I Need Help Working With Carbon Fiber

[94kingcbra]

So I just had surgery and I have 30 days off of work which means I have plenty of time to kill. I have an Autometer race panel in my dash, it has a total of 6 spaces for gauges, 4 - 2 1/16" and 2 - 4" gauges. It is made of ABS plastic and it fits in place of my oem dash. I recently purchased a square yard of carbon fiber weave and some epoxy resin mix. I would like to "laminate" my race panel with the carbon fiber and make it look clean and smooth. I know what I want it to look like I just don't know how and what materials to use to make all the crevices and angles smooth and even. I have never worked with carbon fiber or fiberglass before but I am pretty sure I can handle it with some proper instruction and plenty of patience and attention to detail. Any help will be appreciated. Justin

 

[riored96gt]

Carbon isn't easy to work with...especially if you haven't worked with regular fiberglass and resin before.

If you just want to overlay the panel that's fairly easy. Brush a coat of resin on it, soak the carbon in resin, lay it on the panel, push into place with wet resin brush, coat with resin, trim excess.

Simple, eh?

 

[94kingcbra]

will i need to put a clear coat or a marine grade clear gel over it to make it look smooth and last?

 

[94kingcbra]

and what kind of brush would I use?

 

[ryclef331]

its nothing hard. just mix the resin correctly. Any paint brush will do really. You really need something that is smooth to lay it on to make for the best finish on the visible surface. They make a specific kind of plastic that doesn't stick to the resin but it still makes for a perfectly smooth surface. When you lay it out, make sure there are no air bubbles in the resin. Also, heat will thin out the resin, make the bubbles come out, and help it set up faster.

 

[riored96gt]

will i need to put a clear coat or a marine grade clear gel over it to make it look smooth and last?

More coats = smooth and shiny

 

[riored96gt]

and what kind of brush would I use?

cheap "chip" brush. The white natural cheepie paint brushes (Harbor Freight) with the wood handle...get lots and change them every coat.

 

[cntchds]

Where can you get a piece of carbon fiber fabric? Is it around the same price as fiber glass?

 

[Anrev]

The only way to get good quality results is to vacuum bag the carbon to the part. CF is alot stiffer than FG and wont lay down as smoothly. ESPECIALLY around curved surfaces. Try googling CF layup.

 

[94kingcbra]

Here's a link to what I am dealing with so you get the idea...

http://www.autometer.com/cat_mountsdetail.aspx?vid=400&sid=0&mid=1&pg=1&mdl=17&gw=13

Ok, So do I need to do any prep to the plastic other than applying the first coat of resin before I lay the carbon fiber?g

Also remember I am putting the Carbon Fiber on Plastic, so the only heat I will be able to use without melting the plastic will be from a heat gun or a blow dryer.

Now when I think of vacuum bagging I think of the space bag that you take with you on travel and you hook up your vacuum toand suck all the air out. Will that work? lol....Also how do keep the epoxy from sticking to the bag and staying on the race panel?

What should I use to cut the holes out once the epoxy resin has dried so I get clean edge?

I got the carbon fiber sheet and resin on eBay here's a link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Carbon-Fiber-an...Z1267QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

There are plenty of other people that sell Carbon Fiber by itself and you can buy your own preference of epoxy resin.

Thanks everyone for your responses I am eager to do this and I will take pics through-out the process once I start...probably this weekend... :coolsmiley:

 

[riored96gt]

Where can you get a piece of carbon fiber fabric? Is it around the same price as fiber glass?

Aircraft Spruce used to have some fabric and some roving. Not many choices in density of types. Really expensive.

 

[riored96gt]

Ok, So do I need to do any prep to the plastic other than applying the first coat of resin before I lay the carbon fiber?

Lightly sand the surface to roughen it up to accept the resin.

Also remember I am putting the Carbon Fiber on Plastic, so the only heat I will be able to use without melting the plastic will be from a heat gun or a blow dryer.

No heat. It can air cure.

Now when I think of vacuum bagging I think of the space bag that you take with you on travel and you hook up your vacuum toand suck all the air out. Will that work? lol....Also how do keep the epoxy from sticking to the bag and staying on the race panel?

Forget trying to aerospace, you're just laying some on for looks, right?

What should I use to cut the holes out once the epoxy resin has dried so I get clean edge?

Air die grinder with different sanding drums and cones.

There are plenty of other people that sell Carbon Fiber by itself and you can buy your own preference of epoxy resin.

Just use standard laminating resin from an auto parts store. Don't outsmart yourself. This isn't structural...

 

[94kingcbra]

I just found an awesome write-up on making molds and using the mold to make a door panel with carbon fiber...

http://www.turbomustangs.com/techarticles/pbcarbonfiber.doc

I know it's on a different website but it has almost too much info but easy to understand....

 

[Jrgunn5150]

That's sweet! I've never done anything but use sheets of it.

 

[riored96gt]

That's sweet! I've never done anything but use sheets of it.

Aircraft Spruce used to have rolls of 1" wide linier carbon. I used it to reinforce flimsy fiberglass racecar body work. It was like adding angle iron supports to them!!