38 replies to this topic

[AndyR]

It works quite well, but is really difficult on oddly shaped parts. If things are fairly flat with not that many tight curves its great. It takes a long time and you need to constantly keep an eye on it as the carbon can start to lift off the resin, leaving a kinda bubble between your part and the "skin", especially on corners etc. As mentioned a quite warm hair dryer or heat gun is essential. Room temperature is also very important to make sure your resin cures at the right rate to make it sticky enough to hold the fabric. If its too dry it wont hold and if its too wet it wont hold, a few test bits are wise. But the results look really great when you spend your time - as you get that awesome carbon 3d depth and glint of shine.

Good Luck

[clivemk1mini]

Cheers I'm wanting to do a centre binnacle and maybe steering cowl as well

[AndyR]

Those are both quite difficult shapes, I would advise against doing a Mk5 steering cowl, thats from personal experience! Practice a bit to make sure you get the correct stickyness of the resin, that will make those shapes a bit more do-able. I also recommend their ProFinish fabric as you wont get any freyed edges when cutting the fabric, also making joins almost invisible. Sound like a salesman here, but also recommend some permagrit stuff as it cuts through the carbon really well and can be cleaned off and reused.

[clivemk1mini]

Sound like you've had quite a bit of Exsperiance with this stuff. You fancy doing it for me lol

[AndyR]

haha......now if i did it for you, where would be the fun in it for you!

It may seem daunting, but its really not. Just start with a very simple part first to get the hang of it.

[clivemk1mini]

There the only 2 parts I want to do lol

[station wagon]

^{I've covered a lot of parts and made a couple of molded parts with carbon fibers. Carbon Mods tutorials are helpfull but don't buy their kits, it's way too expensive and you will not have enough quantity to make some test and trial on other parts. Buy some fiber and resin on Ebay or at a local fiber glass specialist. My only hint for lyering is "don't let that stuff cure withou keeping an eye at it" Because it' stiffer than fiberglass, it tends to take off in concave curves.}

^{My Group5 (CF skinning)}

^{Miglia (Carbon Kevlar Skinning)}

Edited by station wagon, 02 January 2013 - 10:19 PM.

[clivemk1mini]

Any chance of some links so I get the right stuff cheers

[station wagon]

Any chance of some links so I get the right stuff cheers

Sorry i don't think i would be good help on distributors for you cause i live in Canada...

I've ordered good quality resin from Fiberglass Supply in the States a few times and got a nice service.

[AndyR]

I dont think carbon mods are that unreasonable.......i remember researching this a while back and its not that easy to come by suppliers that sell quality resins and cloth that you can rely on being tried and tested. You may find cheaper epoxy resin but it will most likely go cloudy, so you would have to take that risk. And i think you will be hard pressed to find twill cloth (typical cool looking carbon weave) much cheaper. You can buy whatever quantities you want through carbon mods or their sister company easycomposites - but the prices are of course the same.

[clivemk1mini]

I've read on the skyline forum that surfboard resin is very good

[AndyR]

Well depends really....surfboard resin is a polyester resin. It is brittle in comparison to epoxy, and believe it or not it is less tolerant to water than epoxy. It will yellow over time, especially if left in sunlight etc. Polyester resin also goes off with with an exothermic reaction, so if the ratio of resin to catalyst is off it can get so hot to delaminate or get bubbles in the resin layer; or if skinning a plastic part it may get hot enough to deform the part underneath. Polyester also stinks and isnt very healthy for your lungs - so respirator essential. It also has a lot shorter pot life, so you will have to work quicker, which in some respects may be a benefit. It is also cheaper and much easier to come by. You will probably need more polyester resin to get the stiffness of epoxy - increasing weight. Not so important for skinning i know! Epoxy is dead stiff and will usually have a UV stabiliser in it, at least the carbon mods resin does to stop it discolouring so quickly (but will eventually) Epoxy is more expensive, and almost odourless.

In my opinion epoxy is best for the skinning process, but the polyester is better if you are producing parts from a mould because of cost.

There is also acrylic resin if you want to explore all the possibilities!!!

Andy

[clivemk1mini]

Thanks for the info Andy I'm just going to buy the large carbon mods kit :)

[inkyjamesdee]

I know this is an old thread now so I hope nobody minds me reviving it.

Just wondered how you got on with the carbon skinning clivemk1mini?

 

My dad actually stumbled onto this thread as he has been doing lots of carbon skinning on his MINI (BMW R56 sorry to the haters). he went through lots of trial and error but has got it looking perfect now and has even started experimenting with some candy coloured carbon. Hope you find it useful and if your still interested and need some advice or some parts skinning send me a PM.

 

Here are some pictures.

 

 

 

Red Candy

[clivemk1mini]

Never did any myself but had lots done