aalfabob,

If you intend to do composites, I recommend you read Andrew C. Marshall's "Composite Basics Six" sixth edition. This book will answer many of your questions...

Materials compatibility has to be researched, there is no way around that! The manufacturers of the materials you will use should be able to suggest epoxies that will work with your materials. You should also validate with the epoxy manufacturer as well.

This should get you started:

www.carbcom.com

Hope this helps somewhat...


RikuY

I apologize, but the above link is now dead...

I will search for the new address.

RikuY

The link works again...

here's a couple of general info links:

http://www.netcomposites.com/education.asp

http://www.acmanet.org/index.cfm

http://www.fiberglass.com/

TygerDawg

From my experience using urethane rubber for a mold, you really always need a mold release which almost always messes up your surface finish. I switched to RTV silicone rubber 2 part mix and have never looked back. No mold release is needed
for RTV silicone, and as long as you are careful when pulling out a fresh part.... the mold will last a long time for you.
I use the RTV as my female part, and use fast set concrete to recreate the original part (male part). These are just mirror covers that we produce for Nissans, but it is a simple and effective method.