Curing Agents for Hand lay-up
As the world's leading producer of organic peroxides for the curing of thermoset resins, coatings and specialty monomers we offer a range of curing agents for hand lay-up.
Hand lay-up method
Hand lay-up is the oldest and a widely used method for producing fiber reinforced composite material parts. It allows for the manufacture of a wide range of products with relatively low investments on molds and machinery. It is a low volume, labor intensive method mostly used for prototypes and large components, such as boat hulls and storage tanks. Glass or other reinforcing mat is placed manually in an open mold, and resin is poured, brushed, or rolled onto the fibres. Rollers are also used to remove entrapped air.
Resins include standard orthophthalic and isophthalic resins but also epoxy based vinylesters for enhanced chemical resistance. For better surface quality, a gel coat is first applied to the mold. Curing is initiated by an organic peroxide, which hardens the fiber reinforced resin composite without external heat.
Organic peroxide hardeners
The curing system for the hand lay-up application is based on a standard methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP). For a fast cure and high peak exotherm you can choose a standard acetylacetone peroxide (AAP). We also offer peroxide mixtures in order have a fast cure while avoiding too high peak exotherms. Not to forget our range of specialty peroxides with curing characteristics in-between standard MEKP and AAP.
Thermoset application guide
What to do to obtain a longer or shorter gel time, or to avoid a too high peak exotherm? How to reduce the cycle time or prevent gas formation while using epoxy based vinylester resins? Answers can be found in our regional hand lay-up application guide which can be downloaded from this page. It introduces you to our range of curing agents and thermoset auxiliaries, such as accelerators and promoters, and helps you find a suitable curing system for the hand lay-up application.
Contact us for more information.