DIY: Carbon fiber wrapping/skinning

Someone up for a challenge?
Do some CF skinning!

I'm in the middle of skinning a couple of plastic interior bits as a part of my interior DIY makeover. Thought I should share some useful links and pics of my stuff, and some lessons learned.

First, here's an excellent video and a step-by-step pdf file that describe the process:

Vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rTWaV1imzs&feature=player_detailpage

pdf:
http://www.carbonmods.co.uk/Downloads/carbon-fibre-skinning-starter-kit.pdf

I got my supplies from Carbon Mods. Really great to deal with, fast responses, fast delivery and excellent service.

Here is some of my stuff:

2x2 twill 200gsm carbon fibre cloth:



I got the red/black combo cloth aswell. The red is actually not carbon, but nylon. Makes for a great visual effect, but degrade the strength of the product, which is'nt a problem for me. I'm after the good looks :biggrin:



Wrapping the cloth:







After a few layers of top coat:





Some problems I have run into:

1. Air bubbles in the top coat resin. Resin too cold when mixing --> whipping effect with TINY TINY air bubbles trapped. Will make for a misty surface later on if not coped with. Resin too warm when mixing --> "large" air bubbles that creates craters when popping, if they pop at all. Hot resin cures really fast and may trap the bubbles before they escape. Solution: Pre-heat the resin components to a medium temp, mix gently (no whipping around!) and after applying a layer, use a heat gun/hair dryer and heat the surface, this reduces the viscosity and let air bubbles escape. Apply in thin layers!
2. Uneven surface after applying top coats. Been sloppy when applying the resin? Calm down. Use some 240 grit paper and GENTLY rub down som of the top parts, and apply a few more layers of resin. This can sometimes be neccessary to repeat. Apply the resin in a smooth manner and try to get it even.
3. Flattening down to the carbon cloth. The 240 grit paper eats cured resin really fast. When flattening the part, there is a risk that you'll eat down to the carbon, fraying it. Solution: If not excessive damage to the carbon fiber cloth, reapply a couple of top coats and do it all over again OR, if the damage is unacceptable, do EVERYTHING all over again, starting with a new base coat :wink:
4. Ugly edges. After wrapping the cloth around the surface, take care when folding the cloth over the other side and use masking tape to fix it into position. Make sure the edges look ok before starting to add top coats.
5. Dirt in the top coats. Well, work in a really clean area! Dust will kill the finish of the part. Also, keep an eye out for fibers from the brush used to apply the resin, they may release from the brush and get stuck in the resin. Gently remove them before the resin has cured, and smooth the surface with a little more resin afterwards. Carbon fiber cloth will fray when you cut it, releasing A LOT of tiny pieces of carbon flying around that may get stuck to your parts with uncured top coat resin. Do not cut the carbon cloth in the vicinity of uncured resin! If the resin has cured, try to rub it off with some 240 grit paper and reapply a couple of top coat layers.

Some other tips: use ONLY paper cups when mixing the resin. Use Aceton for cleaning the brushes. Replace the water between the different abrasive papers to avoid scratches. Do not sneeze on uncured resin. Use eye protection and wear those latex gloves! And remember, getting a part done takes a couple of days, at least! Most of the time is spent waiting for the resin to cure, and the rest of the time is spent sanding and sanding and sanding and sanding... You get the point :tongue: And be ready to do mistakes. A lot of them. It's normal. Just a part of the learning process.

Let's see some CF skinning! :biggrin:

//Johan

Shiny :wink:

Very cool, looks like your having a blast :smile:.
You can get that same color in a carbon/kevlar hybrid.


Mike





Carbon/kevlar hybrid

comtec said:

Very cool, looks like your having a blast :smile:.
You can get that same color in a carbon/kevlar hybrid.


Mike

Click to expand...

Indeed having a blast :smile:

Doing a piece of the dash that holds the instrument cluster:


Keyed up:


Base coat applied:


Wrapping:




The carbon fiber does make for a really nice 3D effect and special light reflections:





After a few top coats:




Started keying up the door handles. They are white underneath that satin black paint:





Share your CF work! :smile:

//Johan

awesome stuffs as usual! here we go again!

Looks great! I'm looking around at things I wouldn't mind trying this on.

Have you thought about using a vacuum chamber to degas the resin?

looking good man! that kevlar is a pain to cut though.

Heres what i just finished working on. Still needs a wetsand and polish



The resin that carbon mods gave you is it a thin resin?( has a consistency equal to thatof maple syrup)

cwood1388 said:

looking good man! that kevlar is a pain to cut though.

Heres what i just finished working on. Still needs a wetsand and polish

The resin that carbon mods gave you is it a thin resin?( has a consistency equal to thatof maple syrup)

Click to expand...

Chris, that closeup looks amazing.


Didn't make it to the dragon?


