Made my first carbon fiber panel!

hondarocks61 · Mar 12, 2016

It's a little rough, but Iâ€™ve got it looking decent enough to put on the car (after I sand and clear it one more time).

The Mold:

Cleared:

:grin:

I will have scale readings tomorrow for the weight reduction freaks. (that includes me)

lwarrior1016 · Mar 12, 2016

That came out real nice! Do you have any pictures of the making process? I don't know anything about CF or the molds.

hondarocks61 · Mar 12, 2016

lwarrior1016 said:
That came out real nice! Do you have any pictures of the making process? I don't know anything about CF or the molds.

Well keep in mind this was just a wet layup in an open mold. I wanted to vacuum bag it but could not get the mold flanges to seal!

Framing and filleting the original:

Adding reinforcement over the gel coat:

Laying the twill:

Doodler · Mar 12, 2016

holy crap! nice work!

ttocs · Mar 12, 2016

I too have been wanting to get into molds and vacuum systems since I discovered my CF addiction.

hondarocks61 · Mar 12, 2016

ttocs said:
I too have been wanting to get into molds and vacuum systems since I discovered my CF addiction.

Its not the hardest thing I'v done by far. The mold just has to be PERFECT.

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ttocs · Mar 12, 2016

it looks like there are some bubbles that got stuck in the resin? Did you use any heat at all to try and get them out?

hondarocks61 · Mar 12, 2016

ttocs said:
it looks like there are some bubbles that got stuck in the resin? Did you use any heat at all to try and get them out?

It was very cold here, I did attempt that and the resin ended up kicking to fast. They do fill in enough with clear to sand out though.

Im going to make a can to pull vacuum on the resin to de-gas it.

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ttocs · Mar 13, 2016

yea I am filling some in on my diffuser. With out the vac system its probably impossible to do with out getting a few.

hondarocks61 · Mar 13, 2016

ttocs said:
yea I am filling some in on my diffuser. With out the vac system its probably impossible to do with out getting a few.

I had never realized how bubbly the resin would be until I was trying to chase them all out in a panic.

I have heard some also suggest just mixing the resin and letting it sit 15 minutes to degas, but I'm sure that would not be as effective as making a vacuum chamber.

Time to do it the hard way! I already have evil plans to make other parts for our cars.

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ttocs · Mar 13, 2016

I let my resin sit for 30-45 mins before I apply it and it allows for all the bubbles to come out as well as for it to set up a little bit so it doesn't just run right off.

Ferocious · Mar 13, 2016

That looks great man! Nice work.

hondarocks61 · Mar 13, 2016

Ferocious said:
That looks great man! Nice work.

Thank you!

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hondarocks61 · Mar 13, 2016

ttocs said:
I let my resin sit for 30-45 mins before I apply it and it allows for all the bubbles to come out as well as for it to set up a little bit so it doesn't just run right off.

What activator speed do you use?

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ttocs · Mar 13, 2016

this is the first time I have done it but I am using a slow speed. Takes about 90 mins for it to gel.

g36 monkey · Mar 13, 2016

Lol I used to run stuff that would kick in 10-15 mins. Are you using a roller? With a part that complex you probably could have used a 1/4" and 3/8" skin roller (with circles instead of ridges) to help lay the part down.

You can get all the air out if you work at it, or push it towards areas that are being cut out.

Overall it came out pretty good.

And home infusion is definitely a PITA. Mold has to be perfect and you have to make sure you are pulling enough vacuum without leaks to do it. The slightest leak can totally ruin a part. Then you need enough injection areas to make it work.

Orange 94 · Mar 13, 2016

Nicely done

hondarocks61 · Mar 13, 2016

g36 monkey said:
Lol I used to run stuff that would kick in 10-15 mins. Are you using a roller? With a part that complex you probably could have used a 1/4" and 3/8" skin roller (with circles instead of ridges) to help lay the part down.

You can get all the air out if you work at it, or push it towards areas that are being cut out.

Overall it came out pretty good.

And home infusion is definitely a PITA. Mold has to be perfect and you have to make sure you are pulling enough vacuum without leaks to do it. The slightest leak can totally ruin a part. Then you need enough injection areas to make it work.

I do use a roller, but its deffinatly hard to effectively roll out air in a part with the angles this thing had...

I tried to work from one side to another, but I think in the future I will go from the center outwards, the hard part is getting the twill to conform to all the dramatic shapes!

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g36 monkey · Mar 13, 2016

always work from the center out. Not only working from outside in do you inevitably push air to the middle, but if you get the outside laid down then you do the inside and you brush up on the outside, and ruin it, then you just have to go back over it again.

Better to only have to mat it all down once. But yes, it is fairly complex shaped so I can imagine it being tough

hondarocks61 · Mar 13, 2016

g36 monkey said:
always work from the center out. Not only working from outside in do you inevitably push air to the middle, but if you get the outside laid down then you do the inside and you brush up on the outside, and ruin it, then you just have to go back over it again.

Better to only have to mat it all down once. But yes, it is fairly complex shaped so I can imagine it being tough

Makes sense. I think I will also put down a light coat of resin first and let it get firm but still tacky, then start the wet layup.

Where I have seen that done the surface finish comes out excellent with a lot fewer pinholes.

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