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+--- Thread: Carbon skinning anyone? (/showthread.php?tid=9239)
Carbon skinning anyone? - el_bandido - 18-10-2019
I mean skinning for now, will move on to proper fabrication if it goes well. Light inserts shouldn't be a problem as the majority of the surface I'm covering has a lot of space around it.
Tango - that looks fantastic, I'll definitely give it a go!
Carbon skinning anyone? - Tango - 18-10-2019
Lexuspat That's not a bad job mate I like that
It's just a loose tray now, held in with 3M tape. It doesn't look as good as it appears in the pic though. Not happy with it.
May go for it and make up a vacuum mould to produce some parts from moulds as skinning is limited as to what parts can be skinned, and it's a lot of work for a cosmetic finish.
Also looking at dip coating as an alternative cosmetic finish to replicate carbon. Cous3 was checking out a company up North but I don't think they responded to him.
Carbon skinning anyone? - el_bandido - 18-10-2019
I've had a quote for dipping, it doesn't look anywhere near as good as skinning. Ideally I want a set manufactured in carbon, but I've not had anything south of £300.
Carbon skinning anyone? - Tango - 18-10-2019
el_bandido I've had a quote for dipping, it doesn't look anywhere near as good as skinning. Ideally I want a set manufactured in carbon, but I've not had anything south of £300.
Best of luck with the skinning. I found that really sharp contours couldn't be followed without making a total mess of the weave. In the case of that seat filler it was the two front corners. I ended up cutting the cloth to remove the excess, but it didn't look right. It's also very difficult to get all the air out from under the skinning. For a really neat job it requires moulds and the pieces made with the vacuum process, rather than skinning.
Carbon skinning anyone? - el_bandido - 18-10-2019
Bollocks. Ok, well I'll give it a bash anyway! Will make sure I wait until I've got a spare set of light inserts then.
Carbon skinning anyone? - speedfreek - 19-10-2019
An alternative to the vacuum is using a roller to squeeze out the air - but you run the risk of distorting the weave.
Where did you get the kit from incidentally? Quite tempted to have a play myself too.
Carbon skinning anyone? - Tango - 19-10-2019
speedfreek An alternative to the vacuum is using a roller to squeeze out the air - but you run the risk of distorting the weave.
Where did you get the kit from incidentally? Quite tempted to have a play myself too.
I wouldn't let my experience of skinning put people off. The component I skinned had sharp contours and concave areas which caused the problems. Simple gentle curves and convex areas should be comparitively easy.
I got my consumables from:
Carbon Mods
Unit 39
Park Hall Business Village
Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
ST3 5XA
VAT Number: 930 8005 51
Telephone: 01782 324000
http://www.carbonmods.co.uk/
Carbon skinning anyone? - sprinter2012 - 19-10-2019
As said though, carbon cloth is hard to get round corners without messing it up.
Here's how Lexus make one of the carbon components on the LFA...
As you can see, even top end manufacturers like Lexus don't use a purely carbon part. They carbon wrap a plastic part to add strength, without the weight that would come with making the whole thing from plastic.
[youtube]r-OXRgn4LRw[/youtube]
Carbon skinning anyone? - Tango - 19-10-2019
Quote:As you can see, even top end manufacturers like Lexus don't use a purely carbon part. They carbon wrap a plastic part to add strength, without the weight that would come with making the whole thing from plastic.
I think the mandrel is removed after the resin impregnation. It just provides the shape for braiding.
Carbon skinning anyone? - speedfreek - 19-10-2019
Thanks Tango - much appreciated.