Well i came up with the name, and now i need some advice. Should i invest in a vaccume pump for my first few, or could i get away with using an air compressor as I’ve heard it’s possible from the internet. Anyways http://www.harborfreight.com/air-vacuum-pump-with-r134a-and-r12-connectors-96677.html with one of these, i would have a vaccume.
Anyways, i plan to do all the trim in my 2010 Tacoma, in carbon fiber. Then maybe some outside panels, in custom shapes so i can have better tyre clearance. I figure if i do this i’ll have an exhibition car to show off. I already have a painter lined up… all i need is your guys help! And i do hope to help others once i have gained adequate knowledge.
Also i’m based in the Tampa area.
Hi, sounds like you have a direction. THere is much to learn. A vac pump is always a good investment. Also check ebay for pumps. I had one of those harbor freight pumps and it seemed ok, just be ware that some pumps can vent off some oil when they’re sucking air. I enjoy doing car related stuff too but, I think it’s a tough industry for parts as most people are cheap and there are lots of competitors. I once worked at a place where we made parts but, they were for like Bentley, range rovers, Teslas, and such.
Sounds like you’ll have some fun and learn as you go. That’s how I did it and I’m still doing it as much as I can.
I’d worry less about making a business plan until you’ve educated yourself enough to infuse perfect parts. No one wants to buy a defective carbon part. Not to mention you don’t want to base your start-up reputation on flaws either. Not even covered-up flaws.
Search this forum for the myriad of endless threads of content and take notes when things are foreign to you as you go. To build confidence in your steps, much like martial arts, start small and slow. Learn the materials behavior and the products shelf life and behavior.
The components with which we work are somewhat unforgiving and moreso the less one prepares.
Thank you guys for the replies and i mean i have a few customers lined up… it seems like nobody really does anything here in my area for custom parts but i sure don’t want to be making defective parts. I’ve found that parts like to try and go flat which i found out when i was skinning a Beethoven bust in carbon fiber - so vaccume compression seems to be an absolute must!
First steps are to research as long and often as you can manage. Watch videos until you form intelligent questions and read more until the answers actually make sense.
It will take time. The learning curve is constant and steep. Doing a flat CF panel on a sheet of glass with infusion is as easy as it gets.
I suggest trying that first and YES, a vacuum pump is needed. There are starter kits on Ebay these days for a low entry cost to trial.
You can advance into mold making later. That is a whole other game in and of itself.
Let the learning begin!!
I posted a thread looking for advice about what Build Layers I should use for a camper poptop and its not there on the forum. So just typing this now to see if it works
I know alot of things but there are many things to know.
The most interesting topic I want to explore is avoiding Freeman Wax for high-tolerance products and rather doing a vac-bag trial run, cut it all up and check for the defects, then run it again with any new mods or ideas changed, then test it again one more time, if all good to go then one last time but this time its going to be used as the actual cavity filler for building the LRTM counter-mould up on.