Carbon fiber roof - making the mold

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Carbon fiber roof - making the mold

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BlackNDecker	BlackNDecker posted 10 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 92, Visits: 251	Greetings all, I bought a brand new OEM steel roof and plan to make a mold and eventually a carbon fiber roof. A little background...My car is a 2007 Honda Civic Si and comes with a heavy sun roof assembly (this comes standard from the factory). I contemplated simply swapping roofs for the OEM "non-sunroof" steel roof. That would save me around 20 lbs...but instead of going that direction I've decided to make a carbon fiber roof and hopefully save 30+ lbs. Some pictures of my progress... Made some progress on the roof project. Transferred it out to the garage: The antenna hole will be covered: And the tabs for the weather seal have to be cut off: Luckily I have a Dremel for these types of projects: Made some flanges: Antenna hole covered (with a fresh coat of wax): Flanged, waxed, and ready to go... Unfortunately, it's going to be too humid all weekend to lay the gel coat...so I'll probably have to wait until Monday or Tuesday. fml
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BlackNDecker	BlackNDecker posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 92, Visits: 251	Thanks gents...looks like I will be spending some time on minor repairs. I will use the chisel, gel coat, and tape method illustrated in the "How to carbon bonnet" easycomposites video.
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Carbon fiber roof - making the mold

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

I decided to go ahead and lay down some gel coat this afternoon. It is really hard to get everything...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Really narrow flanges, will you be infusing?

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

Yes and yes. The flanges are pretty narrow...about 2.5". I'm a little nervous about brushing on...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Yeh it's a harrowing time haha. What temperature is it where you are working and what did you...

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

I catalyzed at exactly 1.5%... Tomorrow looks like this:...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Hmmm, could be an issue. I would be using 2% catalyst at 25 degrees and INCREASING that level for...

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

Thanks for the back and forth. Sometimes it's just nice to talk through the stress of mold making....

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Yeh so have I! Don't think you can play the game without having a few losses... For what it's...

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

That is a really good tip...but in addition to varying temperature, we have widely varying humidity...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

This was my stopping point when I ran out of resin:...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

How many "layers" of wax did you used? I follow your project with interest :)

Jacopo Carbonio - 10 Years Ago

I laid down about 4-5 coats of heavy wax. I think this will be enough since this is a brand new,...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Is that bridging all along the back edge or did you use a filler of some sort?

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

I used a slurry of chopped glass fibers mixed with resin and worked it into the corners all the way...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Sanded the whole mold down and filled some voids with Duraglas......

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Looking good.

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

Thanks. I think I'm going to smooth out the transition all around the perimeter with long-strand...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

A lot of effort to go through for little reason. Firstly, the first layer behind the gelcoat is the...

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

Thanks for all the help. I took your advice and applied two more layers of heavy CSM then heavy...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Canvas? Interesting. Haven't heard of that being used in composites before?

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

It's a heavy cloth that saturates with resin...any reason why it wouldn't work? BTW, this forum...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Well what's the modulus of canvas? Denim is a cotton fabric and will absorb a lot of resin but it...

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

Depending on the type of "canvas" it may work just fine .. It will add some strength, but not nearly...

Dravis - 10 Years Ago

Finally done with the mold. I have about 6 layers of chop strand mat and 1-2 layers of heavy weight...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

I think it might be useful to put reinforcements also horizontal and diagonal to prevent flex as you...

Jacopo Carbonio - 10 Years Ago

i cant wait to see more. This is a project ive often thought of doing

kidpaint - 10 Years Ago

The mold is done and the OEM roof pulled cleanly with surprisingly no drama....

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

That looks excellent, congrats and well done. Is the mold a little flexy for your liking now that...

redeye - 10 Years Ago

Yes, it's a little flexy from corner to corner, but not so much that it will be an issue. I think...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

That will repair no problem. Once the repair is filled, its just a case of flatting back then...

Warren (Staff) - 10 Years Ago

Repair it mate, like Warren says its cut out, fill,sand then polish. You will regret it as the...

VVS - 10 Years Ago

Thanks gents...looks like I will be spending some time on minor repairs. I will use the chisel,...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

If you take a look at the last picture I posted on my bike build you will see a mould done using the...

VVS - 10 Years Ago

[quote][b]VVS (13/06/2015)[/b][hr]If you take a look at the last picture I posted on my bike build...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Definitely worth repairing, especially given it is a large flat surface. Will only take 20 minutes...

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

These are very small, shallow surface imperfections in confined areas... Should I: a) sand and...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Nah use a scalpel to pick away any loose bits and just scratch up the imperfections. Then use a pop...

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

[quote][b]Hanaldo (13/06/2015)[/b][hr]Nah use a scalpel to pick away any loose bits and just scratch...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Yeh it'll be fine. Scratch it up well, it's just easier than trying to sand inside the alligatoring....

Hanaldo - 10 Years Ago

Looking good ! Repairing those little alligators will be easy, just grind out an neat shape and...

davro - 10 Years Ago

Thanks so much! I was really hesitant to chisel out and/or try to sand all these superficial...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

Decided to put some work in on the mold. I pulled it out to the back yard for trimming:...

BlackNDecker - 10 Years Ago

I would give that voided area a real good prodding with a rigid tool to see if it caves in. If still...

Warren (Staff) - 10 Years Ago

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