Anyone else hear that apparently there is an internatioanl shortage in carbon fiber material and its out of stock everywhere?!?

know any good suppliers that may have some in stock?

i am also looking for any info anyone can give me as to actually doing this myself. anyone done it before?

also, what do you guys think about this site, depending on pricing i think it may be worth it.

http://www.emachineshop.com/indexg.h...FQlQWAodukvqQw

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Carbon-Fiber-Fab...QQcmdZViewItem

It partially hype. I buy all mine off ebay, around $32.00 yd is average for 5.7 oz 2x2 twill, I have also seen many companies that still sell it. Look for private sellersfor smaller pieces for small projects.I have done some projects with cfand may be of some help if you need it. What are you gonna be doing?

 

i am going to do a few things. i want to make a gauge cluster cover, triple tree cover, and then i want to add an overlay to the upper panels on the inside of the fronts. they sell them for the F4i like this(LINK). i am also going to be building an undertail out of fiberglass once i finish swapping out my tail. thanks for the link.

so with CF its the same as fiberglass as far as the resin then hardener goes?

 

I wish I knew how to do this sort of stuff. I need someone to show me. I'd love to make some air duct covers for my 929. That would look sweet. Good luck Rrasco, keep us updated.

 

for the most part it is, sometimes you can cut it, then place a wooden mold around to (like if it were square, triple tree clamp would be harder to do) and then that gives you the raised up effect of the resin too. But, yea for the most part, cut it, fit it, then cure it with the resin and hardener.

 

for the gauges and triple tree i was planning on making a flat piece, then have a pattern that matches them, then use a dremel to cut out the holes. same goes for shaping of the triple tree. now the inner panels i am thinking of just laying it on top of the pieces. either that or i will take a mold.

 

There are several different types of resin. Resin that you buy for fiberglass has a yellowish tint. Fiberglass is usually painted so this is fine for that. For cf you want a crystal clear coat, Maxclear is one type of resin that works well for cf. It is a surf board epoxy. The resins are VERY dangerous to work with. Make sure you have proper protection, goggles, respirator, and gloves. Stay away from vinyl gloves as I have found that epoxy will eat right through them. Some epoxy hardeners will call IMMEDIATE blindless if you get it in yourr eyes and there is nothing to reverse it!!
For overlays the resin will not stick to smooth plastics in general, they will stick to wood and you wont be able to get it off. Working with molds is very hard and in order to do it correct it requires "vacuum bagging" and more compounds such as mold release agents and waxes. I have found also that epoxy will not stick to clear shipping tape.

 

For your triple tree cover you could cover the TT in shipping tape then lay the impregnated cf onto it, let it dry then cut it out, do a second layer then trim. Or make a cardboard template, cover it with the tape then overlay the cf onto that. Cf should only be cut at 90* angles, it frays very easily. And always cut your piece larger then your template by a few inches in each direction.

 

yeah, i am going to make sure i get a respirator, goggles, and gloves. can i not use the clear resin for the fiberglass as well? i would prefer to only buy 1 type of resin at $35/pt. although my dad is a wholesale mgr at napa, so i should get a good deal on some materials.

any recommendations for the plastic pieces then?

 

Ya, thats what I used on mine. I just used regular clear resin on mine and it worked out fine.