Anyone ever experience laying carbon fiber?

[Haynie]

A friend and I were talking about playing with making some carbon fiber parts to trick out his motorcycle. his old honda shadow is nothing to write home about. This is purely for fun. I have been watching videos and reading what I can get my hands on free and I think this is one of those things that looks easy on paper but is real hard in reality.

We would be molding the plastic parts and skinning other parts.

Anyone with real experience out there?

 

[WillieD]

I've never done any carbon fiber, but I think you might also want to look at fiberglass info online. I think it's likely to be a similar process.

 

[SDB777]

Was thinking that this process was a 'drip method' in a film?



Scott (fun hobby) B

 

[dl351]

I actually was in a group that designed and manufactured carbon fiber wheels for my college's supermileage team. Their vehicle was to compete in the annual Shell eco-marathon. That being said, the resin makes a mess. Also, in my opinion, using a vacuum bag is the best way to go. That helps to eliminate bubbles in the cloth and resin.

I'm not sure what you're looking for. We basically went through what you are doing. Search the web and see what others say. We were lucky enough to have a professor that worked with composites, though.

If you have any specific questions, please post them and I will see if I can help.

Good luck!

 

[Alzey]

Here is a link where a guy was making carbon fiber cosmetic panels for a Factory Five 33 Coupe that I have on my bucket list.

carbon fiber / how i do mine - FFCars.com : Factory Five Racing Discussion Forum

 

[GoatRider]

I've done a little with model airplanes, but mostly I used kevlar when I got fancy. To cut kevlar, you start with a fresh razor blade. Cut about 3 inches, turn it around, cut another 3 inches, then toss the blade and get another. That's why they come in 50 packs. Carbon cuts way easier than that.

 

[Haynie]

Thanks Alzey.

Thanks for the info folks.

 

[PenMan1]

You may want to look at carbonfibergear.com. They carry like 10 different colors (all of them) in sheets of all sizes. They have both the heat shrink kind and the 3M sticky backed type.

This sure makes customization much easier and cuts down on casting mistakes, too.

 

[Haynie]

Thanks.

 

[The Penguin]

when I've worked with CF, I use wide masking tape on both sides - then use very sharp shears to cut through the tape.

it helps to keep the carbon fiber together. It's slick stuff in its raw form.

if you are doing "visual" CF parts or skinning, you'll want to look into the vacuum bagging process.