Repairing a carbon fibre side skirt


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John Rutter
John Rutter
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Gents,

Total novice looking for advice. I am a novice car restorer (engine builds etc.) but lacking in bodywork skills. I have been lucky enough to purchase a Lambo with carbon fibre side skirts. They have been damaged by kerbs. I have just been quoted £4000 to have them repaired which seems nonsense.  the damage is low down so I reckon the weave may not match perfectly but as it is dark it should not matter too much. Do you think this could be repaired using one of your kits, and if so which one should I purchase? Regards, John
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Warren (Staff)
Warren (Staff)
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As the damage is quite significant then we can certainly provide youwith the products you would need to make a sound structural repair however, as the weave has broken then you’re never going to be able to make a repair that is invisible and leaves the part looking like new.

 

To make a structural repair, I would suggest using our Carbon Fibre Rapid Repair Kit.

 

This includes some carbon fibre fabric and epoxy resin so that you canadd some strength from the inside of the part. You can add layers underneathwhere it has worn away. 

 

You will need a sharp stanley blade to trim away the yellow kevlar"fluff" you can see in the photo. Also during your preparation, tryand remove what looks like marker pen or black paint someone has used to tryand disguise the damage as it makes it look worse. You can also ‘run’ someresin into and around the cracked carbon fibres on the surface which will sealthem and so water ingress or further damage on the surface.   

 

Having added some new, additional reinforcement on the inside of thepart (restoring its strength) you can apply a layer of resin across the surfaceof the repair and then sand and flat this down to make leave a smoother finishto the repaired area. The release film in the kit is quite useful forstretching over the curved surface to give you a relatively smooth finish tostart with and thus less sanding work. Finally, as the part was glossyoriginally, a coat of 2k PU lacquer over the whole part will bring the fullgloss back and leave it looking as good as it can.



Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
Edited 9 Years Ago by Matt (Staff)
John Rutter
John Rutter
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Many thanks Warren, will study your help guides and work out a plan.



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