Hello everyone,

 

I am picking up the gear this weekend to start learning carbon fibre resin infusion. I am have a bunch of cheap fabric to learn with; and plenty of nicer material including carbon Kevlar etc for when I start building final parts.

 

My aim is to create some gorgeous looking and strong aftermarket but oem shape parts for both the interior and exterior. I have searched some previous threads and sites and would like to compile a list of what is currently available and what people would like to see made. Seeing as some of this will require moulds to be build I would intend to be able to build the parts to order eventually (at which point a trader account would be in order).

 

Currently I would like to try:

 

Interior

- door handles

- double din centre facia

- possibly steering console pods

- speedo surround/backplate

- door sill covers

- front windscreen/bonnet plastic thing where the windscreen wipers are.

 

Exterior

- Wing mirrors

- Front/rear splitters/lip

- 99spec wing

- plenum cover

- fan shroud

- Cam belt cover

 

So, if people are currently offering these for sale please feel free to post pics here as I don't need to build things that are readily for sale.

 

Also if there are items you would like to see built then comment and I will add to the list! Nothing bigger than already stated though due to space in my current place.

 

Also it is likely I will be giving away some of my initial experiment parts if they are of any use to people.

 

Best regards, William

Edited May 20, 20169 yr by wchestnutt

The first piece came of the mould today. Few lessons learned. I only managed to get half the thickness of laminated glass fibre on the back of the mould due to being interrupted and my resin turning into concrete!

 

I am pretty pleased with how this has come out and feels pretty solid. Lots of sanding before the infusion process later this week.

 

I used a filler to get rid of the lines along the original part, and that has transferred on to the mould but will sand off easily.

 

First second and third test of resin infusion. Initial two tests suffered from resin starvation, but I have the process and materials sorted now and the latest one is mirror smooth. This was 4 layers of 200g carbon twill weave.

 

 

I am just doing the final few layers of fibreglass on the mould for the sills and then I will run a test infusion for that. It is a shame that with limited time in the evenings this process takes ages as each time you leave the part to cure you have to wait 24 - 48 hrs!

Well done bud, good to see you trying things out.

Me too look nice .

So this weekend I will do the first infusion on a final mould - the drivers side door sill cover.

Very almost gave up when I realised how tricky the sill covers were with their tight little curves, but I think I got it!

 

Didnt get time to do an infusion last weekend but just completed a successful vacuum test on the new mould...

 

So it turns out that the mould is not air tight... Must have a micro leak somewhere as over the course of an hour the vacuum looses pressure.

 

So I am probably going to put the sill cover to the side for now as it has been an absolute mission getting this far and is just so hard to get to work. I have an infusion test in the mould at the moment but it isn't going to work annoyingly.

 

Will move on to a small part as I didn't quite appreciate the time this would take - Far more consuming than upholstery! And teh added annoyance of the resins and agents you have to use it is quite messy work.

 

This time it will be some seat belt rings for the bride seats as mine have snapped. They are quite small so hopefully mistakes wont' be so time costly.

I don't manufacture parts or work with moulds but I have done plenty of composite repairs to damaged components that required a vacuum whilst curing. Even using the best materials available the vacuum is source is constant throughout the cure time. I've always done it using a compressor, a regulated vacuum valve and a gauge at the opposite end.

 

I take it you have been switching that pump off after achieving the vacuum? Maybe you should try switching it on every so often to ensure the vacuum is constant and install a gauge to monitor it.

Hi Joely, yeah I have been shutting the vaccum off to prevent the resin being sucked out of the part, but I will have a play with doing it as you suggested - I have a couple of guages monitoring pressure but nothing which could automate the pumping.

 

Will be removing the test part later to see what happened!

Are you using a peel ply and a breather inside the bag?

I have a peel ply, then infusion membrane/mesh then the bag.

De moulded my test piece today. Considering that it lost vacuum after an hour this has given me some confidence back - if I can fix the leak or keep the vacuum on without starving the part of resin then it may still work. The parts which stayed under vacuum are really smooth and could be polished up. Just one side I a mess haha

 

 

After a busy few months I am trying to finish off my seats so have had to make sume new belt loops as the clips have all broken on the back.

 

The aim is to make some new carbon parts so here are the snaps so far of making the tool from the original part and some wax. This is now fibreglassed and curing ready to use for vacuum infusion

 

 

 

 

Cool work there buddy:thumbup1: I love seeing how this stuff is actually made. :thumbup:

Good effort, fyi the carpet is ready to come out, just figuring how to get the heater matrix out without making a mess haha.

 

Come and get it at your leisure.

Thanks guys, Ali might pop over tomorrow if you are around!?

Thanks guys, Ali might pop over tomorrow if you are around!?

No problem.

Removed the tool his morning! Now just polish it and then carbon fiber it later!

 

Remove the wax which made up the mould

 

Only the original clif left to remove now. Using a knife to make sure there isn't any mechanical lock keeping the part from being removed from the tool. Slowly slowly slowly does it... it will eventually prize off the tool, but takes time. The part was covered in a release agent before I painted on the he'll coat, this does some magic to stop it bonding to the part.

 

 

Bride words imprinted perfectly! Hoping these transfer to the carbon as well. Have to ensure that when painting on the black gellcoat you get an even layer without air trapped underneath as this will destroy the finish.

 

Finally ready for a quick sand and then carbon

Coming along nicely you will be churning out scuttle panels before you know it

Thanks Ian, that will be a way off haha... Lets see how these come out tomorrow :p

 

Lay up:

 

Release agent applied and then a layer of pro carbon which has a light glue layer on the back to hold it together. This will be the most visible but of the final part.

 

 

heavier weight carbon added for reinforcement and then the top layer. Has a nice amount of stretch in it to cover those awkward shapes.

 

 

Peel ply layer added which helps evenly infuse the resin and wont bond to the carbon part. Then a layer of green infusion mesh which helps the resin move through the whole part.

 

 

Finally a vacuum bagging layer on the top sealed with a gum.

 

and the vacuum test. you can see the vacuum bag pushes into all the small areas so hopefully the final part will have a good shape and the BRIDE letters embossed.

 

 

 

Looking good.

 

*taking notes*

So unfortunately after an hour of being under vacuum the part sprung an air leak... I fixed it and left it to cure overnight but any air will ruin the party... so I removed it tonight and will have to go for round two. I also need to fix a slight mechanical lock on the tool as t didn't want to release easily

 

Also need to get a bit more resin into the part I think

 

 

At least the bride letters look like hey will emboss okay.

 

You can see where I got a small leak on the short side

 

So unfortunately after an hour of being under vacuum the part sprung an air leak... I fixed it and left it to cure overnight but any air will ruin the party... so I removed it tonight and will have to go for round two. I also need to fix a slight mechanical lock on the tool as t didn't want to release easily

 

Also need to get a bit more resin into the part I think

 

 

 

At least the bride letters look like hey will emboss okay.

 

You can see where I got a small leak on the short side

 

I agree, iirc the finished result should have a thin layer or resin over top so it is completely flat and can be buffed a bit to create that smooth finish. If you have uneven carbon that can't really happen. Correct me if I'm wrong :innocent:

I am having a go at this with my students at school for our School Race car.... This is a great company to get stuff from. http://www.carbonmods.co.uk/ They have vids and guides etc. I have ordered and received the starter carbon kit and mould kit. Ill let you know how it goes.