DIY: Carbon Fibre Wrapping

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mr-charisma
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DIY: Carbon Fibre Wrapping

Post by mr-charisma »

Found this DIY on wrapping parts in carbon fibre & figured a few people might be interested.

http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?t=217708


First off you'll need to get the carbon & resin. I picked up some 200 gram/meter 2x2 3k twill weave off ebay (had some paypal money in there so what the hey).

The resin, you want to get some surfboard resin, its super clear so the weave will be visable & UV resistant so your pieces wont dis-colour. I bought some Simlar ISO 7x from here (there are other resins but this is the best!) www.seabase.co.uk Simlar ISO 7x what you will need to also get is some Wax in Styrene (I'll explain later) Wax in styrene

Get yourself some latex gloves, a 1/2" paint brush, nail varnish remover with Acetone in it (for cleaning the brush), project pack of wet & dry paper, a syringe (for measuring the cataylst), measuring cups and your ready to go.

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Get what ever piece you want to wrap (start simple remember!) I'll use the interior mirror trims for this.

Rub them down with some 120 grit to key the surface and give them a good wash to get all the grit & dirt off.

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Next is cut the carbon to shape so it easier to wrap around the trim. Dont forget to tape the edges of the carbon otherwise it'll fray and lose all its shape

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Lay down a coat of resin mixed with hardener over the surface of the piece, Let the resin dry enough so that when you touch it with your finger it leaves an imprint but doesn’t come off on your finger.

Don't mix up too much resin for this, it'll only go to waste!! the Simlar has a 1:45 ratio, for these small parts I mix up no more than 25/30ml for both pieces.. so just under a ml of hardener

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Once its tacked up you can lay the carbon CAREFULLY over the piece (this is basically the most critical parts of the process, **** this and you've ruined the part, simple.

Wrap the carbon around the trim and start to tape it at the back to stop it from coming unstuck (doesn't have to look pretty on the back LOL

Nows the time to 'correct' any slightly wonky weave you might have (on these flat bits you'll be cool but when you do harder parts it happens). To get it all looking pretty again grab yourself something small with a blunt but small tip, I use one of the clicker pencils with the lead removed. You can now go around the trim pushing and tweaking the weave until its perfect again.

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Once thats dry now come the process of building up the layers of the resin, you'll be sanding most of the resin back to get a totally flat finish so it's important to add plenty of layers so you dont sand though the resin into the carbon. Rule of thumb I've used 3 good layers on all my pieces and it's allowed me you sanding back enough without rubbing through.

In the last layer of resin and your wax in styrene this basically stopped the top layer of resin staying tacky!

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I didn't buy any of this and found out the hard way. If you dont have this wax in styrene its not big deal you can still sand it ok but your hands stick to it. ITS OK THE RESIN IS DRY UNDERNEATH!!!!

Nows the sanding..... starting with 120 to get the high spots etc.. working through 240,400,800 and finally 1200, I kid you not!!!!

To cut off the excess from the back of the trim I use a Dremel with a combo of the sanding do-dar and a cutting disc. BEFORE you cut anything have quick look at where the trims going and suss out what edges will be seen when in the car, you dont want to sand an edge back too far otherwise again it'll knacker the trim

You'll end up with a perfectly flatened trim, its a very similar to bodywork, before lacquer you have to flat back the panel.

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The final step is a coat of good old lacquer

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Stand back and sit down because your high on resin & lacquer! LMAO
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harry90
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Post by harry90 »

thats really good stuff :D and very easy to follow. im thinking its possible to do the entire side mirrors which would look awesome. :thumleft: good job
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Post by I8A4RE »

Looks good, i wonder if it is easy as it sounds and looks. Nice find :D
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Post by bushido »

Is this possible to do with the Vr rear wing? The blade in the middle in particular?
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eThix
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Post by eThix »

Looks awesome if some one learns how to do this and becomes pro, let me know :) i'm sure you could show me a few things on how to do it :D
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mr-charisma
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Post by mr-charisma »

bushido wrote:Is this possible to do with the Vr rear wing? The blade in the middle in particular?
Yeah mate, don't see why it should be any drama.. I think you'd have to get a massive sheet of CF for it though ..
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Post by bushido »

HAHA. Ill hold on this for now. Have a 5m strip of cf vinyl en route from CHina. :D
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Post by harry90 »

How much did 5 metres cost you ?
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Post by yannino »

fark i wuldnt do that alone coz i wuld screw up so bad.
anyone know how to do it in melb to help out?
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Post by martyjer »

Good guide, I did my lower and upper centre console in a carbon/kevlar hybrid a few months back. I'd have to say the most important thing in the process is the sanding down however, its done very well in the guide but its very easy to rush it and not sand it down enough, so that when you laquer it with the clear coat it shows up bumpy in places. Theres still some sanding to be done in mine but it was mainly as a project anyway so not too worried about them.
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Re: DIY: Carbon Fibre Wrapping

Post by Rambo »

Im thinking of getting a c/f boot and put my veilside wing on it, but c/f wrap it, how hard will this be/ any tips when c/f wrapping wings in general ?
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Re: DIY: Carbon Fibre Wrapping

Post by Project95FTO »

Do u think that this would be possible to do with the stereo surround mine has a few cracks and a chunk taken out of it but I could fiber glass it then do the carbon fiber also do u think that this would strengthen the stero surround because I know they get really brittle tks
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Re: DIY: Carbon Fibre Wrapping

Post by Supplanter »

You can get full carbon fibre console surrounds from eBay:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mitsubishi-F ... 27be7a48bd
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