Is this right… there is a clear gel coat made for doing c/f lay ups?
If so who makes it and where do i get it online?
Also… can epoxy be used as a “gel coat” and get that nice bright shine to the finished part?
Just use regular clear gelcoat. There’s no “carbon fiber” specific clear gelcoat, since proper high performance carbon composites are either painted or left raw with no need for a cosmetic shine.
Its worth bearing in mind that polyester gel-coats, may or may not be compatable with epoxy resins…doesnt matter if the op intends to use poly resin, but is very relevant if using epoxy.
I guess I will just finish coat the part in urethane clear coat, that will also give the UV resistance i’m looking for.
on my normal carbon products that are mostly cosmetic I use a UV clear gel coat. My race stuff I do clear coat if they are not going to paint
If your parts dont need the strength imparted by epoxy resin systems, then it might be best to use poly resin, which will work with poly gel coats, and reduce production cost and time.
How much more strength is there to be gained by using Epoxy vs. Polyester resin? I’ve only used poly thus far.
If you are making cosmetic parts only, there isnt really any reason use epoxy. Using poly will mean parts are cheaper and faster to make, and differences in weight/strength doesnt really matter on cosmetic items for road bikes.
If you are interested in making proper parts for race bikes, then you will need to be looking at pre-preg carbon, carbon-kevlar hybrids and epoxy resin systems.
Is it ok to use poly resin for laying up carbon fiber? or is that a no-no? I’d get my UV protection from spraying clear coat after the part completely drys. I think I would much rather deal with 2 part clearcoat than spraying gel coat.
These parts will flex in the wind and be expected to hold their shape at 175mph.
I know …we/I talked about practicing with fiberglass, and i probably will do one or two parts first with f/g. To hell with saving a few bucks by not buying c/f. lol
I wonder how much experience you have working with composites? If you are quite new, then attempting to make parts like fairings for race bikes, which are going to need to flex at 175mph, might not be that good a starting point.
I agree with classic bibe:)