So I just attempted DIY carbon fiber
05-23-2007, 05:50 PM
#1
So I just attempted DIY carbon fiber Well, I've gotten tired of my cf guy. I recieved all my silver texalium pieces back, one of which I will need to redo. I'm 99% positive by looking at the weave untouched by resin on the black pieces that it is too Texalium and not real cf. Sooooo
I did my research, bought some real carbon fiber cloth, some epoxy resins online, spray on adhesives, sandpaper, etc etc.
My first impressions...MUCH EASIER than I ever imagined. It is really as simple as sanding the piece, cleaning with alcohol, measuring and cutting the cloth to fit, spray with adhesive, lay the cloth, mold, mix the resin, paint it on. It was much, much easier than I thought and I will never pay someone to do a piece for me again. I'm actually going to redo most of my other pieces in real carbon fiber now that I figured out the simplicity of it. I'm hoping my experiences will give others wanting to get work done or pm'ing me for my cf guy's phone number the ball's to give it a shot. It is easy, fun if you don't mind a little tedious work, and end's up looking awesome. I still have about 3 layers of resin....hours and hours of sanding...clearcoating..etc, but so far, so good
I did my research, bought some real carbon fiber cloth, some epoxy resins online, spray on adhesives, sandpaper, etc etc.
My first impressions...MUCH EASIER than I ever imagined. It is really as simple as sanding the piece, cleaning with alcohol, measuring and cutting the cloth to fit, spray with adhesive, lay the cloth, mold, mix the resin, paint it on. It was much, much easier than I thought and I will never pay someone to do a piece for me again. I'm actually going to redo most of my other pieces in real carbon fiber now that I figured out the simplicity of it. I'm hoping my experiences will give others wanting to get work done or pm'ing me for my cf guy's phone number the ball's to give it a shot. It is easy, fun if you don't mind a little tedious work, and end's up looking awesome. I still have about 3 layers of resin....hours and hours of sanding...clearcoating..etc, but so far, so good
05-24-2007, 12:43 AM
#7
Okay, here's the deal. No pics yet, the part is not finished. It is a test part-glovebox door-that I got off of a spare dash I bought. It may turn out nice enough to actually use. I plan on doing every piece of plastic in the interior in carbon fiber when all is said and done. I have some of the AC and Radio trim pieces in silver texalium (silver carbon fiber) and I will attempt a two tone silver texalium/black carbon fiber door panel combo. The sunvisors and "ceiling" are going to be difficult, but will be done. Here is a write up of what you need/what to do.
Parts
1.Carbon fiber cloth-
Check ebay, this will be your best buy. I would look for something that is one to two thirds the size of the piece you will be covering so you can have some excess. If you want to practice first, as I did, with something cheaper than real carbon fiber, buy some Texalium. Basically, it is aluminized fiberglass that looks like carbon fiber, you can get it in silver and black, I'm sure other colors are available as well. FYI, carbon fiber is much easier to mold and work with than Texalium, but it is about 2x as expensive.
2. Epoxy Resins
-I bought the MAX CLR clear impregnating resin and curing agent from www.polymercompositesinc.com I know they are not a sponsor, but no sponsor sells carbon fiber OR resin so I figured it was safe to post.
3. Sand paper
-You will need 60 grit, 150 grit, 220 grit, 400 grit, 600 grit, 800 grit, 1000 grit, 2200 grit, 3000 grit and 4000 grit. That may be overboard, but you have gone through this much trouble, do it right.
4. Rubbing alcohol
-Needed to clean part before laying cloth and between sandings
5. 3m Spray adhesive
-Look for a 3m style spray can adhesive with 2-5 minutes of working time
6. Sharp *** scissors or exacto knife
-You'll need to cut the cloth
7. Toothpicks
-you don't want any fish eyes (air bubbles)
Okay, now the process.
1. Choose an easy piece for your first one. I picked the glovebox door. It is a straight, flat piece. It has one hole in it so I can get some experience with cutting the cloth
2. Sand the piece you choose with 60 grit sandpaper. I mean sand it. All directions, really make it look like it has a terminal disease.
3. Spray under warm water, rinse with alcohol to remove any further debris. Dry with a towel that leave ZERO debris, or let the alcohol evaporate.
4. Lay the cloth over the piece. Form the cloth around the piece. Cut hash marks where any holes need to be made. Use SHARP *** SCISSORS to cut holes. This stuff is tough and is a PITA to cut, so be careful.
5. After the form and cut is done, spray the ENTIRE piece (top, corners, crevices, holes, edges, etc. etc.) with the 3m spray adhesive. QUICKLY but gently lay the piece down. You have about a minute to move it if you must. Once in place, firmly push all areas needing to be adhesed. If any of the weave is messed up, use a toothpick to correct them.
6. While the adhesive dries, mix the resin and curing agent. Mine is a two parts resin to one part curing agent mixture. I'd do a HEAVY coat first. Mix it in a plastic cup with a wooden paint stirrer, straw, plastic knife, whatever. Use a DISPOSABLE paint brush to paint it on (you will NEVER get the resin off the brush). Put a VERY heavy layer on. Go over every flat piece, corner, edge, etc. Make it look wet, like there is a puddle on it. Use even strokes with the brush to spread it all out.
7. After you have applied the resin, check on the piece every five minutes. You will see "fisheyes" appear. These are air bubbles. They are easily fixed with a toothpick, just be careful. They will keep appearing over the 45 minute working time. Keep poking them. I let mine cure for a full 24 hours before the second coat.
