hand laying carbon fiber/fiberglass

zmepro

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i don't know if this should go in performace, apperence, or off topic but i want to make my own windsplitter and im considering making it out of wood or possibly hand layed carbon fiber or fiberglass,

how hard do you think it would be to mold/make/lay carbon fiber or fiberglass, how would you go about doing it and how much would the raw materials cost for such a project or am i just plain stupid?:p
 
This is very realistic. They sell the materials at most auto stores..Pep Boys..etc.. The fiberglass fabric is cheap but the adhesive is a little expensive. but when compared to a $400 body kit piece its really cheap. I have thought about this and really all u need to do is carve a mold and lay the fiberglasss on it. I dont know about Carbon Fiber.
 
carved wood is easiest. Put tin foil in between wood and fiberglass to keep from sticking too much...a Best Buy tech told me about it regarding custom sub boxes and body kits
 
hmmm.... glad someone brought this up cause ive thought about making my own windsplitter too.....

Ok... so all the fiberglass stuff can be bought at an auto store?

Is there anything special that we need to do in order to make the fiberglass harden?


Then what about carbon fiber? Is it impossible to make something out of carbon fiber?
 
Carbon fiber is much more difficult to work with than fiberglass.

You will also need:

- resin (epoxy or polyester - I'd go with poly for car parts) it has to be a quality resin with UV inhibitors
- mold making tools
- mold material (foam, wood, etc.)
- mold release materials
- latex gloves
- respirator
- resin scale or pumps

on top of these things, if you are making complex parts with curved surfaces you are going to want to vacuum-bag the mold.

- vacuum bagging equip = ~ $300.

I have made several composite projects (skimboards etc.) and its not really the type of thing that you can just do, and do it right without investing alot of time in research. The materials are somewhat expensive and the slightest screw-up can ruin the whole thing.

Plus, if you are doing a complex part, unless you are copying a part that already exists, I'd recomend having the mold or plug cnc'd.
 
cant you jsut buy flat sheets of CF already made and cut it yourself? i could swear i saw that somewhere.
 
molding and casting for a windsplitter is way too much work for something that could be done easier.

if your definition of windsplitter is like the mp3 windsplitter and not a lip like the autoexe one.

fiberglass cracks easily....styrene plastic would become brittle in the sun. good wood would be a nice choice but keep in mind cheaper wood has a decay time much shorter than plastic.

an excellent alternative would be to use ABS plastic....you can buy thick sheets of it at plastics stores.

then you just measure out the shape and cut it out...my pal did it to his civic, pic attached..i forgot were he bought the metal rods but those are also easily available.
 

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Home Depot also has fiberglass cloth, mat, and resin

im picking some up soon to finish up my lcd mount. damn bondo.
 
and if you really want to make molds...

they sell buckets of clay.

my pal in the body business would rent new cars for a day. make molds of required pieces in clay, and get started on the kit once the casting material was poured in.
 
UCLAP, what you are thinking of is pre-preg CF. It is already laminated with the resin, and its properties are arguably better.

The problem is, you still need to mold it, and it needs to be heated in an oven for a long time. So its not any easier or less expensive.
 
Stick with fiberglass until you COMPLETELY master it. There are several online tutorials on how to work with it.

Once you definitely know what you are doing, then move to CF. With the carbon fiber you will need raw 3k3k material for the best weave/looks and you will also need specific carbon fiber resin since fiberglass resin turns brown when cured and you dont want brown CF.

Ive worked with both and I must say CF is a MAJOR PITA compared to fiberglass.


Pe@ce
 
that is unless you are doing a flat piece such as a wind splitter, I think you could pick up a cheet of really thin aluminum or plastic and then puta sheet of the C/F uclap posted on either side, carefully bevel the edges and polish them and I dont think you would ven notice the sheet in the middle, or you could just put the to pieces of C/F together by themselves before or after you cut out the design for your wind splitter.

I am making one from an aluminum sheet and if I ever have the extra cash I think Ill do it in the blue weave CF also.
 
im a bit confused, if i were to make a windsplitter (not comepletely flat, more like an airline wing shape) would i have to glue 2 pieces of fiberglass together or would i mold just one piece around a chunk of foam?
 
well what he is saying si the stuff that uclap posted already is basically done as far as the different layers, meaning the CF and the resin is already on a finished, meaning to form it to a mold you would have to do what was described above as far as heating and bending it and I personally dont think that could come out right.

I said it would work for a flat or slightly curved wind splitter, like the mp3 one I think, that was you could take the 2 pieces of CF and put them together glazed sides out sand and buff the edge to a smooth curve so the two pieves look seemless and you would be done, although personally with a lowered car if I did this, now that I think about it, I would only do the CF layer on top of a poly/fiberglass/aluminum piece for the bottom cause there is no reason to put CF on the bottom just to get scratched and dented to hell.

so depending on how simple of a project it is you can use the stuff in uclaps link, if it has an severe curves or angles you will have to get all the parts and tools listed aboce to make it, laying the CF and resin and glaze and the appropriate mixtures and rabblerabblerabble. alot of work =P
 
yeah its fun, after the frustration disappears and your wallet is little lighter.

If you could get it right early on, and be able to sell some of your designs, you could possibly make your money back and then some.
 

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