Step by Step Guide to Carbon Fibre / Kevlar Overlaying

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Step by Step Guide to Carbon Fibre / Kevlar Overlaying

Postby Dragonheart » Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:07 pm

This is a guide for wrapping a piece in carbon fibre, kevlar, or carbon/kevlar hybrids. The cloth I used for the walkthrough is a kevlar/carbon hybrid, but they all have the same qualities, apart from weave distances.

Firstly, what you need for the project;
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1 - Cloth of choice
2 - Clear Resin (Tin with blue stripe, can be got at most marine shops as they do them for canoe repairs)
3 - Hardener (Tin with red stripe, sometimes comes as a kit with the resin, ask first cause it may not.)
4 - Piece your wrapping (obviously!)
5 - Paintbrushes, you'll need a lot cause after the resin sets theres no getting it off the brush, buy cheap ones, ones that are about half inch will be perfect.
6 - Mixing cup (for resin and hardener)
7 - Mixing stick
8 - Good quality scissors
9 - Sandpaper (I use 4 grades, 400, 800, 1200, and 1500 to finish)
10 - Some form of quick drying glue (I find bostik best as it doesnt stick you're fingers to the cloth)
11 - Modelling scalpels (2 types are best, one with a really thin blade for getting into the small awkward places when trimming the cloth.)

The mix for the resin is 5 parts resin to 2 parts hardener. The more hardener you use the quicker it sets, and when it starts to go to a jelly consistency you have very little time before it goes unusable.

So, the walkthrough;

Step 1 - Cut the cloth to an approximate shape of the piece, leave about an inch all round for trimming off later.
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Step 2 - Fix the cloth to the piece, apply a small bit of resin to the large areas, but keep slightly back from the edges, makes it easier to stick these with glue later. Stay back about 3 to 5mm. Dab some bostik around the piece just to ensure the cloth gets stuck down initially. The cloth should be firmly fixed after a day or 2.
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Step 3 - Cut any areas where there will be holes (for switches, etc.) in the cloth.
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Step 4 - Stick down the cloth to the edges of the piece with bostik, make sure and get all the edges all the way around. Applys to the areas where switches are coming through too where you cut the holes in the cloth.
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Step 5 - When the edges are stuck down, (should be pretty much immediately), apply a light coat of resin again to the cloth. All over this time, and over-run it over the edges by about 10mm. When this sets it makes it really easy to trim back the cloth to the very edges of the piece.
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Step 6 - When this is dry, again about 2 days to be sure it's fully dry and hard, then you can trim back the cloth to the edges of the piece. Use the modelling scalpels for this.
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Step 7 - Apply the resin to the piece. Use the 5:2 mix again, apply about 5 coats I would recommend. Dont worry if one coat appears to settle and leaves spaces that the resin didnt stick, the next coat will take care of this, just give a good eye over it to make sure all areas are evenly resined and when happy leave to dry. Check it the next day to make sure its setting properly, it should be pretty hard, but if you press on it you'll leave a fingerprint. To allow it to fully set and cure, leave it for a week at least.
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Step 8 - Sand the piece down using the different grades of paper, the lowest grade first and the highest ot finish the piece. When happy with the sanding and that all areas appear blemish free, apply a UV resistant laquer as the resin will turn to a yellowey type colour if not protected.

So, thats it. All thats left is to refit the pieces, which will prob take a bit of adjusting for switches to fit and bits to fit neatly, but keep at it and get them all perfect.
Hope that helps anyone thinking of doing this.

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Postby Bernard » Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:11 pm

Excellent guide MJ :smt023
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Postby colm_mcm » Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:26 pm

Great stuff MJ

Off to the knowledgebase....
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Postby gt94 » Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:45 pm

lovely finish will try this sometime in the future :smt023
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Postby Myfeckin FTO » Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:49 pm

Super stuff MJ - this is a far better option than spraying IMHO.
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Postby Dragonheart » Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:30 pm

Myfeckin FTO wrote:this is a far better option than spraying IMHO.


The one advantage that spraying has over this option is the fact that its quicker and less time consuming. And a lot easier to do. But on the other hand, if you have the pieces spare then its def worth giving this a shot, its a nice project to do and very satisfying to see it all come together. Trust me, at christmas when I was cutting the first bits of cloth I was wondering how the hell was I ever going to manage it and could not see a solution to a lot of the ways around the shaping and cutting, yet a few months later there they are sitting on my kitchen table practically complete. :D
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Postby Muad_dib77 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:56 pm

Brilliant guide! Cant wait to do an art-attack myself!
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Postby TopCat » Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:00 pm

Great work MJ, really looking forward to seeing this stuff fitted in the car.
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Postby Sebastian » Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:37 pm

TopCat wrote:Great work MJ, really looking forward to seeing this stuff fitted in the car.

+1
get your ar$e to the Portlaois meet :lol:
no1. manual GR 96 l no2. tip GR 95 l no3. manual Gpx 95 l no.4 manual Gpx 95 l no.5 manual Gpx 96 l no.6 tip GR 95 - in 2011 took a break from the FTO scene
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Postby Dragonheart » Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:41 pm

Trying my best to! Was busy sanding down today and have the lower centre console, ashtray, and gear lever surround complete apart from laquer, but that a 5 min job.
Might have the rest more or less finished tomorrow, as for fitting I'll have to just put aside a day and get it done then. :D
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Postby miss-enzo » Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:57 pm

where did u get the cloth??? Is be interested in doin some CF bits! :D
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Postby Dragonheart » Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:39 pm

miss-enzo wrote:where did u get the cloth???


Off an ebay seller in US called Polymerproducts, very good value too. This place does them in England though and does CF and other types;
http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/store/-c-43.html.
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