8. Apply second coat same as the first.
9. Apply third coat, same as the first.
10. Apply 4th coat with a mixture of a finishing wax you can get from www.uscomposites.com, this will make sanding easier.
11. Let dry for 24 hours at least.
12. Use 220 grit to even out the surface. This will take a LOT of 220 grit.
13. Progressively move up (wetsanding) to 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2200, 3000, 4000 to get the show quality shine.
14. Spray on a coat of Dupont or other professional automotive clearcoat. For an extra touch, you can mix some clear pearl in with it. Gives you the one up at car shows =)
15. Second coat of clearcoat.
16. Repeat the ridiculous sanding procedure.
I'm halfway through, I'll post pics when I am done. I hope this helped!
Parts
1.Carbon fiber cloth-
Check ebay, this will be your best buy. I would look for something that is one to two thirds the size of the piece you will be covering so you can have some excess. If you want to practice first, as I did, with something cheaper than real carbon fiber, buy some Texalium. Basically, it is aluminized fiberglass that looks like carbon fiber, you can get it in silver and black, I'm sure other colors are available as well. FYI, carbon fiber is much easier to mold and work with than Texalium, but it is about 2x as expensive.
2. Epoxy Resins
-I bought the MAX CLR clear impregnating resin and curing agent from www.polymercompositesinc.com I know they are not a sponsor, but no sponsor sells carbon fiber OR resin so I figured it was safe to post.
3. Sand paper
-You will need 60 grit, 150 grit, 220 grit, 400 grit, 600 grit, 800 grit, 1000 grit, 2200 grit, 3000 grit and 4000 grit. That may be overboard, but you have gone through this much trouble, do it right.
4. Rubbing alcohol
-Needed to clean part before laying cloth and between sandings
5. 3m Spray adhesive
-Look for a 3m style spray can adhesive with 2-5 minutes of working time
6. Sharp *** scissors or exacto knife
-You'll need to cut the cloth
7. Toothpicks
-you don't want any fish eyes (air bubbles)
Okay, now the process.
1. Choose an easy piece for your first one. I picked the glovebox door. It is a straight, flat piece. It has one hole in it so I can get some experience with cutting the cloth
2. Sand the piece you choose with 60 grit sandpaper. I mean sand it. All directions, really make it look like it has a terminal disease.
3. Spray under warm water, rinse with alcohol to remove any further debris. Dry with a towel that leave ZERO debris, or let the alcohol evaporate.
4. Lay the cloth over the piece. Form the cloth around the piece. Cut hash marks where any holes need to be made. Use SHARP *** SCISSORS to cut holes. This stuff is tough and is a PITA to cut, so be careful.
5. After the form and cut is done, spray the ENTIRE piece (top, corners, crevices, holes, edges, etc. etc.) with the 3m spray adhesive. QUICKLY but gently lay the piece down. You have about a minute to move it if you must. Once in place, firmly push all areas needing to be adhesed. If any of the weave is messed up, use a toothpick to correct them.
6. While the adhesive dries, mix the resin and curing agent. Mine is a two parts resin to one part curing agent mixture. I'd do a HEAVY coat first. Mix it in a plastic cup with a wooden paint stirrer, straw, plastic knife, whatever. Use a DISPOSABLE paint brush to paint it on (you will NEVER get the resin off the brush). Put a VERY heavy layer on. Go over every flat piece, corner, edge, etc. Make it look wet, like there is a puddle on it. Use even strokes with the brush to spread it all out.
7. After you have applied the resin, check on the piece every five minutes. You will see "fisheyes" appear. These are air bubbles. They are easily fixed with a toothpick, just be careful. They will keep appearing over the 45 minute working time. Keep poking them. I let mine cure for a full 24 hours before the second coat.
8. Apply second coat same as the first.
9. Apply third coat, same as the first.
10. Apply 4th coat with a mixture of a finishing wax you can get from www.uscomposites.com, this will make sanding easier.
11. Let dry for 24 hours at least.
12. Use 220 grit to even out the surface. This will take a LOT of 220 grit.
13. Progressively move up (wetsanding) to 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2200, 3000, 4000 to get the show quality shine.
14. Spray on a coat of Dupont or other professional automotive clearcoat. For an extra touch, you can mix some clear pearl in with it. Gives you the one up at car shows =)
15. Second coat of clearcoat.
16. Repeat the ridiculous sanding procedure.
I'm halfway through, I'll post pics when I am done. I hope this helped!
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05-24-2007, 01:55 PM
#9
I'll pic ***** this thing out when it's done. Weather hasn't been kind enough to allow me to continue adding resin. After that...I'll be sanding until my hands bleed. Then you'll get some pics. I just wanted the writeup to help those who wanted to attempt it.
05-24-2007, 02:38 PM
#11
Originally Posted by SVT THIS
I still have about 3 layers of resin....hours and hours of sanding...clearcoating..etc, but so far, so good
05-24-2007, 03:51 PM
#12
I'm using a finishing wax mixture in my last several coats to ease the sanding process. And yes, that is what I've done. It really isn't as impossible as people make it out to be, it just takes time and patience. If Joe Schmoe at the local stereo shop can do it for $400 why can't someone who is intelligent and patient enough to go to college figure out how to do it? I think, at least from reading old posts through my research, was that people would just assume pay someone or by a veneer. Take your time, do it right, and it will turn out good.