Mike

Thanks for the compliment and unfortunately no. Work has been insane the past month or so. Im just gonna have to look for pictures.

Awesome stuff...

So many parts i want in Carbon

Russ said:

Have you thought about using a vacuum chamber to degas the resin?

Click to expand...

Yes I thought about that. To work with the resin in vacuum would greatly ease the problem with aerated resin. However I found that pre-heating the resin a little, stirring slowly and heating the resin after it has been applied removes almost all trapped air.

cwood1388 said:

looking good man! that kevlar is a pain to cut though.

Heres what i just finished working on. Still needs a wetsand and polish

The resin that carbon mods gave you is it a thin resin?( has a consistency equal to thatof maple syrup)

Click to expand...

Nice! Get pics of them installed when you are done! Would like to see the effect of this red/black cloth on the NSX :biggrin:

Carbon mods has two types of resin, one which is a little thicker for "manual" applying, and one really thin for vacuum resin infusion. The thicker one is used for skinning. It is very thick at cold temps but the viscosity is greatly reduced with increasing temps. Att room remp, it is slightly thicker than maple syryp.

jaffaz32 said:

Awesome stuff...

So many parts i want in Carbon

Click to expand...

Get skinning then! :wink:

Tip!
I got this multitool and used it for the polishing step. I achieved much better results with this.



Have a look:







I have this enormous pile of plastic interior pieces that are up for the skinning but working a few at a time. Next in line:



Messy as hell! Cutting the CF cloth renders a lot of free strands that get flying around the room.





Get 'em skinning!

Man that shift boot frame looks stellar! Ive always been scared using something that small to polish. how quickly does it etch into the paint? I always thought that something that goes that fast would cut like a knife through butter.

Originally Posted by jaffaz32
Awesome stuff...

So many parts i want in Carbon

Click to expand...

Id say go for it! Its very tedious and time consuming but the end result is worth the frustration.

cwood1388 said:

Man that shift boot frame looks stellar! Ive always been scared using something that small to polish. how quickly does it etch into the paint? I always thought that something that goes that fast would cut like a knife through butter.

Click to expand...

Thanks! It does look awesome, can't wait to see it installed on my center console which will be in black CF. The contrast between the red/black and the black will look GOOD! :biggrin:

The multitool I use has a variable resistor so I can change the rpm easily from 8000 rpm to 33000 rpm. For polishing purposes I stay around 8000-12000 rpm, not more and I use the flat side of the polishing head. Tried with the round side and I both burned and scratched the resin immediatly. This because of too high pressure on a too small area at too long time simultaneously. But with the flat side, there's no problem as long as you keep it moving around and not staying too long at one spot. Friction heat builds up really quickly.

I'm going with my larger full-sized automotive polishing machine for the larger parts, otherwise it would take forever. I'll get back on that if it's feasable.

Skin 'em!

//Johan

cwood and mr goat... both you guys do great work. Its been awhile since I wrapped anything... learned years ago, and just havent had the time lately to start any new projects.

How do you trim inner cut outs like stereo button/ window switch openings after the resin has cured? I would imagine using a dremel, but I would think it is not going to be very precise and not look consistent when you have to go in a straight line.

AdvansCPAP said:

How do you trim inner cut outs like stereo button/ window switch openings after the resin has cured? I would imagine using a dremel, but I would think it is not going to be very precise and not look consistent when you have to go in a straight line.

Click to expand...

I used a dremel to get it rough, then block sanded to get a nice edge.

makes me want to give it a try, specialy considering, that I am a carbon fiber fan; looks good :smile:

AdvansCPAP said:

How do you trim inner cut outs like stereo button/ window switch openings after the resin has cured? I would imagine using a dremel, but I would think it is not going to be very precise and not look consistent when you have to go in a straight line.

Click to expand...

Usually any edges or round over area ill use a razor blade and cut as close as possible to the surface. From there I hand sand the area, then apply more resin in the transition between the plastic and the fabric. let that cure then block sand everything flush.

Here you can see where the fabric is sanded flush with the end after the resin is applied and cured. I do this with every edge just to make sure the fitment stays true and you dont have to fa dangle a part into place. Plus nothing squeaks while driving.

Thanks for the responses.

Some updates:

With flash:


Without flash (still needs a polish):


Needs sanding:


Door handles and coin holder:


Horn button with greasy fingerprint (yes I cleaned it afterwards):




And the defroster grill. This was a real pain but turned out great!




Installed:




Happy skinning!
//Johan

Those parts came out great!

Looks awesome. That defroster grill is a part I've been wanting to do but you have to take the entire dash apart to get to it so that's what's stopping me at this point.

That would be nice to do to that defroster grill.... I may have to do that sometime just to fix the one i have which is cracked..

Grimeas said:

That would be nice to do to that defroster grill.... I may have to do that sometime just to fix the one i have which is cracked..

Click to expand...

+1 Mine too. ?