There have been a number of questions on the use of high stretch or elongation vacuum bag use for overlay compression. In response, I took some pics of the process. This method proves highly effective for curved surface vacuum bag compression. One note is that no process is prefect. You need to pay attention to how the piece is compressed and does not deform. Also, the bag does not easily separate from the target piece and can be lengthy process to remove all bag traces. Pictured below are some overlays of door handle pulls. You will note that there are not any wrinkles or veins caused by the vacuum bag. In this process, I first cut the carbon fiber to the correct size, then I actually used Super 77 to adhere carbon to the piece (this can also be done with just a resin coat on the carbon, but I prefer my approach because I don’t like the chance of messing up the weave). Once resin is applied the overlay piece, place the vacuum bag over it an begin sealing the edges. I usually seal one of the edges in advance and then lay the bag over the piece when ready. Once sealed, apply vacuum and work the surface of the piece to remove any wrinkles that there may be and so that the edges are sealing tightly against the piece. Once the resin has cured, remove the bag and you are ready to move on to the next stage. There are a few choices here. Some folks like to build up layers of their preferred resin, either epoxy or polyester to get depth. I prefer to build layers using auto clear coat because I find that it sands easier, either way will work. Once you get a smooth surface, then you would either need to apply a clear coat in the case of a non-UV stable epoxy or polish the surface to a high gloss. I usually wet sand starting with the highest grit possible, for example a 800 then working my way up to 1500. Then, compound and final buff. Sit back and admire your work.
