sgraber
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 04:14 AM |
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Who likes carbon fiber?
I bought 10 yards of CF the other day to make a bunch of interior and exterior bits for my La Bala project. For some reason a bunch of stuff started
to get covered in it. Such as the Honda 929R that belongs to the body shop owner where my car is at. Not that it's any lighter with an extra
coat of CF but wow does it look neat!
And in this last one you have to look very close, but the turn signals are orange leds that have been inserted between each of the holes in the
fairing and then blended in under the clearcoat.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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RazMan
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 05:50 AM |
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Show off 
I have to agree that it does look good though 
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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worX
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 06:04 AM |
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that looks very nice!
Here's mine, but mine isn't overlay, it's just CF.
Steve
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Ivan
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 06:09 AM |
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Wow - looks great - how did he do it though - I presume he used the original as a male mould and then what, did he vacuum bag it on and then hand
build up layers of clear epoxy or polyurethane with copius sanding.
Or did he just take a mould of the original part.
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Bigheppy
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 10:16 AM |
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If you just want the carbon fiber look without the cost just lay up using a clear gellcoat then add black pigment to to layup resin. By adjusting the
amount of pigment or colour different effects can be very effective. 
This is the locost way
Use woven cloth tho not chopped strand
[Edited on 6/1/08 by Bigheppy]
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cidersurfer
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 12:29 PM |
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How? How? How? That looks sweet...
shimming solid lifters is a job for a friend...
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 01:25 PM |
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Looks great 
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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Johneturbo
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 02:25 PM |
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Some very nice pieces there.
might be a dumb question. but is carbon fibre heat resistent? as i was thinking about cutting a piece for around my manifold exit
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twybrow
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 02:28 PM |
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It is the resin you need to worry about, not really the carbon. If it is epoxy, you should be ok up to around 150C+, but polyester I would go a bit
lower than that. Chances are if it does get too ot, it will change colour long so you should be able to tell if the heat is too much...
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sgraber
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 03:22 PM |
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I think anyone with fiberglass experience can probably get the hang of this. There is a lot of extra steps after you lay the carbon down to get the
coat that glossy.
The plastic fender was the hardest piece as the carbon kept wanting to separate. He waited until the gelcoat was just tacky before placing down the
CF.
It will not make your pieces any lighter and is just for posers only to do it this way! The pieces I am making on my car are true CF layups but not
bagged or oven baked, just squeegied. so I am only 1/2 poser! LOL.
Carbon in a 2x2 twill weave costs about $40 a yard but that yard is 48" wide. so 36"x48" = $40. Not too bad for the effect.
The key to the overlay is to brush down a coat of epoxy resin first. The carbon needs to drape naturally over the part since pulling it tends to
distort the weave. To make them that shiny you need to wait for the part to cure, then sand off any bubbles etc and spray on automotive clearcoat that
is mixed hard. You will need to hand sand and DA sand many times and reapply clear to build up enough layers. Final finish is achieved with wet sand
out to 3000 and buffing wheels.
Did I mention it's time consuming?
My bodywork guy has also carbon covered the stainless exhaust. Hoping it doesn't discolor!
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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Tralfaz
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| posted on 6/1/08 at 06:41 PM |
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Hey Steve,
I waved to you in Cave Creek when we flew into Phoenix last week....I guess you didn't see me. 
T
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Mave
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| posted on 7/1/08 at 07:17 PM |
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Steve,
I was wondering: when he laid the CF on the epoxy; did he add more epoxy at that stage, or did he wait for the epoxy below to cure first?
I've done similar things, and added epoxy while the epoxy below was still wet. Then it's easy to distort the pattern, as the fibres are
gliding around.
But now I'm wondering; when you let the base cure first, the CF will be pretty much immovable. And then you can safely add epoxy without
distorting the pattern.
Just curious what he did........it looks fantastic.
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sgraber
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| posted on 7/1/08 at 07:26 PM |
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I saw him brushing a layer of epoxy over the entire surface before the lower layer had kicked off. Definitely using a light touch. But the CF sticks
to the lower coat of epoxy so you can do that.
FYI it didn't look very good until almost the very end, and I was wondering how crappy it was going to look! But once he had enough layers of
clearcoat applied and took the polishing compound and buffer to it the difference was amazing. The process takes more than several days as you have to
wait between coats and then do your sanding. I think 5 layers of clear builds up enough surface to really put the polish on.
Hope that helps.
Graber
quote:
Originally posted by Mave
Steve,
I was wondering: when he laid the CF on the epoxy; did he add more epoxy at that stage, or did he wait for the epoxy below to cure first?
I've done similar things, and added epoxy while the epoxy below was still wet. Then it's easy to distort the pattern, as the fibres are
gliding around.
But now I'm wondering; when you let the base cure first, the CF will be pretty much immovable. And then you can safely add epoxy without
distorting the pattern.
Just curious what he did........it looks fantastic.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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