoxy will not stick to) and tape the edges to the table with masking tape. A flat table is necessary to prevent any unwanted markings in your final product.
  
  
• 3). Prepare a vacuum bag by cutting it to about 6 inches larger on all sides than the product you are making and seal the cut edges with sealant tape. Leave one open side to work with later and on the other end place a length of vacuum tube. Place it about 2 feet into the bag by about 3 inches then seal that end.
  
  
• 4). Cut polyester breather/bleeder (a material that sucks up unnecessary epoxy), resin flow medium (allows air to flow properly to create suction), and perforated peel-ply (a thin plastic that will allow epoxy to seep through but will not stick to the part) to about 1 inch wider on all but one side of the part you will be making. Make the remaining side about 4 inches longer than the part -- the vacuum will connect at this spot. Repeat this step. You need breather/bleeder and resin flow medium for both the upper-side and the under-side of the part.
  
  
• 5). Cut fiber to the dimensions needed for your part.
  
  
• 6). Mix the epoxy in the polyethylene cup using the wooden spoon.
  
  

Layup

• 1). Lay down one of the sheets of resin flow medium that you cut earlier. Place a sheet of breather/bleeder on top of it followed by a sheet of pore-less peel-ply.
  
  
• 2). Place the desired number of layers of fiber on top of the poreless feel-ply. Make sure the fibers are aligned to the angles you prefer.
  
  
• 3). Cover the fibers with a layer of pre-cut resin flow medium followed by the breather/bleeder and then the pore-less peel-ply. Move the entire layup to the vacuum bag.
  
  
• 4). Take the tube already in the vacuum bag and maneuver it in the layup. Place a small sheet of breather/bleeder onto the end of the fiber (touching it and in the center of all the layers) and place the tube on top of this. The epoxy will be sucked through this tube, through the breather material, and finally into the fiber. The resin flow medium will ensure that a constant suction is created.
  
  
• 5). Make a small slit in the other end of the vacuum bag and fasten the twist lock aluminum vacuum cup assembly over this slit. The assembly should be laying on the extra four inches of material that you cut. This extra material will prevent epoxy from plugging the assembly. Finally seal the open end of the vacuum bag with sealant tape.
  
  
• 6). Plug in a vacuum tube to the vacuum pump and the other end to the twist lock aluminum vacuum cup assembly.
  
  
• 7). Place the tube sticking out of the end of the vacuum bag into the cup of epoxy and turn on the vacuum pump. The epoxy will be sucked through the tube and into the vacuum bag. Once the entire composite is visibly saturated place a tube clamp first over the tube coming from the epoxy cup and then the tube coming from the twist lock assembly. Turn off the vacuum pump.
  
  
• 8). Let the epoxy dry for the time and temperature designated by the manufacturer before removing the product.
  
  

Cleanup

• 1). Cut the vacuum bag open and remove the final product and the clamp assembly. Discard the vacuum bag and the other materials inside the bag including the breather/bleeder, resin flow medium, and the perforated peel-ply.
  
  
• 2). Remove the peel-ply from the table and discard it. Clean off any epoxy that may have leaked through to the table with methyl ethyl ketone and a utility knife blade if it has dried. Use a chemical respirator for this step because methyl ethyl ketone can produce fumes which can be dangerous if inhaled.
  
  
• 3). Remove the nitrile gloves, safety glasses, and lab coat. Wash your hands and arms immediately, any chemicals or fibers on your skin can be irritating to the skin.