so i was thinking bout a c/f dash pad, i was gonna buy the c/f from uscomposites but what else would i need and could someone possibly point me to a guide on how to for cf?
is it anyhting like f/g at all?
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3364129
^^ x2....You can also look on youtube...there is a few on there....they show how to c/f using a mold and another where they wrap a mirror and a sail....A company made the vids that sells kits...forgot the name of it...
2003 Cavalier
Stock 2.2 Liter, 5 speed
" Leave the rice to Uncle Ben's and the wings to KFC..
Go clean or go home. "
You're gonna need epoxy resin w/ hardener as well, which US Composites sells as well....I've been using theirs and like working with it. It tends to have a little longer pot life (I get the 3:1 ratio medium kit).
Laying CF by hand is somewhat similar to fiberglass, yet not really. I would suggest starting with something small first, to get the feel of laying the carbon, is the weave is very delicate and will pull apart if you aren't careful, and once you stick it to your first layer of resin, there is no pulling it up and relaying if you make a mistake - it will pull apart the weave and look like sh!t.
I started off by wrapping things like mirror sails, passenger side air bag cover, fuze box cover, etc...and the flatter the piece is, the better for learning....curves can be tricky to get the weave to lay in a uniform look.
This is how I lay CF:
1. clean the piece to be wrapped really well with a degreaser cleaner (I use prep solvent).
2. If the part is any color other than black or gray you probably want color it, or the existing color may show through some of the weave. Some people just paint the part, I personally like to dye the bottom layer of resin. US Composites sells gel coat dye, as well as many boating repair supply shops.
3. Mix your epoxy and coat the part with a layer....I just pour it on and spread with my fingers (wear gloves, epoxy resin is a bitch to get off your hands!) instead of using a brush..you don't want brush hairs pulling out and sticking in the epoxy, especially on the top coats. Epoxy resin is pretty much self leveling, so you don't need to spend a ton of time getting it even. Once it starts to set and get a little tacky (about 2 hours if you are using the 3:1 ratio epoxy), you can lay down your CF cloth. I lay on my next layer of epoxy right away.
4. Now you just keep adding layers of epoxy, let each layer set up til it starts getting tacky before adding the next layer. I tend to do about 4 layers, but when you are learning you may want to do 5-6 layers to give yourself a little padding when wet sanding....if you sand all the way through the epoxy and hit your cloth, you're gonna be starting all over again.
5. Once your last layer of epoxy is set and dried, you can begin wet sanding. I start with 220 grit, and work my way up to 2000, following by polishing, then clear coating.
Notice, this is just a rough outline here, which is why I say start with a small piece til you get the hang of it and move onto bigger piece. Also, once you start something like a dash pad, have an extra set of hands to help you drape the cloth over the part, it makes it a lot easier to not mess up the weave that way.
And like someone else said, watch some videos first to sort of give you an idea what you are in for, I watched a bunch before I tackled it for the first time. There are also some helpful threads on carbon fiber over on
Fiberglass Forums
if you have any other question, just PM me
