What do I need to make a complete set of custom carbon fibre panels for my project car?

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What do I need to make a complete set of custom carbon fibre panels for my project car?

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garyH	garyH posted 13 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2, Visits: 5	Hi, Basically im wanting to build a crazy v8 mk2 mr2 with custom body kit, front and rear clam type boot/bonnet, slightly lengthened and a tad wider.. can you advice me on the type of carbon fibre would be best suited for looks and light weight? how much carbon fibre would be needed to do a pretty much an entire outer shell? also wanting to custom engine parts / inlet etc and a carbon dash... i've done alot with fibre glass but i think my project needs to be carbon as im wanting to show it on completion, advice on materials and prices would be great. Thanks Gary Tags carbon complete custom list panels Edited 12 Years Ago by garyH
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andygtt	andygtt posted 11 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 157, Visits: 1.2K	Hi Around the time this post started I decided to make carbon panels for my Noble sports car... I had NEVER worked with carbon before and had very limited experience of GF working, having never even made a mould before let alone body panels. What I did was use GF, filler and expanding foam to remould my body to the new shapes required... I then painted the panel (will call then bucks from now on). The bucks were heavy and pretty fragile so needed careful storage / handling often strengthening bars to allow the panel to take its own weight without distorting / breaking. I then used easycomposites UN1 tooling system, bloody excellent stuff this as it has zero shrinkage... you have to be careful with the gel coat to avoid wrinkling due to it not being mixed fully (easy to do) or it reacting with the Buck but otherwise its extremely easy to use. Due to the size and complexity of some of my panels I had to have multiple break lines (my rear end is a 12 piece mould), this needs to be well thought out but isn't hard just requires careful thought. I wanted areas of my panels painted and other areas with visable carbon... this is tricky but not overly hard... with care and attention you can get very nice lines even on complex parts, first make a paper template then cut this out of the pro finish carbon.... yes this takes practice but its not stupidly difficult. Getting the carbon to stay in place without voids is very tricky, Im still experimenting in this area but I used a spray tack which you MUST use sparingly otherwise you effectively glue your part to the mould and its very hard to remove... I had to use 3 crow bars to extract one part of my rear body... not for the faint hearted and a mistake not replicated quickly. As a beginner giving advice to potential beginners I would say the following. 1. Fully bag complex moulds... its difficult to get a full seal especially around multiple break lines. 2. DONT use a gel coat or 2 pack in the mould... this is because if the part goes wrong or has a leak its scrap as the pinhead air holes will be behind the gel coat... if its a raw carbon finish you can fill them with black epoxy filler and never notice them. Once your more skilled you can use this method for faster results. 3. Use tack spray sparingly. 4. take your time laying the first surface carbon layer to get the weave nice and no voids... voids here will be almost impossible to get rid of once further layers of carbon, soric and the peal ply is added. 5. Dont rush I have a thread on some of the parts I have made... but here are a few highlights to show what an accountant with zero composites experience can do using the easycomposites materials and advice The rear clip was only the second mould/part I ever made in carbon, and the first was a disaster lol the buck The mould The carbon layup The raw part
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20_rc51_00	20_rc51_00 posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 95, Visits: 548	AndyGtt, did you use prepreg or infusion for this project? which materials did you use for this? Did you do any post curing? Turned out great! Thanks.
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