Hi,

I would  like  to get started making stuff for my motorcycles in carbon fiber, but I am a total newbie and need some advice on  exactly what materials and tools I need.

My first project will be a cafe racer style seat and the biggest I have in mind is a fuel tank. I know that a cafe racer seat isnt a good beginner job so I will do some experiments first, but the seat is the need I have now. My plan with the seat is to make a plug in some foam material and "skin" the plug to make the seat. So to get a newbie like me started on a project like this, what would you recommend of material and tools? Is prepeg the way to go? Do I need a vacum pump and bags? What else?

Please descibe the materials and tools best suited for me, the newbie, maybe with links to the actual product.

Thank you
Søren

So my list is this, can you please verify that it is good (not counting the consumables)?

The carbon fiber cloth:
https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/honeycomb-bonding-epoxy-adhesive

The resin (how much is needed for a seat and a little experimenting)?:
https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/model-board-tooling-board-block

I am planning to have a aluminium sheep/plate attached under the seat to provide stability and have something that can better withstand fastening with bolts, should I coat that asluminium with the following and bound it to the carbon, or just bolt it on after the carbon has cured?
https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/black-epoxy-pigment

Do I need to cover the styroform plug with a release agent, or does it not matter since I can just remove/dissolve the plug after the job has been done?

Thank you
Søren