by jacklake2003 » Apr 01, 2016 12:46 pm
transomstad, you must have done a great job at vacuum-bagging! Polyester is relatively porous, isn't it? I have read that that hull blisters on gelcoat is a result of polyester resign chemist designing a less-permeable material. Water still seeps through, but it now has a harder time "leaving" (thus the blisters). My point being that even a perfectly sealed balsa core (and assuming no stress cracks develop) is subject to moisture intrusion. If you can (and it sounds like you personally did) completely impregnate the pores of the balsa with resin, then you have a very long-lasting material. It just seems that more often that not, the wood starts to go.
transomstad, you must have done a great job at vacuum-bagging! Polyester is relatively porous, isn't it? I have read that that hull blisters on gelcoat is a result of polyester resign chemist designing a less-permeable material. Water still seeps through, but it now has a harder time "leaving" (thus the blisters). My point being that even a perfectly sealed balsa core (and assuming no stress cracks develop) is subject to moisture intrusion. If you can (and it sounds like you personally did) completely impregnate the pores of the balsa with resin, then you have a very long-lasting material. It just seems that more often that not, the wood starts to go.