who works with cf cloth?

[FL_PR5]

i was reading up on it and see that you apply the resin and then the cloth. dry it and you are pretty much done, atleast thats what it seams like. but how do you get the part out? i've seen a whole bunch of pics of people doing it on motorcycle gas tanks and what not. but i would thinkg people go with cf for the light weight and durability. but if you are just going to cover it...it seems kinda like a waste. anyone know how to do that? thanks.

o yea, i'm talking about a wet lay up, not dry. but also interested in that too.

 

[peepsalot]

I think it's all the same techniques that is used for fiberglass, whatever those are.

 

[FL_PR5]

yea i read up on those too. but it seems everyone just makes molds and if the item is sealed in there they leave it in there.

 

[KzA]

in order to seperate an object from its mold, you have to first apply some sort of mold release substance on the mold before you fiberglass\carbon fiber. they sell actual mold release, but there are also some thing you can use that youd find in your home and will work just fine. Look on fiberglass tutorials and forumsfor more in for...

 

[FL_PR5]

i did, they use a certain type of wax. mold wax/release wax and you can heat it off if you want and you apply a few coats. but i mean ifyou have to do all the sides of an object and it's drying, how do you get the object out? it's like a papermache around a balloon, but in this case you can't pop the object.

 

[peepsalot]

what do you want in CF? You might have to do two pieces then fasten them together somehow.

 

[KzA]

i did, they use a certain type of wax. mold wax/release wax and you can heat it off if you want and you apply a few coats. but i mean ifyou have to do all the sides of an object and it's drying, how do you get the object out? it's like a papermache around a balloon, but in this case you can't pop the object.

you cant...

there really isnt a way..when making an object that would be impossible to mold, like a sphere for example, you would mold it in half then join them..like a hemisphere at a time...Thats what makes it kinda complicated to make molds.
Now, Molding OVER something is a bit easier.....

 

[FL_PR5]

yea i was wondering like lets take a ... uhm ... the arm rest in our cars for example. to get the hinges and everything on the bottom and get the top is a challenge. i guess you could join the two halfs, just popped in my head.

i wouldn't mind that dimpled thing right before the passenger airbag with the vent on it covered in CF. so i was looking at vinyl and CF cloth sheets. so i was thinking of covering it in cloth, even the connectors on the back, so i was thinking how i could get it all. trying to absorb some knowledge even if i just go with replica vinyl.

 

[yeloprofan]

I dont think reproducing the panels is a realistic option. It would get way to complicated figuring out the mounting tabs, ect for it to be any fun and besides reproducing these things really isn't going to make your car go any faster. I went for the asthetic appeal of cf and I have done a little bit of what it sounds like you are going to try to do.

Here's a few pics to see if we are talking about the same thing.

Basically what I did was take the stock pieces and brush some resin onto them, wait for the resin to tack up and become sticky and them smooth the carbon/kevlar cloth over the pieces. i then follwed that up with about 6 coats of surfboard resin because it's clear and then sanded the surface to get it mirror smooth and finally clearcoated and wet sanded that.

The arm rest and dimpled thing below the air bag might be challenging as they are soft but I think if you were to coat them in some duraglass and sand that down so the items were a little stiffer you could probably do it.

 

[capnsavem]

i have underwear made of carbon fiber cloth.



with peepee holes in'em.


they're comfy.

 

[FL_PR5]

yea, i wasn't going to do all the interior. i would only do real cf if i was to aim for lighter weight. but then if i wanted that i'd just take a crap of stuff out of the car and replace a lot of it. buti get the idea. i've decided i'm not going to do it since i just don't know enough about it and would be more work than fun. i havn't seen yellow cf before, that's pretty cool. did you use cf cloth and just lay that on the resin? pretty cool setup. i'm thinking of something similar in another thread but instead just painting those small grey pieces in teh car. i still have to take pics to post in the thread.

 

[yeloprofan]

The kevlar is the yellow part of the weave.

 

[FL_PR5]

o ok, cool.