Epoxycraft
Menu
  • About
  • Epoxy Basics
  • How To
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
  • Trade Secrets
  • Projects
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
    • Motorsport
    • Aviation
    • Architecture
  • Meet The Maker
  • News
  • Contribute
  • Contact

How To: We asked Hamish: tell us about using peel ply?
31st March 2017

We asked Hamish: tell us about using peel ply?

Many of the boatbuilders featured in epoxycraft talk about using peel ply in their builds. But what is it and why is it so great? We ask our resident expert Hamish Cook to explain what it is, the benefits it offers and how best to use it.

Peel ply is often talked about by boat enthusiasts as something of a miracle fabric. This nylon cloth has been treated with a release agent, so that epoxy will not bond to it. It’s typically applied over a wet laminated surface and then peeled off when everything is cured, revealing a beautifully even surface underneath that’s ready for your next layer of epoxy. No cleaning or hours of sanding needed!

In actual fact, while the finish looks even, it’s actually textured. The fine weave of the fabric leaves behind tiny bumps and valleys in the cured epoxy and it’s these that your next layer of epoxy will adhere to.

So how do you use it? Why is it so great? Below we give you the big picture.

Using peel ply: a general guide

You typically use peel ply over the top of fibreglass cloth. Here’s the general process you’d follow.

  1. Apply your fibreglass to your surface with epoxy and a plastic squeegee, such as WEST SYSTEM® 808. Make sure you wet it out thoroughly.
  2. Lay over your peel ply and smooth it out with your squeegee.
  3. Once you have achieved a consistent colour surface  (with no obvious air bubbles or pockets) leave it to cure. Just remember to leave a bit of peel ply at the edge of your work, which you can grab hold of later! (it is important to ensure that the peel ply is in 100% contact with the underlying epoxy surface. If there are any air pockets between the peel ply this will affect the adhesion of the next layer of epoxy).
  4. Once cured, simply pull the peel ply away to reveal the perfect surface for your next layer of epoxy.

The benefits

It protects the integrity of fibreglass

Using peel ply means that no sanding is needed – and that’s essential for fibreglassed surfaces. Sanding fibreglass is very challenging, primarily because you need to be careful not to damage the weave of the fabric and weaken your whole structure.

In fact, it’s arguably not possible to sand or clean a surface that’s been fibreglassed without peel ply because of the risk of amine blush being trapped in the weave of the cloth. However, peel ply eliminates this problem too (see the next point below).

It removes amine blush

Amine blush is a waxy by-product of using epoxy, which forms when the environment that the epoxy is curing in is colder or damper than it should be. It’s not typically anything to worry about as, on most surfaces, it can easily be washed away. However, this is not so easy to do on a textured fibreglass finish.

So the answer is to use peel ply. Any amine blush that forms will be on the outside of the peel ply. Once the epoxy has cured you can just remove the peel ply (taking the amine blush with it) to reveal a totally clean, amine-blush-free surface.

It’s great for repairs

Adding a layer of peel ply will also help to compact and consolidate any fibreglass repair work and helps to feather out the edges of the repair. It offers an extra layer of support to the fabric and filler materials beneath and will provide a nice even finish.

It’s great for filleting

Using a peel ply tape such as WEST SYSTEM® 872-50 or WEST SYSTEM 874-100 can save time and give a far better finish to your fillets (particularly useful with WEST SYSTEM 403 Microfibres & 405 Filleting Blend fillers). If you cut your tape into lengths, you can apply it over your fillets in overlapping strips and then just peel it away when the epoxy has cured. It helps to keep your fillet true and in place and provides a great finish, with no amine blush and far less sanding required. Once the peel ply has been removed check the surface to ensure that that the peel ply has been in 100% with the underlying surface. Any areas that appear “shiny” prepare in the normal way – wash and sand!

Just remember…

Peel ply is best on large flatter surfaces

When applied over tight curves or corners care should be taken to ensure wrinkles are not left in the peel ply which would result in wrinkles of epoxy which will take a LOT of sanding to remove.

Make sure you get the air out

Take care when applying your peel ply to smooth out any air pockets or bubbles. Any air left underneath the peel ply will allow amine blush to form affecting the adhesion of the next layer which will need plenty of sanding to smooth out.

 

Thanks very much to Hamish Cook for his expert knowledge and guidance.

Visit the WEST SYSTEM website to learn more about the full range of peel ply products.

Browse through the other great articles on epoxycraft.com about working with fibreglass.


Share on


Back to top-tips-best-ways-to-use-epoxy

Subscribe to our newsletter
Our unique epoxy knowledge and experience, delivered straight to you

Events

RYA Dinghy Show 2023 25th-26th February 2023

What is epoxy?

Epoxy Projects

Boat Building 2022 Projects – Top Picks

  • 22nd December 2022
Read More

Our Favourite Nick Zammeti Creations of 2022

  • 21st December 2022
Read More

Decorative Christmas Tree Decorations

  • 16th December 2022
Read More
1234567
1234567
  • Home
  • Epoxy Basics
  • Projects
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
    • Motorsport
    • Architecture
    • Aviation
  • Trade Secrets
  • How To
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Boat Building
    • Woodworking
  • News
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contribute
  • Contact
West System
Pro-Set
Entropy Resins
Subscribe to our newsletter
Copyright © 2023 Epoxycraft | Website by MAA
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
bcookie2 yearsLinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser ID.
langsessionThis cookie is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website.
lidc1 dayLinkedIn sets the lidc cookie to facilitate data center selection.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_91ZH5F88XM2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_gtag_UA_103456315_31 minuteThis cookie is set by Google and is used to distinguish users.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT16 years 3 months 20 days 13 hours 3 minutesThese cookies are set via embedded youtube-videos. They register anonymous statistical data on for example how many times the video is displayed and what settings are used for playback.No sensitive data is collected unless you log in to your google account, in that case your choices are linked with your account, for example if you click “like” on a video.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.
bscookie2 yearsThis cookie is a browser ID cookie set by Linked share Buttons and ad tags.
fr3 monthsFacebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysGoogle DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThe test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
AnalyticsSyncHistory1 monthNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
li_gc2 yearsNo description
pvc_visits_11[0]1 dayNo description
UserMatchHistory1 monthLinkedin - Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo