By 40FordPU - 4/13/2017 11:31:24 PM
Hello. New to carbon fiber. Have done some research and want to venture into watercraft parts. Have worked with fiberglass but only by hand. Any advice?
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By Dravis - 5/2/2017 9:00:00 AM
I've only ever done "marine" parts for the h. of it or very special one-off parts .. Standard parts for anything, not just "watercrafts" are generally not profitable for a small one man enterprise..
Lets take an example: I own a Ducati motorbike ... I would like a nice Carbon-fibre front mudguard ... Only if I completely ignore the time I have to use on making both moulds and infusing will it be a tiny bit cheaper than just buying a nice CF front mudguard for my bike -- I would not be able (from my country) to produce and sell enough, given the materials cost and hours, to turn a decent profit. Because of silly prices for shipping abroad, expanding my customer base to other EU countries will eat most if not all of the profit .
On the other hand: If someone is willing to PAY the price, I will make one-off special parts -- simply because its much more fun, challenging and I learn from it .. I have stopped skinning parts for customers, just not worth the hassle .. Customers are generally not willing to pay maybe twice the amount for carbon skinning, than for a very nice paint-job - If I did not charge that kind of price, I would be giving my work hours away for free.. only close friends get that kind of service 
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