Re: kevlar LT17

Posted by LeeG on Oct 27, 2005

graphite/epoxy is softer and slippery, if it's thick like a thick layer of gel coat then it's an ablative material not an abrasion resistant layer. In other words a tough/hard material is abrasion resistant, it takes longer to wear away, a thick layer of soft material simply has more material to leave behind. You can use a slippery coat of graphite epoxy but it's not going to resist sharp abrading impacts like another layer of glass/epoxy (4oz over 6oz for example) since a sharp rock will dig into the graphite more than it will dig into another layer of glass/epoxy. In other words the graphite coating is nice to slide the kayak over stuff, but won't be as effective if you're landing hard on sharp stuff. For high wear areas like the ends there isn't much use to using graphite epoxy as it'll wear down very quickly compared to epoxy/cabosil, thick composite materials, or brass.

In Response to: Re: kevlar LT17 by John Foster on Oct 27, 2005

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