Alright, I am new to carbon fiber/composite work and am sure I probably did this wrong (but hadnt found this before I tried and now trying to figure it out better).
I was trying to do window switch plates for my car, currently they are a wood grain look. I bought blue carbon fiber, resin and hardener. I mixed the resin and hardener and brushed it on the plate, let it get tacky and then laid the carbon fiber over it, and applied more resin. Here is where I think I might have gone wrong. I kept layering on resin to get a nice thick glossy coat (no big deal there). Then tried to cut out the switch (with dried resin) holes and around the plate (had the carbon sheet bigger than the plate so I could cut it off later). This is where I had a problem, I used a dremel carbide disc for the outside, did an alright job, but the carbon seemed to fray a bit. Couldnt use a disc for the inside switch hole so tried some other dremel cutting tools and this worked out HORRIBLE, fraying galore.
My question is would green cutting work for this??? How exactly does that work, is it just easier to cut??? I tried cutting (dry fabric) with semi expensive sewing scissors and this hardly worked, how would a razor work much better (might, didnt try it before the resin dried)???
Another question, would it be easier to possible vaccum bag this somehow to make it work better??? I have never done this, could I use my house vac???
I would appreciate help and love to learn how to do new things, but ask for a little patience if I ask stupid questions. I have other items I want to do and friends that want stuff done if I get good, just trying to find the best way to do this.
Thanks,
Ben