My SECOND wrapped carbon fiber part.
- sidepipe87
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My SECOND wrapped carbon fiber part.
srt_coupes recent fs thread got me looking into carbon fiber work and I started to do my research. I decided I wanted to give it a shot myself figuring the worst that happens is I'm out the money I spent on supplies (which were not cheap), but if all goes well I'd have a new skill and some cool parts.
I had a specific project in mind I wanted to try, so I just went at it after getting my carbon fiber, resin, and tons of foam brushes. I already had the Super 90 and the random assortment of sandpaper. I have been wanting BUX style door inserts but they are hard to come by in the U.S. so I decided to just make my own. I wanted to do them with a twist. I currently have inserts wrapped in black suede and it has already faded to a nice purple since last year... So instead of re-wrapping them only to have them fade again I decided I wanted to do something I hadn't seen done before and do CF door inserts. (After searching I found a company did these in a GB on SRTForums back in 06 but Krackstar was the only person I could find that had them. They were $250 per set ) Another twist would be color matching the bottom of the door insert, which is "wood" on the BUX door, PS2 to match my car.
I started off by using a junk door insert (thanks Dan) and taking some rough measurements to decide where I wanted to cut the piece into two pieces. Sharpied a nice line on it and proceeded to cut it with a jigsaw for a straight cut.
Once cut, I beveled the bottom edge of the top piece so I could wrap the CF around it nicely.
Next up was removing the nasty glue stuck all over the insert. I tried adhesive remover with no luck, so I used a random orbit sander and a 60 grit disk to clean them up. Didn't get any pics of the top piece but I did it too.
Next I measured the CF cloth I needed and used a straight edge to line the weave up and taped the edges so it would stay straight and not fray then cut along the tape
I bombed the insert black and let it dry so it wouldn't be visible through the weave.
I Super 90'd the insert and wrapped the carbon fiber around it
Mixed my resin and started applying the first coat
After several coats of resin
After 4 coats, I let the resin cure for 2 days then wet sanded the high spots with 80 grit sandpaper, then 180, 320, then 400 over the entire piece. I washed the piece and let it dry. After that I applied two coats of UPOL #1 Clear.
Test fit on one of my door panels
It's not 100% perfect, but for my first piece wrapped in CF I'm very happy with it. The weave is consistent and no strands popped. I need to do some bodywork on the bottom piece to get it to fit how I want then I'll paint it PS2. I just thought it'd be a cool project, and it's not something anyone else has done that I know of.
After these are done, I have a few other pieces I'd like to wrap in CF and eventually try my hand at some full replacement parts.
When I feel comfortable enough with my work, I may start doing some parts for some of the other CF whores if there is any interest, but I'd have to look into becoming a vendor at that point I guess.
I had a specific project in mind I wanted to try, so I just went at it after getting my carbon fiber, resin, and tons of foam brushes. I already had the Super 90 and the random assortment of sandpaper. I have been wanting BUX style door inserts but they are hard to come by in the U.S. so I decided to just make my own. I wanted to do them with a twist. I currently have inserts wrapped in black suede and it has already faded to a nice purple since last year... So instead of re-wrapping them only to have them fade again I decided I wanted to do something I hadn't seen done before and do CF door inserts. (After searching I found a company did these in a GB on SRTForums back in 06 but Krackstar was the only person I could find that had them. They were $250 per set ) Another twist would be color matching the bottom of the door insert, which is "wood" on the BUX door, PS2 to match my car.
I started off by using a junk door insert (thanks Dan) and taking some rough measurements to decide where I wanted to cut the piece into two pieces. Sharpied a nice line on it and proceeded to cut it with a jigsaw for a straight cut.
Once cut, I beveled the bottom edge of the top piece so I could wrap the CF around it nicely.
Next up was removing the nasty glue stuck all over the insert. I tried adhesive remover with no luck, so I used a random orbit sander and a 60 grit disk to clean them up. Didn't get any pics of the top piece but I did it too.
Next I measured the CF cloth I needed and used a straight edge to line the weave up and taped the edges so it would stay straight and not fray then cut along the tape
I bombed the insert black and let it dry so it wouldn't be visible through the weave.
I Super 90'd the insert and wrapped the carbon fiber around it
Mixed my resin and started applying the first coat
After several coats of resin
After 4 coats, I let the resin cure for 2 days then wet sanded the high spots with 80 grit sandpaper, then 180, 320, then 400 over the entire piece. I washed the piece and let it dry. After that I applied two coats of UPOL #1 Clear.
Test fit on one of my door panels
It's not 100% perfect, but for my first piece wrapped in CF I'm very happy with it. The weave is consistent and no strands popped. I need to do some bodywork on the bottom piece to get it to fit how I want then I'll paint it PS2. I just thought it'd be a cool project, and it's not something anyone else has done that I know of.
After these are done, I have a few other pieces I'd like to wrap in CF and eventually try my hand at some full replacement parts.
When I feel comfortable enough with my work, I may start doing some parts for some of the other CF whores if there is any interest, but I'd have to look into becoming a vendor at that point I guess.
