Some questions to EVAN

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#1

HI Evan,

Great Job with the forums.

I have few Questions for you,

We are doing some tests on CF HOODs, I basicaly have lot of experiance in FRP HOODs, like we manufacture around 400 - 500 hoods month on FRP,

But now we have gone for CF and we are doing Test Samples.

1 ) What is the best method of getting the the glossy finish on top of the CF HOOD. Should we use the normal Gel Coat we use for Fibreglass,

  1. On the hood near air intake its is 90% Angle. How do we seat the Carbon Fabric Over there. Should be we have two pieces ?

  2. Our HOODS are double side. What do you recomend us on the following techniques.

a) We manufacture boths side, and put the Male and Female moulds together and let it cure

or

B) We manufacture boths sides and let them cure first for 12 hrs and then paste them to get it cured for another 12 hrs,

THanks you very much for your help.

CT

#2

  1. This depends on a number of things, however we use the same gel coat for FG however we have a paint shop put a clear coat over the hood. The production rate it seems you are headed this is the most cost and time effective.

  2. This depends as well, such as the distance between the angle and the edges on your hood, and/or/including your method of adding the resin to the mold and CF. Sometimes two pieces is needed, but the key is to have less lines and separations between the different pieces as possible. It will take some time for you to learn the way CF moves and how to cut, lay and handle the material.

  3. a) Think about it, if you don’t let it cure, depending on your method of adding the resin to the mold and CF when you put the two together the top part would fall out of the mold.

  4. b) That’s the best way, however what is your exact meaning of ‘paste them’? What I’m wondering is the material you would use to ‘paste them,’ first thing that comes to my head is some sort of adhesive.

Hope this helps.

#3

Hi all, seems like VanillaCoke answered your questions pretty well. lets see if I have anything to add.

#4

  1. I’m going to assume that you either use a Polyester based resin or Vinyl Ester based resin. In that case you might want to use a polyester clear gelcoat. Even then shiny molds = shiny parts. Porous molds = porous parts. Some people clear coat the part afterward and that’s fine too. It just slows down production and increase cost.

  2. You bond the two halves after they’re cured. Paste works, but structural adhesive works best. It costs a lot more than making a paste out of your resin but you end up with a better quality part. I can tell you for a fact that most people don’t use structural adhesive.