Hi guys,
Been reading for a few years now and made this part for my civic build.
I had to sand it a little. The problem is that there are some tiny holes which are filled with the white sanding stuff. Can this be fixxed somehow?
Second is: I sanded a little on the kevlar and this frayed just a little. Is it possible to give it a coat of gel coat somehow without sanding it? Just brush it on or something?
Thanks guys!
Composite doors? Good job, that’s a huge weight savings.
to get rid of the white dust wipe it over with panel wipe, if they are still there give it a very light coat of satin black aerosol paint (and I mean light coat!) then plat it with 800 Wet and dry (wet) so that only the plack paint is left in the pin holes that way they wont really show up, then clearcoat.
When doing parts like that, best is to first laminate a light glass in the mould. (like this: http://www.polyestershoppen.nl/Keperweefsel+160grm2-p-1160.html)
Only after that use kevlar. That way the risk of fraying kevlar is minimised. For now, you can try the black paint option, or first blow the part off with pressurised air. The black paint will also disturb the frayed kevlar…
after that it is a matter of applying paint, wet sand, paint, wet sand, etc, untill the surface-kevlar is gone and the part is nice and shiny.
use a tooth brush to scrub out the white wet sanding residue.works great.
looks very nice
+1 with the layer of glass
I 2nd that.
I really want to see the kevlar structure. Will the glass block this?
Yes. And some lexaan windows to complete the weight savings 
the thin glass should be transparent
What is that kevlar weave?? I’ve been looking for that weave for awhile and just dont’ know what its called.
Toothbrush plus some water should do the trick with removing the trapped white dust. It helps if the part is submerged in water, and the water will draw off most of the sanding dust. The only problem is that any raw, non-resin-saturated kevlar will actually wick water unto the part. I’ve found that the fiberglass trick will kill the need for much of the kind of surface porosity that catches dust anyway. It doesn’t help you much at this point, but a fine fiberglass layer as a first layer in your mold will help with surface pores. It also prevents the kevlar from absorbing water as well.
As for clear coating the kevlar, I have yet to find a clear that’ll protect the kevlar long term from becoming affected by the UV. Kevlar is highly susceptible to UV degradation and is usually best off painted or limited to interply laminates. That car is going to spend a good chunk of time in the garage right? Only reason I mention it is because I made some kevlar external panels on a gold car that were made with a supposed ‘uv stabilized’ resin and I sprayed an expensive PPG clearcoat on top of it and still wasn’t able to protect the kevlar long term. This will show much less on a hybrid but its something to think about.
Thanks. I don’t know what this weave is called. This is the only stuff I can get in the Netherlands. Thanks for the degredatian issue. This car will be stored in the garage for about 350 days a year so I hope this will be a no problem.
you could find it under “hybrid weave” or “carbon/kevlar” weave(with all the tradenames for aramid off course)
This is a twill carbon/aramide weave. They should have it at your side of the pond as well.