Jump to content

Just Finished My First Carbon Fiber Project


1quickBull
 Share

Recommended Posts

Great work! seriously good stuff, sounds like a nice niche "get lambo interiors and CF them then resell for less than market price + good volume= $$

 

:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

for those that want to learn, racingcomposites.net is a really good site.

like the OP said, the theory is simple, it'll take awhile to learn the techinque.

i bought duplicate parts that i wanted to overlay so my car wouldn't be down while I went through the learning curve.

aircraft spruce is a site where i bought a good amount of the materials. when you buy the cf weave make sure you get the 2x2 twill.

If you attempt, don't be discouraged. I wrapped & rewrapped a few pieces until i got it right.

 

BTW, OP's parts looks as good as some of the pro done stuff i've seen out there!!!

 

here are a few pics of results

CIMG0829_edited-1.jpg

CIMG0827_edited-1.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ttuser - question for you. Are this pics work that you did or from another site? The edge that follows the top of the center dash piece and curves down towards the console, how did you do that and keep a good weave at the ends of the two parts of CF? I have some ideas about how I would attempt that but haven't tried it yet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It is crazy how long I was in the Fbody world, that I took one look at your first picture and knew that it was for a 4th Gen Trans Am!!!! lol. (I have replaced enough window motors and radios in those cars to the point where I could take those trim pieces off in my sleep :lol2: ). I can also tell by the later pictures of your seats your car is a 94-97 (as 93' didnt have T-Tops, and 98's were the start of the LS1 and had slightly different leather seats). ;) The 4th gen Fbodies (LT1 or LS1) with a 6-speed will always have a special place in my heart, they are a ton of fun.

 

You are spot on with everything there my friend. 1996 Trans Am that I bought with cash way back when I was 16. I could afford something different now, but I really do have a ton of fun driving this car and don't see a point in buying something different before the 1st Lambo. A car is about having fun and this one really is fun for me (I have modified it a lot, built up the engine and suspension, etc).

 

Oh, and I replaced another window motor while I had the panel off for the CF work :lol2:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great work! seriously good stuff, sounds like a nice niche "get lambo interiors and CF them then resell for less than market price + good volume= $$

 

Any idea where a good place to buy Lambo interior parts would be? I'd love to get some parts to wrap and see how they turn out.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ttuser - question for you. Are this pics work that you did or from another site? The edge that follows the top of the center dash piece and curves down towards the console, how did you do that and keep a good weave at the ends of the two parts of CF? I have some ideas about how I would attempt that but haven't tried it yet.

 

 

that's my car, my work. I vacuum bagged the parts, it was how i felt comfortable doing the work. I know it can be done without bagging, but thats how i did mine

 

frank

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very nice work! I didn't vacuum bag my parts. Door panels certainly didn't need it since they were relatively flat, console could have gone either way, but the radio bezel really should have been. Next parts I do will certainly be under vacuum so I can understand both methods.

 

Specially, my question was how did you lay up two pieces without them fraying along the edge? My parts were all single pieces of fabric and I covered the parts with several inches left past the part edge and trimmed after it resin application. How did you trim the CF fabric, lay it on the part with the edge in a visible area, and NOT have it fray and ruin the weave? That is very impressive and something I don't get understand with lamination.

 

The way I had imagined it was to trim the fabric after the first top coat was 90% cured so that it could still be trimmed with an exacto knife without hurting the weave, but I really don't think that would work right.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I ordered my supplies from US Composites. I choose to go with a thicker weave 2x2 twill (11oz) because I liked to the looks, but it is supposed to be harder to work with. In all it was probably about $200 worth of materials for the project (sand paper, resin, CF, clear coat, polish, etc), and 25-30 hours of labor. Much of that time was simply because it was my first go and I had to redo a bunch of stuff because I wasn't willing to sacrifice quality.

 

One thing I learned from this project is that the high cost of high quality CF pieces is really in the labor as this shit is time consuming and there really aren't short cuts.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very nice work! I didn't vacuum bag my parts. Door panels certainly didn't need it since they were relatively flat, console could have gone either way, but the radio bezel really should have been. Next parts I do will certainly be under vacuum so I can understand both methods.

 

Specially, my question was how did you lay up two pieces without them fraying along the edge? My parts were all single pieces of fabric and I covered the parts with several inches left past the part edge and trimmed after it resin application. How did you trim the CF fabric, lay it on the part with the edge in a visible area, and NOT have it fray and ruin the weave? That is very impressive and something I don't get understand with lamination.

 

The way I had imagined it was to trim the fabric after the first top coat was 90% cured so that it could still be trimmed with an exacto knife without hurting the weave, but I really don't think that would work right.

 

i made cuts with long shears, i got them from a website, they are for cutting carbon weave & other stuff. I also used a radial cutter (think thats the name) its a round blade that rolls along and cuts. I'd generally cut a pattern, put resin on the piece and let is set, then carefully lay teh weave on it. I'd keep the seam to a curve, corner or edge so they were as noticeable to the eye. change gloves before you lay the weave so there is no resin to cause the weave to stick to the gloves, causing fraying

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just curious, if you are laying carbon on something and mess up, can you sand it down and start over or is the piece you are laying the carbon on toast?

 

In theory yes....but not really. That would be so much work to sand through it and you're still banking on it having good shape once you're done sanding. You can sand through it though to answer your question specifically. You can tell how the weave will look when the resin basecoat is tacky and you are laying the CF, and if it doesn't work out you can still pull the CF off and toss it and try another piece. Once it is touched down though, there is very limited corrections that can be made as removing it will likely pull and distort the weave (some minor corrections are possible).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just curious, if you are laying carbon on something and mess up, can you sand it down and start over or is the piece you are laying the carbon on toast?

 

 

if you let the resin fully set, in most cases you can peel the overlay off. I rewrapped many a piece while during my learning curve

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Do you vacuum bag your stuff? I usually just lay mine up layer after layer. My stuff looks like shit, but it's functional. I need to bother to actually mold and do some prep so my next batch of stuff looks good haha. Good work though man, turned out fantastic!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

if you let the resin fully set, in most cases you can peel the overlay off. I rewrapped many a piece while during my learning curve

 

Interesting, not the impression I got with my parts. I guess if your parts were very smooth that might be an option, but I sanded mine first to help promote adhesion :icon_mrgreen:

 

Kerplop - I did not vacuum bag any of my parts, just layed up the carbon fabric over the original parts. With complex or crisp geometry vacuum bagging is necessary but not with more general shapes (although it will help ensure a good close fit).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Interesting, not the impression I got with my parts. I guess if your parts were very smooth that might be an option, but I sanded mine first to help promote adhesion :icon_mrgreen:

 

Kerplop - I did not vacuum bag any of my parts, just layed up the carbon fabric over the original parts. With complex or crisp geometry vacuum bagging is necessary but not with more general shapes (although it will help ensure a good close fit).

 

I think my mistake was that on my first pieces I used several /little/ pieces and not large pieces to form the shape, so edges and frays stuck out really bad and made it look like crap :lol2: - oh well, learning process, I'll get it down at some point. Good job

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Awesome work, great job!!

 

Have you worked with fiberglass before? Fiberglass molding is another thing that's "simple" in theory but tough to execute. :icon_mrgreen:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks great.

 

Business Advice-Get a few BMW/Mercedes guys to work with and do the work for your cost to build up a album of the stuff you have done. If executed perfectly, the guys in the next tier of automobiles should have no problem handing you their keys and paying good money for your work. Then you are off to the races.

 

Best of luck!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...