Last edited by sidepipe87 on Sat Oct 30, 2010 4:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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fun isn't it?? and you did a pretty good job for your first time, many people make the mistake of trying to make complicated parts for there first part and then get discouraged. you chose a perfect starter part
Ziptie's come in handy when a prostitute gets mouthy or reluctant
*eye twitches*
I like people who BUY a 10 sec car and then brag about it. Thats like hiring someone to bang your wife and then bragging about the kid
*eye twitches*
I like people who BUY a 10 sec car and then brag about it. Thats like hiring someone to bang your wife and then bragging about the kid
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looks damn good. Those will look great in the car.
edit: wherd u get your cf cloth from?
edit: wherd u get your cf cloth from?
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- sidepipe87
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Teej, yeah it's a slow and tedious project so I can understand why many don't want to take it on, but that's why i HAD to try it And yeah, I wanted to start off with a project that didn't have insane compound curves because I knew I'd fail.
Ntyvirus - thanks a lot, man. I'm satisfied with how it came out. My interior is really lacking so I have a few projects I wanna do to spice it up some and be unique, maybe even have people raise their eyebrows a bit at some of the strange ideas I wanna try. I got my CF cloth from an ebay vendor "pennon". No real reason, other than the auction was ending soon. I had a good experience with them. Any 2x2 twill carbon fiber cloth will do.
Ntyvirus - thanks a lot, man. I'm satisfied with how it came out. My interior is really lacking so I have a few projects I wanna do to spice it up some and be unique, maybe even have people raise their eyebrows a bit at some of the strange ideas I wanna try. I got my CF cloth from an ebay vendor "pennon". No real reason, other than the auction was ending soon. I had a good experience with them. Any 2x2 twill carbon fiber cloth will do.
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- sidepipe87
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wut.TheRandom1 wrote:I considered trying to make my own part from a block of wood... but gave up when I realized I don't have any woodworking tools. And that I'm lazy.
that had nothing to do with this, but that project got sidetracked because I didn't mix enough hardener into the resin for the fleece I was fiberglassing. I might try something different with that. And yeah, a lot of people seem to hate CF. Oh well, I figure either way people can appreciate the work that went into it.
Thanks Dylan!
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- sidepipe87
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That wooden thing? rofl. I gave that pic as a teaser in my log over the summer and people guessed what it was for. It is for a GPS mount I was working on.
I stretched that in fleece, and was going to fiberglass it and make a GPS mount for the top "sunglasses" tray on top of the HVAC on the dash. But anyway, I don't wanna take this thread too far off-topic.
I stretched that in fleece, and was going to fiberglass it and make a GPS mount for the top "sunglasses" tray on top of the HVAC on the dash. But anyway, I don't wanna take this thread too far off-topic.
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- sidepipe87
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Yeah, I was wondering whether I should make a quick "how-to" with more details.
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- sidepipe87
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Thanks guys, the only imperfections are a few tiny pits. Nothing major, more resin would fix it if I cared. I left them since this will go on the back door.
PS - check How-To Miscellaneous section for a how-to I made.
PS - check How-To Miscellaneous section for a how-to I made.
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very nice man, ill be bz this winter with cf myself
Joe
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- sidepipe87
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lol Joe I had you in mind when I posted this
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- sidepipe87
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Dan I have a few ricy fucking ideas I want to try out on some inserts... not just with CF, but your car might actually make it work.
Aaron - thanks, bud.
Aaron - thanks, bud.
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- sidepipe87
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Thanks, Dave. I agree the BUX look gives it that extra kick I had been looking for. Once I get all the CF work done and get the bottom pieces painted PS2 I think it'll look great back on the car.quicksilvr wrote:The carbon fiber looks real nice, especially for a first try. The best part of the whole thing though is the two piece BUX look. The line you chose is great, gives it a really sharp professional feel.
Dan... do I even want to ask?
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Nice work
Your not the first with CF door panels...."Top Shelf" was a vendor on SRTforums a while back that sold em...I have it for each door.
don't mind the strange girl modeling..its the only pic i found showing the cf panels.....(notice no inside B pillar,, CF was being installed at the time)
actually..here's another....you can see how shiny it is
Your not the first with CF door panels...."Top Shelf" was a vendor on SRTforums a while back that sold em...I have it for each door.
don't mind the strange girl modeling..its the only pic i found showing the cf panels.....(notice no inside B pillar,, CF was being installed at the time)
actually..here's another....you can see how shiny it is
- sidepipe87
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Bill, I mentioned that SRTForums vendor in the first post. I believe they were actually called Top Shop Carbon Fiber. When I searched I found that Krackstar had them but couldn't find anyone else. They're still not very common, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one with BUX style CF inserts.
Thanks! I need to get my hands on a few other parts I wanna try wrapping now. Or I might just raid the red car and if they come out like dookie I'll replace them later.
Thanks! I need to get my hands on a few other parts I wanna try wrapping now. Or I might just raid the red car and if they come out like dookie I'll replace them later.