I am CF newbie

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#1

Hi all,

I am new to this forum. Actually, I am new to CF and I have no experience in making mold and glass fiber. I am looking forward to make some CF parts for my car myself. I don’t want to make overlay but real CF parts to reduce weight. Any input from you CF senior makers will be appreciated.

I am looking for tutorials to make CF parts out of existing plastic parts (interior panels). I know you have to make a mold from the existing part first. Then you start laying fabric.

I only see tutorial for mold making and overlay, but rarely see tutorial similar to what I wanted to do. I see a tutorial for making CF part for E46 seat from existing part. Unfortunately, no pictures were provided.

Is it ok not to vaccum making parts like I have described?
Detailed tutorials will be great. People say, measure twice and cut once. I don’t want to mess up my existing pastic panels. So, I want to gather as much information as possible before making a mold.

Thanks in advance.

#2

Right, this is not easy so if i were you id pick the simlpiest part you want to make, a part that can be molded as a one piece mold. This part is likeley to have a rough or grained surface so if you want to keep the original you may have to make 2 molds a throway one that you can take a part from that can be worked i.e sanded/filled etc to get a smooth finish to make a permanent mold from.Dont forget to use a good release agent (PVA) and a good coating or two so as not to ruin the original, or get a second hand part and sand and fill that. So now youve got your mold and a little expierience with glassfibre, thats the easy part. To save waste and frustration when making parts using carbon fiber there is no substitute for having the right tools for the job so apart from the materials you must have a vacuum pump, bagging materials etc.I bypassed vac bagging and went straight for infusion a little more complicated but almost guaranteed results without pinholes.If i were you id get to this stage then come back and ask again about using the mold youve now made to take a carbon part from it.

Good luck

Baz

#3

Here is a how to with pictures, they are doing a complete 32 coupe, a bit more difficult that what you are doing but you can see what the steps for pulling the mold are. remember since you have grainy parts you will either have to surface them or make an intermediate piece that you surface and pull the mold. You may be able to surface your plastic parts with polyfilla (plaster) and wash it off once you are done.
http://www.hotrodder.com/32Blowpar/page10.html

#4

Thanks for both of your help. Let me pick up some second hand parts and start being destructive by sanding it down.

Thanks again.

#5

welcome to the addiction